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Zanzibar introduces $44 insurance fee for visitors

By: Investment News Editor On: July 25, 2024 In: Uncategorized

Unguja. Visitors travelling to Zanzibar will now have to pay an insurance fee of $44 (about Sh118,360) with effect from September 1. The fee will cover them for up to 92 days during their stay on the island.

Speaking to The Citizen, the minister of Finance, Dr Saada Mkuya Salum, explained that this new arrangement aims to enhance services for visitors to Zanzibar.

“The insurance will cover various aspects that have previously been problematic for visitors, such as health, loss of baggage, accidents, emergency evacuation, loss of passports, and even repatriation of remains in case of death,” Dr Mkuya said.

She also mentioned that the government will assign dedicated staff to manage this insurance coverage to streamline service provision.

She emphasised that requiring visitors to pay for insurance is not unique to Zanzibar, as it is a common practice in many other countries.

“This is not a new concept; when we travel elsewhere, we also pay for travel insurance,” she noted.

The insurance coverage will be provided by the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation, a government-owned entity, and will not take into consideration whether one has another travel policy from elsewhere.

Prior to this, travel insurance was not mandatory in Tanzania and other East African countries. However, the announcement has caused concern in the tourism industry, which is a cornerstone of Zanzibar’s economy.

Tour operators who spoke to The Citizen fear that the additional cost may make the island a more expensive destination.

“With all the good intentions that the government has in enhancing visitor experience on the island, this could drive our visitors away because of a chain of requirements that they have to abide by,” said one operator who preferred anonymity.

This new development comes at a time when Zanzibar has announced that it is targeting some 800,000 visitors in 2024.

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Nickeled and dimed everywhere you go.

quote:

Originally posted by Wesheltonj:
Nickeled and dimed everywhere you go.

Exactly!

They never learn.

We used to go to the Seychelles, lovely place and very enjoyable.

Other friends of ours used to go sailing there.

Then one year they decided to make you pay.

Our sailing friends used to sail between the islands .

As the day ends, they would anchor off shore one of the islands.

Been doing it for years.

Then suddenly a bought would appear, with some official, demanding “anchorage” payment!

My friends decided to give up going there.

We used to go to a small reef, where we could snorkel.

Again, all free.

Then suddenly they declared that reef a national park.

And one needs to pay to snorkel there.

That was the last time went there.

We go to the Maldives, who so far hav gotten that greedy.

Yet.

Guess they think the average cashed up tourist will just pay up. Disappointing.

When I lived in Tanz the only time I was asked for my Yellow Fever certificate was going into Zanzibar.

I did talk to a couple of girls off a tourist bus there at the Kenya border who said if you didn’t have a Yellow Fever certificate you had to pay for the inoculation there and then!

One interesting fact about Zanzibar when I went diving there was they do have a decompression chamber.

When I'm doing a hunt, I never worry about the nickel and dime costs, but every time I go, I see folks on the plane and in the airport who are clearly doing the "green" national park thing and those charges could really affect them. And those countries who think "green" tourism can supplant hunting ought to think about that.