May 14, 2025

Air Traffic Triples in Four Years

More than two million passengers frequented the international airports in Zanzibar and Pemba in 2024.

Nothing illustrates the tourism boom in Zanzibar better than the traffic numbers at Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA) and the much smaller Karume Airport in Pemba. Between 2020 and 2024 the number of passengers more than tripled from 660,000 to 2.1 million, according to statistics released by the Zanzibar Airport Authority (ZAA). There are 42 international airlines and 24 domestic airlines serving the isles. Among the most frequent and direct international flights are those of Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airways, Fly Dubai and Kenya Airways.

The new Terminal 3 of the Zanzibar airport was opened in 2022. Construction of an additional Terminal 4 in Zanzibar and an international airport in Pemba is planned to start this year, while Paje will get an airport in 2026. A new domestic Terminal 2 in Zanzibar is already under construction.

More Turkish, less KLM

Turkish Airlines now flies to Zanzibar and back 9x per week from Istanbul. Passengers can get a free stopover in Istanbul in a 4-star-hotel. Air France temporarily suspends its Paris-Zanzibar route from March 22 – May 25 due to the “green season”. KLM will pause its Zanzibar service from March to October 2025, and resume in the lATA winter season (October to March). Both airlines clarified that the suspensions are routine adjustments.

June 10, 2025

ONE, TWO, THREE – SOLD!

Zanzibar: new holiday apartments in the midst of Paje in spectacular sale By Andrea Tapper Surf hotspot Paje is getting a brand-new picturesque centre with residences, boutiques and cafés. Everything about the urban-yet-beachy Zanzibar development called Paje Square seems unique: the look, the scope and a completely new sales process. What is advertised as the

May 26, 2025

Murals with a Mission

Saving wildlife through stunning art in Zanzibar By Andrea Tapper Ten artists, ten masterpieces, one wild cause. In Fumba Town recently, young mural masters from East Africa revealed the secret of just how to get a painting on a wall. Their art is here to stay. Chimps on a house facade, a Rothschild giraffe in

May 19, 2025

Moving to Tanzania

How to relocate easily with a family Not only has she relocated her family of five several times from Southeast Asia to America, from Germany to Tanzania. Christine Schuppener has made “transition coaching” her profession. For our series “With kids in Zanzibar”, she has some surprising practical and psychological tips for the big move. Since

May 5, 2025

New Dada New Orleans

New Orleans has become a sister-city of Zanzibar – mayors, chefs and universities are excited. An American lady chef in Stone Town, Ashley Maybe of The Box in the old post office, was instrumental in getting the sisterhood between New Orleans (360,000 inhabitants) and Zanzibar City (216, 000 inhabitants) off the ground. Culinary, university and

April 28, 2025

In a Different Time Zone

New private luxury island Bawe opens for business By Andrea Tapper The first of 19 private islands recently given away by the government, luxurious Bawe, has opened to guests. From Italian country style cooking to your own water villa on stilts – nothing is amiss in paradise. As long as you are prepared to part

April 28, 2025

Nothing Wasted!

Expert advice for taka-taka separation and recycling Fumba Town undisputedly has the highest standard in waste management in the whole of Zanzibar. But still, things could be improved if we learned how to separate our garbage better. Green expert Franko Goehse has some practical advice. Are you a clever or a lousy recycler? How well

April 14, 2025

Meet me on Sunset Drive

The streets of Fumba: named after flowers, Tanzanian classics and Swahili spices With more and more roads paved, a stunning highway-like entrance and about 1,400 homes sold, Fumba Town is ready to get street names. Signboards in green and white are in the making. It was the community that chose the names. On a Sunday

April 8, 2025

Football Fever

2027 Africa Cup of Nations in East Africa Africa’s biggest football tournament is coming to East Africa in 2027. Rumours have it that Zanzibar might yet become one of the hosts. For the first time the biennial soccer competition, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be held in three different countries in 2027 –