Tourists going to Zanzibar will have to pay 44 from August 1 dollars for compulsory insurance that will cover a stay on the island of up to 92 days – reports thecitizen.co.tz. Tanzanian Finance Minister Dr Saada Mkuya Salum told the portal that the benefit is aimed at improving the quality of services in Zanzibar.
Zanzibar introduces mandatory insurance for tourists
“The insurance covers thingswhich in the past were problematic for tourists, such as health issues, lost luggage, Accidentsemergency evacuations, passport loss and even repatriation to accident death,” said Saada Mkuya Salum. She added that government will employ people who will provide services specifically related to this provision.
Mkuya Salum also stressed that the requirement to pay for insurance is not unique to Zanzibar and is a common practice in many countries. The insurer handling the service will be the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC), which belongs to the State Treasury. The procedure for obtaining insurance will be linked to the application for a visit to Zanzibar, which is submitted on the website visit.zanzibar.go.tz.
Tour operators fear negative consequences of introducing mandatory insurance
The Citizen notes that tour operators are concerned about the additional costs. “Despite the good intentions to improve the tourist experience, it may actually put tourists off because of the increased requirements they will have to meet,” one tour operator told the website anonymously.
Jape Ussi Khamis, acting director of ZIC, believes the opposite. He believes the introduction of insurance will stimulate tourism and make Zanzibar safer for visitors, which is part of government initiatives to boost economic growth, to which tourism plays a significant role – we read on ippmedia.com.