ZATI AGM 2011 – report.

Dec 8, 2011 by Julia Bishop

The Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors enjoyed a most successful Annual General Meeting at the Zanzibar Beach Resort on 7th December.

Over 100 attendees packed the conference room as the Director Julia Bishop welcomed everyone and updated on tourism statistics and strategy – outlining the ZATI three-point plan of Advocacy, Membership Support and Destination Marketing.

The Chairman Abdulsamad addressed the assembled group to say they are experiencing a boom year for Zanzibar tourism.  According to the Tourism Commission figures for the first three quarters of the year, our overseas visitor arrivals numbers have increased by 27%, compared to 2010. He congratulated the private sector for the part they have all played in this.  He went on the describe the many events and meetings with the public sector that have taken place during 2011 on behalf of the ZATI members, helping to strengthen the bsusiness environment for Zanzibar investors.

The Guest of Honour from the Commission for Tourism represented by Ali Khalil said that  ZATI’s strengths lie in its breadth and depth of operation, and its leadership and management.  He said It is the voice of Zanzibar’s largest foreign investment earner and members have a vested interest in the sustainability of Zanzibar’s environment.   He continued to say that ZATI’s good relationship with the Government helps it be well placed to work effectively as a Public-Private Partnership.  Future opportunities he highlighted for ZATI could include playing a stronger role in destination marketing of Zanzibar, proving further member services in the form of information about the industry, partnering more closely with the Commission in order to assist it with its responsibilities, and in line with Government policy where eco-tourism is prioritised in Government Strategy for Tourism, ZATI can take the lead in Zanzibar in the new Responsible Tourism Tanzania initiative (RTTZ), leading to internationally recognised sustainability behaviour that will be acknowledged by tour operators and travel agents worldwide.

The event was sponsored by PBZ – The Peoples bank of Zanzibar – who outlined their range of financial products and services tailor-made to assist investors with all their banking needs, and explained how they have assisted in the econimic development of Zanzibar in many ways over the years.

Three private security firms – KK, MintMaster and G4S all made presentations on how to increase security measures on the island.  The range of subjects further discussed included safety, marketing, statistics, tourism income, environment, lobbying and the strengthening of ZATI regional sub-committees around the island.

The Chairman thanked all the Governing Council and the invited guests and especially the Executive Board members for all their support during the previous year and said he looked forward to serving his second year at chair of ZATI in 2012.