Tourism Products, Infrastructure and Services

(ii) Tourism Products and Services and infrastructure

Zanzibar is blessed with world-class heritage sites with potential to explore a variety of cultural and natural attractions. Unfortunately, very few of these have been exploited as tourism attraction. Zanzibar’s heritage assets provide an opportunity for a full range of heritage products that attract both domestic and international visitors. The areas available for exploration and conservation includes history, monuments, people, coastal and maritime, flora and fauna. The improper conservation, development and management of a diversified array of heritage sites are mainly caused by insufficient utilisation of inherited traditional skills and specialities. Local skills include iconography and painting, woodcarving, pottery, basket weaving, traditional music, festivals and dancing.

The people of Zanzibar are the essence of its quality as a tourist destination. They offer visitors a warm and friendly welcome, and create an environment within which visitors feel safe. The island’s distinctive culture is rooted in its people. These features enable Zanzibar to stand out as a unique and attractive destination. They are valuable assets to be protected and nurtured. As the anticipated growth in tourism will have implications for the community, it will be important to ensure that steps are taken to mitigate any possible negative impacts.

The growth of tourism means that there will be a much larger number of tourists on the island at any one time, and there is also likely to be a larger number of immigrants living and working in Zanzibar to meet the increased demand for labour. While the expansion of tourism will create more opportunities for the local community in employment and enterprise development, it may also give rise to some pressure on infrastructure, public services and amenities. It will be very important that the impact on the community is an explicit issue for consideration in the context of formal assessment of proposed new developments

Maintaining and continuing to foster a positive attitude to tourism and tourists will be important. Community-based tourism has been active on this front for many years. Key priorities in the strategy of community-based tourism are:

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  To promote employment in tourism and encourage students to pursue careers in the sector.
  
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  To promote knowledge and understanding of, and positive attitudes towards, tourism.
  
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  To promote community participation in the industry through community-based tourism enterprise initiatives.
  

Tourism accommodation facilities in Zanzibar range from basic guesthouses to 5 star luxury boutique hotels. This wide range of accommodation provides for different types of tourists. Quality control for accommodation facilities is very poor and the available standards and classification system do not ensure that hotels provide the quality required for their category. Furthermore, the hotel sub sector is characterised by low occupancy rate (56%). Some 33 restaurants are included in the ZCT directory. This number excludes restaurants in accommodation facilities. Service standards, although much improved compared with former years, still vary considerably, with at times poor value for money being delivered in some of the more expensive establishments. A total of 45 dive operators are listed in the ZCT directory. The Lab observed that there are 261 tour operators. There may be other tour operators because, in the absence of a strictly enforced licensing regime, ‘almost anyone’ can open up a tour company.

The main issues are: lack of regulation of entry into the industry e.g. anyone can set up as a tour operator. Nighttime entertainment is rather limited, apart from bars and restaurants. Some hotels have discos for their guests. Musical performances and other events are held in informal venues, while cinemas are not found anywhere in Zanzibar. Stone Town is a thriving centre for shopping. An extensive range of imported goods is on sale at what are claimed to be considerably reduced prices, while a variety of curios (the majority also imported) are also available. We would like to see a wider range of good quality local handicraft and artwork on sale.

Access to finance

Most of the locally-owned tourism facilities and services operate at lower standards. This is because most of the Zanzibaris who own accommodation facilities and tour operations do have access to credit or lack information about potential sources of funds to upgrade. Investment policies are not in favour of local investors and lack the right mix of incentives and taxes. High operating costs due to inadequate provision of basic service utilities (water and electricity) hinder the ability of local investors to upgrade their facilities and services.

Visitor facilitation in regard to customs and immigrations is considered to be not friendly and not courteous. Delays occur at immigration on arrival especially when a large aircraft arrives or a number of aircraft land at or around the same time. This can be alleviated by better slot management. Also, staff shortages occur. Major changes in the present Customs and Immigration facilities will be needed to cope with the projected increase in visitor arrivals. There are plans to expand the current terminal handling capacity of 1.2 million passengers per year to 1.6 million passengers per annum in accordance with need.

It has been recommended that improved and more streamlined arrangements for the clearance of yachts and their passengers in Pemba will be needed if Zanzibar wishes to target the yacht market. At present, visiting yachtsmen need to pass through a two-stage process to clear Customs and Immigration in Pemba. They first have to go to the Immigration Office in Chake to clear themselves and the crew and the second and final step is to go to the harbour authorities to obtain an anchoring permit. Many yachtsmen think that this procedure is too complicated and should be centralised.

Visitor Information

Visitor information services are available in Zanzibar, conveniently located at the main entry points. However, the information office at the airport is rather hard to find and needs to be expanded.

There are two main hospitals on the island, as well as some medical centres. The largest hospital, Mnazi Mmoja hospital, is the best equipped, but without a recompression chamber for use by divers. It is understood that the Chinese Government will be funding the construction of a new medical facility at Uzini which could affect any prospect of promoting Zanzibar as a destination for medical treatments. Instead, the island could be better marketed as a place for visitors to come to recuperate from illnesses in their home country with all the advantages of a pleasant climate and a healthy lifestyle.

Tourism sector in Zanzibar is already experiencing problems in the recruitment and retention of suitably skilled managers and middle management staff. Bigger companies hire managers from outside Zanzibar. This suggests the need to look into the match of training and education services available in the country vis-à-vis the demands of the industry. More work is still needed to convince establishments of the importance of investing in skills for improved profitability and success. Only a few tourism companies in Zanzibar have a structured training plan and human resource development budget. Barriers to pursuit of skills and knowledge upgrading tend to be cost-related, the lack of adequate and quality local supply of relevant support services. On-the-job training will likely remain a leading training delivery method in the tourism sector.

A lack of tourism knowledge and skills also contributes to a low standard of services. Tourism education is one of the critical elements to achieving quality tourism products and services in Zanzibar. In response to the rapid rise in tourism demand and the acknowledgement of a need for tourism education, the government established a School of Tourism within the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). The Zanzibar Institute for Tourism Development (ZIToD) which will form part of the School of Tourism is currently offering vocational training in front office, housekeeping, food and beverages, tour guiding and accounting. The institute also is authorised to run Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH) professional courses, as it is an accredited CTH Centre. Yet, ZIToD provides only a basic education, which is not sufficient for the second generation of tourism development.

(iii) Air Transportation

Over the past decade, demand has increased dramatically (see figure 2.6 and 2.7) and the mix of aircraft has changed leading to saturation of the operational capacities of these airports. These changes coupled with inadequate or aged equipment/systems, inadequate technical capacity of staff and inadequate infrastructure means Zanzibar must now increase and improve the airports’ capacity to meet growing demand for better provision of airport service, security and safety.

Figure 2.6: Aircraft Movement at Abeid Amani Karume international Airport



Source: Zanzibar Airport Authority

Figure 2.7: Aircraft Movement at Pemba Airport

Abeid Amani Karume Airport has an asphalt concrete runway of 3022m in good condition with strength PCN42 (Pavement Classification Number). It provides facilities for aircraft up to Boeing 777 with passenger and landside structures suitable for those levels of use. In 2012, the airport handled approximately 694,622 passengers. However, the airport has aged and has inefficient fire tender and associated equipment, lack of ILS and outdated VOR for safe lending that impairs the ability of AAKIA to ensure the safety of the airport and airport users. In addition, the airport has inadequate facilities such as limited space in the departure arrival lounge, inadequate washrooms, X-ray machines and air conditioning and lacks a conveyor belt. The low quality equipment and services may impede the inflow of aircraft especially wide board aircraft and hence negatively affect tourism and trade.

Pemba airport has an asphalt concrete runway of 1525m x 30m that was repaved in 1996 and is in fair condition. It provides facilities for aircraft up to F27 with passenger and landside structures suitable for such levels of use. Currently, the airport handles approximately 30,000 passengers per year. Over the coming years, the government plans to upgrade the airport to accommodate B737 traffic. Forecasts show passenger numbers are expected to reach more than 77,000 by 2025.

However, the existing airport offers inadequate basic infrastructure, such as runway length, terminal building facilities and services to accommodate B737 to convince airlines and tour operators to operate. It also lack security and safety equipment such as: adequate airport rescue and fire fighting trucks, Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL), standby generator, perimeter fence, steady water supply, proper drainage system, adequate office equipment and trained personnel in related fields. A rapid improvement and major development of Pemba Airport is essential to support rapidly growing tourist, local and international trade, easy connectivity between East Africa and other countries in the world by allowing different size of aircrafts to operate at the airport.

(iv) Sea transportation

In 2012, the port handled about 193,400 tonnes of cargo, and 65,100 TEU containers. Meanwhile, the cargo throughput is continuously increasing along with the booming development of the tourism and marine product industries. However, as the existing Malindi port is close to the city centre of Stone Town, it has a limited stacking yard, insufficient handling equipment and inadequate storage facilities. It also suffers from serious traffic jams with city cars. This congestion, coupled with lower handling throughput capacity, restricts the development of Zanzibar’s economy and its ability to meet trade and tourism targets. Frequent ferry crossings between the port of Dar es Salaam and Pemba have increased the demand for passenger berthing facilities. Sufficient cargo and passenger berthing facilities are highly necessary to enable the development of business tourism.

Accessibility - National Airline and Ferries

Zanzibar currently lacks a National airline that could offer direct flights and minimise the need for unwanted stopovers at the region and beyond. In addition, the country lacks sea ferry services operating in the East Africa region, especially from Zanzibar to Nairobi. A ferry service on these routes would greatly improve the accessibility to coastal tourism areas and hence create significant links.

(v) Electricity

Electricity coverage in rural areas of Zanzibar is good mainly due to presence of the Rural Electrification Project funded by Government of Zanzibar. While the supply capacity of electricity increased from the limited 45 MW to 100MW of the new submarine cable, frequent voltage deviations impaired electricity supply with poor quality in terms of services especially to remote areas where most hotels are located. The reliability of electricity continues to be a significant constraint in the growth and competitiveness of the tourism industry. The use of emergency power generators increases the operational costs of the hotels due to high cost of fuel and lubricant. Connection procedures are reported to be a challenging phenomenon in accessing electricity and hence providing barriers to people and tourism institutions that apply for electricity.

(vi) Water Supply

Zanzibar is endowed with plenty of water sources including groundwater, surface water and rainwater. Ground water is the primary source of water for domestic and commercial needs including tourism. However, availability of water supply services is highly influenced by the availability of electricity in terms of coverage and quality. Among the limitation observed for water supply include:

1. 
   Lack/shortage of water supply and distribution. Shortage of water is caused by lack or insufficient infrastructure for water production and distribution either through poor budget or instability of electricity.
   
2. 
   Degraded or poor quality of water. Salt water intrusion, encroachment of human activities to water sources and non-equitably distributed water sources across the population of Zanzibar have led to degraded quality of water which may also affect the tourism industry.
   

(vii) Waste Collection and Management

The hotel industry generates plenty of waste, both liquid and solid. Tourism areas should be especially physically clean and hygienic. The current situation is not favourable in terms of waste management since liquid waste is mostly disposed in the sea leading to pollution. Furthermore and solid waste is not collected in Stone Town and other areas. Zanzibar generates an estimated 650,000 tons of solid waste every day. Zanzibar Municipal Council and other local authorities handle only about 30% of total waste. The remaining 70% is mixed and indiscriminately disposed leading to an unfavourable environment for both the health of residents and for tourist attractions. The Zanzibar Municipal Council and Local governments do not have the capacity to clean, collect and dispose the waste generated due to inadequate staff, inaccessibility of households due to poor settlement planning, poor law enforcement, budget constraints and poor community awareness. There is also an inefficient storm water drainage system. In most areas, storm water drainage is either inexistent or narrowly covered infrastructure to accumulate abundant storm water due to monsoon rains. Clogging of drainage systems produces a foul smell and is unhygienic. Weak awareness of the users complicates the problem further. The absence of organised wastewater disposal facilities including recycling and central sewerage system leave only natural methods of disposal either in ponds or the sea. This leads to marine pollution and an unhygienic environment for settlements close to waste ponds.

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