Italy tops Zanzibar tourist arrivals in July as numbers surge
What you need to know:
- The report showed that 99.4 percent of July arrivals came for leisure, with 91 percent entering through the airport.
Unguja. Zanzibar recorded its highest-ever monthly tourist arrivals in July, welcoming 98,370 international visitors — a 44.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year, official tourism data released on July 7, shows.
The figure also represented a 45.7 percent jump from June 2025.
Europe remained Zanzibar’s largest tourism source, accounting for 64.4 percent of all visitors. Italy led the pack, contributing 10,403 arrivals, or 10.6 percent of the total — a dramatic rebound from June’s 2,660 visitors, representing a month-on-month surge of over 291 percent.
France was the second-largest source market at 7.7 percent, while Japan registered the smallest share at 0.2 percent.
The report showed that 99.4 percent of July arrivals came for leisure, with 91 percent entering through the airport. Male travelers accounted for 54 percent of arrivals and females 46 percent. Most visitors (86 percent) were between 15 and 64 years of age, with retirees making up 4.5 percent.
Nearly one in three tourists spent exactly a week on the islands, with the average intended stay slightly above seven days.
Bed occupancy stood at 81.1 percent, with more than 741,000 of the available 913,911 bed spaces sold during the month.
Emerging markets such as Poland, India, Russia, Israel, China, and Ukraine posted a combined 42.2 percent rise in arrivals compared to June, signaling growing diversification beyond traditional European markets.
The July figures underline both Zanzibar’s growing global appeal and Italy’s dominant role in fueling the mid-year tourism boom.
