SNG: Global airlines bet on Zanzibar as regional carriers retreat on surging fees for travellers

By Zawya23 hours ago Updated

Zanzibar is increasingly becoming a tourist destination mainly for long-haul travellers from far-flung regions like Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, and less for regional tourists who are being priced out by statutory costs.

Airlines from across the globe, including British Airways, Etihad, and Emirates, are increasing their flights and capacity to the Tanzanian resort island, an indication of growing demand from travellers from those countries, while carriers from the region are retreating.

This comes in the wake of a series of statutory fees implemented by the island’s government, including the $44 mandatory travel insurance, which have raised the cost of travelling to the destination, more so for tourists from the region.

The travel insurance for visitors, which took effect in January, has added to the $90 VI Tax introduced last November, raising the cost of travelling to the island by almost $200 since 2024.

Experts contend that East African airlines have been hit more by the costs because their passengers are more price sensitive than the travellers from European and American countries.“The insurance cost is more relevant as a proportion of the total cost. If you are spending $10,000 for flights and safari and beach time for 3 weeks it appears like a rounding error,” argued aviation expert and commentator Sean Mendis. “However, when you are just making a weekend trip the $44 makes a big impact. We are clearly seeing a shift in Zanzibar priorities away from regional travellers towards a focus on long-haul visitors.”So far, Kenya’s leading budget carrier Jambojet has indefinitely suspended its flights to Zanzibar, which it operated from Mombasa, citing low passenger numbers. It suspended the flights in May, ahead of the peak season for the route and global aviation.

Karanja Ndegwa, Jambojet CEO, said the route is already seasonal and carriers can only count on peak travel season to recoup losses made during the off-peak season, when flights could go even at 25 percent load factor.“Zanzibar started becoming an expensive destination. And Zanzibar is a highly seasonal market. During the high season, you will fill the aircraft with your eyes closed. During the low season, you can fly even 25 percent,” Mr Ndegwa told aviation media firm AviaDev last month. “So, over time, as Zanzibar started becoming an expensive destination, then numbers started to shrink. So if you look across the network, the number of frequencies that used to go to Zanzibar has reduced significantly. Some airlines are operating only during the high season and others have significantly reduced their capacity.”In addition to fewer passengers willing to fly to Zanzibar, Mr Ndegwa says the recent surge in fuel costs has made it even costlier to operate flights to the island, given that demand has fallen significantly.

Kenya’s Safarilink, for instance, has reduced its frequency on its flights to Zanzibar from both Nairobi and Mombasa, with flights now being thrice weekly instead of daily, and with a smaller Cessna plane, replacing the Dash-8 that it used previously on the route.

Tanzania’s Precision Air is also reducing its frequency for Zanzibar-Nairobi flights from daily to six weekly flights from October 29, but has not disclosed the reason for the schedule changes.

Currently, only major carriers like Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Uganda Airlines, Air Tanzania and RwandAir have maintained their flights to Zanzibar despite the growing costs.

Meanwhile, a number of major global airlines are doubling down on flights to the island, with British Airways, for instance, launching direct flights to Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro from London Gatwick in May 2027 after more than 13 years without scheduled flights to the country.

Etihad Airways also resumed flights to Zanzibar from Abu Dhabi in June, with one daily flight, which it plans to increase to twice daily in December, an indication of the growing demand on the route.

Qatar Airways is also resuming its daily flights to Zanzibar from October 25 after suspending its Doha-Zanzibar route in February due to the ongoing Middle East conflict.

KLM, AirFrance, and FlyDubai are also planning increased capacities and frequencies on their flights to Zanzibar.

Ethiopian Airlines, for instance, is increasing its flights to Zanzibar from three weekly to daily flights from November 30, an indication of the growing demand from its international transit passengers.

South Africa’s Airlink also launched twice-weekly flights between Johannesburg and Zanzibar in June, and launched a third one from Cape Town earlier this month, highlighting the rising traffic on the routes.

EgyptAir also launched a direct service between Cairo and Zanzibar last month, further opening up the island to international tourists.

Data from Zanzibar authorities shows that its tourist numbers have been surging despite the increased costs. In August, the island received 124,481 tourists, most of whom came from Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America.

Certain markets like Poland, China, India, Israel, Russia and Ukraine have emerged as key source markets for tourists travelling to the island. Experts associate this to its emergence as an alternative to tourist destinations to the Middle East, which have currently been disrupted by the conflict in the region.

However, experts warn that pricing out of regional tourists may ultimately be counterproductive for Zanzibar, as the surge may be seasonal when Middle East tourists are rerouted.“It will hurt in the long term. Right now the authorities are delusional about the impact,” argued Mr Mendis.