News
ZATI Chairman Address for 2012
Chairman of ZATI New Year Greeting:
As I enter into my second year of Chairman of ZATI I would like to thank all those from both the Private and Public sectors in Zanzibar for all the assistance, advice, information and co-operation that we have received in the last 12 months which has helped up to manage the tourism private sector in Zanzibar. May 2012 bring all we hope for.
The last year has had challenges, undoubtably – and we remain strong in our advocacy subjects of security, utilities, waste collection, improving the business climate and encouraging more tourism training. Myself, our Director and our Executive Board have had countless meetings on all those subjects, both within our roles as members of the Tourism Public/Private Dialogue and the Zanzibar Business Council, and with individual and collective Government Ministers and members of the House of Representatives.
We have received notification from the Commission for Tourism yesterday that the tourism arrival figures for 2011 have reached an all time high for the history of tourism in Zanzibar, with every month exceeding any prior month of any year. Last year 175,000 tourists arrived directly from overseas, and these numbers can be boosted by a further 25% to account for arrivals from the Tanzania mainland on a two-centre “bush and beach” holiday, and domestic arrivals via the Zanzibar seaport, neither of which are currently measured. So we can confidently say that we have hosted as many as 220,000 tourists to our islands in 2011.
This is good news for Zanzibar – it shows our industry is flourishing and growing – and we congratulate the Ministry and all investors, employees and business owners in our industry who have all worked so hard to achieve this excellent result for the islands. But it also means that the subjects of safety, security, infrstructure and training also need to be stepped up to be able to keep pace with the growth of tourism – and therefore, as tourism is our leading industry, the growth of the economy of Zanzibar, and we will continue to be on the forefront of these subjects.
And so to 2012 – We have already started the year strongly with security meetings in 2 areas of the island to ensure that tourists are safe here. With the main ZATI social event of the year looming next month, and to add to the auspicious attendance of the two Prime Ministers at our last Dinner Party and AGM, we have started VIP arrangements for the ZATI dinner party which will take place at the Zanzibar Beach Resort on Saturday 25th February.
We are also embarking on a closer relationship with the Zanzibar Investment Promotional Agency, to ensure that the type of investments that we are attracting in Zanzibar are in line with both the Commission for Tourism Policy and the needs of the marketplace, now and in the future, and pay adequate attention to environmental issues and cultural sensitivity.
In addition, ZATI is championing the Responsible Tourism Tanzania standards – see www.rttz.org – and shortly all hotels will have the opportunity to be audited and ancouraged to attain the first level of this important standard that is recognised by leading international tour operators, and will help us to welcome those tourists who appreciate sustainable and responsible tourism in Zanzibar.
Following on from our higher marketing profile last year, ZATI will continue to represent Zanzibar as a desination at the main overseas trade fairs, bringing the new ZATI brochure to South Africa, Berlin, and London, and is talking with the Tanzanian Tourist Board to gain a stronger representation in the country’s marketing strategy to enhance the wider Tanzanian tourism product and attract more people to the country to experience its natural beauty and diversity.
In closing these few remarks, I would like to urge all memebrs to be more involved in their local ZATI regional branches – in Stone Town, the Nungwi peninsular, the North-East, and the South-East, and in Pemba. As you all know, challenges and isues differ from one area of the islands to another, so you have the best knowledge of what is going on in your areas. I would like to assure you all that ZATI is gaiining strength year on year, and intends to continue to play its part to represent the needs and interests of the tourism industry in a respectful and effective partnership with the Revolutionalry Government of Zanzibar. 
With Kind Regards for a successful 2012 – to all of us in Zanzibar concernd with our tourism industry, to our partners and agents who send us our tourists – and to our guests past, present and future who enjoy our culture, people, climate, beaches and warm hospitality.
Abdulsamad Saeed.
50 years of Independence
Tanzanians are proudly celebrating 50 years of independence today.
After several decades, Tanganyika gained its independence from Britain to become The United Republic of Tanzania. Julius Nyerere, known as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation), was influential in uniting much of the country by advocating for peaceful change, social equality and racial harmony. With the help of his efforts, Tanganyika became a republic on December 9, 1961. In 1964, Zanzibar followed and the two nations unified to form the United Republic of Tanzania with Nyerere as its first president.
ZATI AGM 2011 – report.
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.
ZATI AGM – 7th December 2011
The Zanzibar Beach Resort is the venue for the ZATI AGM this year.
We are delighted to acccept sponsorship for this event from PBZ – The Peoples’ Bank of Zanzibar.
The meeting is only open to ZATI members adn it starts 1400hrs.
ALL ZATI MEMBERS ARE INVITED. Please send a representative if you are not able to make it as the main investor.
This is your chance as the Governing Council to have your say on behalf of the Tourism Sector.
See you promptly on the 7th!
Zanzibar focuses on tourism
Zanzibar focuses on tourism to boost its economy and job creation
He said the isle’s government would work closely with the private sector to improve marine transportation in order to improve the national economy through the tourism sector, which had see an annual growth of 15 percent and contributed between 25 and 27 percent to the isle’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Zanzibar president noted that 50 percent of the isle’s population would be involved in tourism activities by the year 2020, forecasting a robust growth of the sector in few years to come.
The tourism sector would be a major catalyst in the promotion of agriculture, employment, and fisheries and helping in creating more jobs in local industries.
The Zanzibar government has made a decision to give tourism its due importance in cooperation with the local people. So far, tourism is a source of Zanzibar’s foreign currency earnings by 70 percent.
Cruise shipping tourism is the other source of tourist income to Zanzibar due to the island’s geographical position with its proximity in the Indian Ocean island states of Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.
Recent data by the Zanzibar Tourism Commission showed tourism to increasingly becoming a leading economic sector in the island, providing 11,500 workers with direct employment and an additional 45,000 people engaged in tourist activities.
By Apolinari Tairo, eTN Tanzania | Nov 01, 2011(eTN) –
ZATI to attend WTM
World Travel Market will be visited by ZATI this year from the first time – Chairman Abdulsamad Said, Vice Chairman Bobby McKenna and Director Julia Bishop will all be attending the London travel show.
Staged annually in London, World Travel Market – the leading global event for the travel industry – is a vibrant must attend four-day business-to-business event presenting a diverse range of destinations and industry sectors to UK and International travel professionals. It is a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business. By attending World Travel Market, participants efficiently, effectively and productively gain immediate competitive advantage for their business and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry.
ZATI will be on the Tanzania stand and will bring the new 2011-12 ZATI brochure hot off the press.
All time high for Zanzibar Tourism
Zanzibar continues to be destination of choice for many overseas visitors , as the tropical paradise isles are enjoying their busiest year ever for tourism.
Recent figures released by the Commission for Toursim reflect reports from hotels that bookings are strong right to the end of this year.
Tourism in Zanzibar experienced a drop in 2008 which resulted from the global economic downturn, but has since gained strength year on year for three years.
If the final quarter of this year follows the same pattern, all indications suggest that 2011 is going to be a record year for visitor arrivals.
In 2010 the arrivals number was 132,836, and the previous record high was 2007 when there were a recorded 143,283 arrivals.
So far in 2011 we have received 125,777 visitors from January to September, a 27% increase over the same period in 2010, and we still have the busy Christmas high season ahead of us.
It must be noted that in addition to these direct overseas arrivals, Tanzania mainland Tourism Board reports that 30% of the visitors they receive on the mainland also come to Zanzibar to relax after their safari, so these number should be inflated to include domestic Tanzanian arrivals from Dar es Salaam or Arusha airports.
Every month so far in 2011 the arrivals have been higher than any other previous month. Hotels report good forward bookings for the end of the year and ZATI will report the final 2011 arrivals number early in 2012.
All figures are supplied by the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism.
British Royalty to visit Tanzania
THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL TO VISIT TANZANIA
The British High Commissioner to Tanzania, Diane Corner, has warmly welcomed the news that the British Government has asked The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to undertake an official visit to Tanzania from 6 to 9 November 2011 at the invitation of President Kikwete. The Prince of Wales will also visit Arabian Gulf countries on 31 October and 1 November and South Africa between 2 and 6 November.
Their Royal Highnesses’ Commonwealth tour will focus on trade and investment promotion to support Britain’s economic recovery and strengthen the economies of our partners; employment opportunities and development issues; education and practical support for disadvantaged young people; sustainability issues in the run-up to the Durban Climate Summit later in November, and shared heritage and conservation of traditional livelihoods and wildlife. The visit to Tanzania will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Independence. Bilateral ties including economic cooperation will also be to the fore in Kuwait and Qatar.
In both Commonwealth countries there will be a strong focus on The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF’s) work to protect endangered species and fragile ecosystems. The Prince of Wales has recently become President of WWF UK. The work of the Department for International Development (DFID) will assume particular prominence given the UK Government’s commitment to the development of both countries.
UNWTO Welcomes Tanzania
Tanzania has been elected to the UN World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Executive Council.
Tanzania joined the tourism top table, announced at the General Assembly in South Korea, with a term of membership until 2015. The Executive Council meets twice a year, most recently in Kenya – the first time ever on the African continent – and often selects its meeting venues from among the council membership, giving the host countries the opportunity to showcase its tourism attractions to fellow colleagues at the WTO.
Tanzania’s delegation was led by Tourism Minister Ezekiel Maige,The global organization, based in Madrid, Spain, now has 155 members from across the world and broadly benefits, in particular ,developing countries with training and marketing initiatives, giving back a multiple of the annual fees through relevant support measures
World Tourism Day 27th September 2011
As you may already be aware, World Tourism Day is commemorated on 27 September each year. This year’s theme is “Tourism & Biodiversity”. This date was chosen to coincide with an important milestone in world tourism: the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Statutes on 27 September 1970.
The main purpose of World Tourism Day is to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values and towards this end, ZATI was proposing a small “get together” at Mercuries Restaurant tomorrow at 1800hrs mainly to commemorate this day. Snacks will be provided on complimentary courtesy of Mercuries Restaurant.
