Good news for Zanzibar tourism sector as former Mauritius leader set to visit

Dar es Salaam. Former Finance Minister and Deputy Premier of Mauritius, Dr Ramakrishna Sithanen will from next week visit Zanzibar where he is expected to address the business community in the Isles, including 40 members of the Zanzibar Association of Tourism Investors (ZATI).

Dr Sithanen, touted as a leader who played a key role in transforming Mauritius, is also scheduled to meet prominent government officials during his visit, according to information obtained from Zanzibar’s major tourism investment organisations, Pennyroyal Gibraltar and Zanzibar Amber Resort.

Talks with the tourism investors on Wednesday next week, will be centred on the topic, “'Transforming Zanzibar by promoting Foreign Direct Invest to Eradicate Poverty.” Members of the Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ZNCCIA) and the Zanzibar Association of Tour Operators (ZATO) are expected to attend.

The Director of Pennyroyal Gibraltar Ltd and Zanzibar Amber Resort, Saleh Said, told journalists on Wednesday that, the visit of the Indian Ocean Island leader aims at putting Zanzibar on a strategic position to follow in Mauritius’ footsteps in eradicating poverty and building  a stronger economy through  boosting the tourism sector.

The GDP (PPP) per capita of Mauritius, a country with an estimated resident population of 1.2 million as of December 2016, was over US$16,820, one of the highest in Africa. Zanzibar’s population about is 1.3 million.

The World Bank's 2016 Ease of Doing Business Index ranks Mauritius 49th worldwide out of 189 economies in terms of ease of doing business.

Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculture-based economy to a middle-income diversified economy, based on tourism, and other businesses.

It’s here that Mr Saleh, the Director of Pennyroyal believes that Dr Sithanen who was instrumental in developing Mauritius, can help the tourism sector in Zanzibar to move forward, citing some of the leader’s previous efforts on the Isles.

“Dr Sithanen has fast become instrumental to the development of Zanzibar Amber Resort and Zanzibar Tourism,” said Mr Saleh and added, “It will be a great privilege for him to share his expertise with the stakeholders who can grasp his plethora of proficiency and furthermore put it into action accordingly.”

“Inviting Dr Sithanen to visit Zanzibar is a strategic move and will be fundamental to the growth of Zanzibar’s economy and tourism especially in learning what factors contributed towards Mauritius’ growth,’’ he emphasized.