ZANZIBAR: Zanzibar set to get new five-star hotel

Monday, 07 January 2013

By The Citizen Reporter Dar es Salaam. Construction of a new five-star hotel in Zanzibar is set to complete December this year, developers have said, bringing a ray of hope in a country where shortage of world-class accommodation facilities is thwarting tourism development plans.Tanzania is in big demand for more investors in the hospitality industry in order to match the growing number of tourists. The deputy minister for Tourism and Natural Resources, Mr Lazaro Nyalandu, was recently quoted as saying that compared to neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania lagged behind in hotel investments whereas it had 174 registered and licenced tourist class hotels, offering 11,568 rooms. But Blue Pearl Hotel and Apartments chairman Rustam Merani told The Citizen recently that Tanzania will have 171 rooms more by the end of this year, thanks to the firm’s massive investment drive. “We’re building a 5-star hotel at Mbweni in Zanzibar. It is going to cost $25 million and will be known as the Zanzibar Ocean Wave Hotel & Resorts. It’s construction started two years ago,” he said.