Insights · 5 min read

Why Zanzibar: the numbers behind a resort project

Tourism growth, residence-by-investment and underpriced land — the case we build for investors in East Africa.

Zanzibar received about 737,000 visitors in 2024 (+29% year on year) with a government target of 2 million by 2030. Two airports with regular flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; a dry season from May to October that supports year-round tourism.

Residence permits from $250,000 of real-estate investment, preferential taxation for resort owners, transparent title registration and multi-currency accounts make the legal side workable for European investors.

Prices still sit below East-African and Maldivian benchmarks while roads, golf and port infrastructure are being built — the classic window between demand growth and supply quality.

For Jumba Nungwi we modelled both exits: sales-only (revenue $39–55M on $18.8M CAPEX) and rental (NOI $4.4–9.6M a year at 60–80% occupancy). Architecture with a recognisable image is what makes either model work in a market where most supply looks the same.