Direct flights, improved facilities and more attention to the traveller experience has seen Zanzibar’s tourist numbers rise.

Mango introduced direct flights to Zanzibar in 2013 and is currently the only airline to fly directly to the island from South Africa. “Our direct route is doing extremely well,” says Mango spokesperson, Hein Kaiser, “so well, in fact, that we added a second weekly flight in December last year.”

The two-year-old route, Mango’s first into Africa, was always designed to appeal to leisure travellers. “We will leave our parent company [SAA] to deal with the corporates,” says Kaiser. “Meanwhile, we plan to expand our footprint and relationships on the island. We tried to do this by introducing a third flight during the high season between December 22 and January 5.”

Historically, Zanzibar’s largest market was Italian guests but recently, with more international carriers flying to the island, there has been an increase in visitors from Europe, Asia and South Africa, says Abre Esterhuizen, GM of the Sea Cliff Resort and Spa.

South Africans constitute 10% of Zanzibar’s inbound tourism. Of the 18 000 South Africans who visit the island annually, at least 11 000 fly in directly, says Gallery Tours and Safaris GM, David Alex. “With more direct flights, we are more attractive to tourists, and this is important because so much of our island economy is built on tourism.”