Our program led us to engage with Tanzanian locals, offering us a genuine and mostly authentic glimpse into their vibrant culture. However, as we left Dar es Salaam and disembarked the ferry onto the shores of Zanzibar, a whole new world of tourism unfolded before us. This raises a pivotal question: How does this influx of tourists impact the island and its people? Can sustainability hold the key to preserving this island paradise?
In an interview, we dive deeper into the advantages and disadvantages that this tourism surge brings to the culture and nature of Zanzibar.
Amour, what is your role in the tourism industry in Zanzibar?
I myself am from Zanzibar and I work here as a freelancing tour guide and also a tour organizer. I did my bachelor’s degree in tourism and cultural heritage. What I am particularly interested in is the eco-friendly tourism.
Have you individually experienced a change in the tourism industry in Zanzibar?
I've been working in this field since 2010, since when I was still in High School. I myself saw the tourism industry changing a lot over the past years. That includes positive such as negative changes. A lot of infrastructure has been created. Through that many smaller villages gained access to water, energy or actual streets. In first place these changes are for the hotels but hand in hand with that goes a help for the villages.
In the past we depended a lot on the European tourist market. We had many tourists from Germany, France and Italy. Recently we also experienced a rise from Arab countries.
What are the advantages of tourism for Zanzibar’s inhabitants regarding their culture and nature?
There are three main advantages I see with the tourism growth in Zanzibar. First of all, the job creations - I would guess that 30% of the people here are involved in the tourism sector. That of course includes people who work in souvenir shops, hotels or restaurants but also for example the fisherman who collaborate with the hotels. Not having to sell the fish for a low price on the local markets but to well-paying hotels and restaurants helps them a lot. The number one factor for the economy in Zanzibar is the tourism. When this fell away during covid it was quite hard.
Another thing that I´ve experienced was the development of infrastructure through tourism. Especially in remote villages and local communities they suddenly received health facilities, electricity supply, well working streets or running water.
Certainly, the environment is affected a lot by the tourism. Nevertheless, one positive aspect is, that through the generation of income it is possible to actually preserve parts of the nature that without that financial help would have been vanished. There are cases of hotels planting artificial coral reefs or helping children from surrounding villages to pay their education fees. In the case of the famous island “prison island” they arranged a sanctuary for land tortoises. On the one hand this is a giant tourist attraction but without the income generated from the entrance fee they would be facing extinction. With the generated money the tortoises can be taken care of.
What are the negative effects in Zanzibar coming from tourism?
There are some struggles for the locals coming with the rise of tourism. The first thing that came to my mind was the competition in pricing: For local people for example the fish is getting more expensive and since we are on an island that is actually the main dish and it’s not affordable anymore for many people. (he is jokingly saying) They are coming vegetarians, but not by choice!
Another thing is that most of Zanzibar’s people are Muslim. That comes with certain rules that some tourists don’t care about. For me that leads to a disrespect towards our culture. Tourists are consuming alcohol and other drugs here or don´t respect the dress codes. There are parents that are very concerned about their own children. But not only international tourists bring those attributes to the island chain but also Tanzanians from the mainland that came for the job possibilities. This behavior led to a prohibition of tourism at some places. You would need a special permit to access certain places now.
Another thing most tourists are not aware of is how much an all-inclusive holiday ruins the local economy, since they don´t rely on the local infrastructure.
You cannot deny that mass tourism is harmful to the nature. Nevertheless, at some points the tourism is getting out of hand. I think that it would be good to control the number of tourists that come per year.
What do you personally value the most of tourism personally?
If we manage to find a way of sustainable tourism, like we already have it in some forms, the tourism brings a lot of possibilities. If that is given, we can guarantee jobs, preserve natural sights and enable an intercultural dialogue. That is something I would personally value – the intercultural exchange!
written by Vera Keddigkeit