The first thoughts that come to mind when thinking of Zanzibar are of pristine white beaches with the warm Indian Ocean lapping onto the shore. Zanzibar, also known as the Spice Island is home to some of the most amazing fish and dive sites anywhere in the world.
As a tourist on the island you get the sense that the people on the Tanzanian mainland need to take a leaf out of the islander’s book. Residents on Zanzibar know how to treat tourists, they know how to market a destination and they know how to market their resort. If your heading to Africa on a Namibia safari chances are you will get an English speaking guide, which is all you could ask for on a trip like this. Zanzibar not only attracts English speakers but also Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and many more. Due to the nature of the tourists diversity many street vendors, shop keepers and tour operators speak a range of languages to cater for their guests.
If you sign up to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania you may get lucky and find yourself with a multilingual guide but a lot of the time regrettably they are only able to speak English which inadvertently leads to tourists heading to other destinations where there are people who speak a variety of different languages. The chances of you getting a multilingual guide on a Zambia safari however is highly unlikely and this is why Zanzibar is much more successful in attracting tourists.
Mr Hamid Abubakar believes that people in Zanzibar are a lot more warming towards tourists saying “I establish a good relationship with all my guests, and as a result each year I get visitors from Europe and other places who are directed by guests who have stayed here.” Hoteliers and resort managers believe if more people on the mainland can be more active in the promotion of their products and attractions they too will achieve the success Zanzibar is currently having.