The Daily Telegraph - Features
How boozy Britons are turning an island paradise into the next Magaluf
UK tourists are drawn to Zanzibar by the sun, sea and cheap beer, but at what cost?
Exotic islands will always provide the perfect backdrop for a party. Zanzibar is no exception. Even the name sparks images of long sultry nights, “anything goes” attitudes and unbridled hedonism. But go back a few decades and this semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago was a simple, spiceproducing country faithfully observing Muslim traditions.
My first – and only – visit to its main island Unguja was during the pandemic. Unlike the rest of the world, tourism was (relatively) booming thanks largely to an influx of Russian charter flights spurred by former president John Magufuli’s refusal to believe that coronavirus existed. An escape from the harsh realities of the real world, Zanzibar was a bubble of fine food, exquisite beaches and free-flowing booze.
“They come off the plane with a beer in each hand,” one taxi driver told me, referring to revellers piling on to cheap flights from Moscow and heading straight to the island’s party strip in the north.
Other hoteliers complained of entitled trespassers stumbling into boutique properties and drunkenly diving into swimming pools. In the Unesco-protected old part of Zanzibar City, Stone Town, decency laws were introduced to counter the emergence of crop tops and hot pants.
This time, however, it’s Brits who are causing trouble. A holy trinity of sun, cheap flights and even cheaper beer has led to comparisons with the overcommercialised Majorcan town of Magaluf. Earlier this year, a beer shortage caused by licensing issues did little to dampen spirits, even if prices temporarily shot up.
Zanzibar is clearly chasing the tourist buck – and bargainhunting, fun-seeking holidaymakers fed up with the damp and dreary British weather are biting the bait. Investment in the destination has been huge. Dozens of lodges have opened, including Ycona Resort & Spa, Pongwe Island Lodge and Bawe Island. Many more are in the pipeline.
“I was surprised at the number of new hotels being built and the amount of land that has been earmarked for development,” says Vanessa Dean, product manager for Mahlatini Luxury Travel, reporting a 52 per cent growth in bookings for the destination in 2022 compared with prepandemic levels.
There are also longer-term strategy plans to open a large-scale marina, a water sports arena, an accessible aquarium and even a “suitably Zanzibarian theme park”. These projects are all in the early stages of development. But could this ambitious growth destroy the idyllic island’s honeymoon reputation?
“In the past year or so, many tourists are coming to Zanzibar to see the beach, the historical sites, the spices,” says tour guide Abdalla Omar, who works with agency ToursByLocals.
Currently, tourism generates around 90 per cent of the archipelago’s foreign revenue. Not everyone, however, is happy to receive visitors from abroad.
“Some people complain, saying the tourists like to change our culture,” says Abdalla, commenting on the gradual erosion of the archipelago’s historical Swahili traditions. “Our children try to copy their style, their culture. That’s not good at all.”
Worse than wearing Western clothes is wearing (almost) no clothes at all. Around 99 per cent of the archipelago’s 1.3 million residents are Muslim and many women dress conservatively. Strolling around villages in beach wear is frowned upon.
“Some people expose parts of their bodies that are not allowed to be seen in the public,” explains local guide Maulid Omar, also from TravelByLocals, who says visitors continue to flout dress code regulations introduced by the government (which carry a potential $700 (£554 fine). “There is also an issue with sex tourism,” he adds. “Some women from Europe come here to meet with the beach boys [young men hawking goods on the beaches] and engage in prostitution.”
Excessive alcohol consumption, he says, continues to be a problem – especially in beach destinations along the island’s northern coast where resort areas like Nungwi, Paje and Kendwa have become party hubs. Meanwhile, recent airport expansion and a rise in cruise ship traffic has led to further concerns about overtourism in
‘Some people expose parts of their bodies that are not allowed to be seen in public’
Unguja. Many homes have been converted into souvenir stores, restaurants and Airbnb properties, resulting in a displacement of local people.
“My old secondary school is now a tourism building,” laments Maulid. “In Matemwe, even land with graveyards has been sacrificed for investment.”
Some guides and hoteliers fear the market is at risk of oversaturation as increasing competition drives down prices, leaving Zanzibarians with fewer financial rewards.
“In the past, we got lots of tips and benefits,” recalls Maulid. “Now tourists complain about prices, so we have to reduce them. It’s a challenge.”
Authorities insist they are carefully managing and monitoring the situation.
“Given the increased numbers of visitors to our islands, this is something that we take very seriously, but ‘incredibly popular’ and ‘in vogue’ are not the same as overtourism,” says Tim Henshall, the head of tourism marketing UK for the Tanzania High Commission. “It’s true to say that Zanzibar has probably never been as popular a destination as it is today, but we feel we have the infrastructure, hotel rooms and facilities to cope with that demand.”
He says there are longer-term plans to spread visitors across the archipelago, aiming each island at a different type of traveller. Further ambitions include developing Zanzibar into one of the world’s top windsurfing and kitesurfing destinations, as well as the growth of halal and heritage tourism.
That sounds more positive and, it’s worth noting that, despite the challenges they face, both Maulid and Abdalla admit there are more opportunities than ever before for residents.
“Zanzibar is very different to 10 years ago,” says Abdalla. “Now everyone is working in the tourism sector – men and women, all of them are [the] same.”
Surely, that alone is a good enough reason to party.