Z’bar in spirited campaign to woo more tourists from India

Apart from beaches, the Red Colobus Monkey is one of the tourist attractions in Zanzibar. PHOTO | FILE 

By The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• The Zanzibar Tourism Promotion Centre is a joint initiative of the ministry of Information, Culture, Tourism and Sports, the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism and JHIL Enterprises, according to India-based TravelBizmonitor.com
• There are seven international flight options between both India and Zanzibar. They are Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, Oman Air Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Air Seychelles which land at Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport.

Dar es Salaam. Zanzibar has set up a tourism promotion centre in India as the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean archipelago seeks to attract more travellers from the world’s tenth largest economy.

The Zanzibar Tourism Promotion Centre (ZTPC) is a joint initiative of the ministry of Information, Culture, Tourism and Sports, the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism and JHIL Enterprises, according to India-based TravelBizmonitor.com.

TravelBizmonitor.com, which reports on and for the Indian travel and tourism industry, quotes the Zanzibar minister for Information, Culture, Tourism and Sports, Mr Said Ali Mbarouk, as saying that the centre will greatly strengthen ties between the two sides that share the Indian Ocean water.

“We are here to strengthen our relationship with India. We are a late entrant into the Indian market; however we have now arrived here and seek the support of the industry players to enable us to understand the Indian market,” he said at an event that was also attended by a number of other dignitaries from both the public and private sectors in Zanzibar and in India.  The event was held in Mumbai. According to Mr Mbarouk, India and Zanzibar have old historical and cultural relationships. Zanzibar offers tourism opportunities for family, destination weddings and honeymoon, sports tourism and film shoots among others.

To create awareness on the destination, ZTPC in India will conduct roadshows, seminars and workshops, and participate in trade fairs and conduct familiarisation tours for the travel trade.

“We will conducting a fact-finding mission to Zanzibar for around 12 Indian tour operators at the end of this month. We are also in talks with the concerned authorities to start   direct flights between Mumbai and Zanzibar,” he informed.

He said: “Zanzibar is a potential destination for Indian travellers. It is a safe destination with a rich heritage and culture, pristine beaches and authentic cuisine. Zanzibar is well connected by international airlines and can be reached through Dar es Salaam.

The journey from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar is 15 minutes by flight and 1.15 hours by luxury high speed ferry.” Ajay Prakash, president of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, said: “Zanzibar is a great tourism destination.”