A rare window into one of East Africa’s fastest growing, least developed luxury markets.
Rapid infrastructure development, expanding global connectivity and steady tourism growth are reshaping Zanzibar into one of East Africa’s most compelling investment destinations.
Zanzibar’s government is investing heavily in the infrastructure that makes building and buying here easier. The airport’s new international terminal is already handling scheduled flights, and a $300 million port under construction at Mangapwani will improve the supply of construction materials and equipment to the island. New roads, including a six lane link to the AFCON City development, are cutting travel times across Zanzibar, which lowers the cost of building on land that was previously harder to reach.
Direct flights to Zanzibar are still limited today, which is exactly why the current wave of new routes matters. EgyptAir launched a direct Cairo service in September 2026, with its first flight running at over 90% load factor, and Airlink adds its first ever nonstop route from Cape Town on 3 October 2026, following its new Johannesburg service earlier in the year. As more airlines commit to flying here direct, Zanzibar is being treated less like a niche destination and more like an established tourist hotspot, which should keep widening the pool of buyers and renters.
Zanzibar welcomed 917,167 international visitors in 2025, up 24.5% on the year before, part of a run of growth that has averaged almost 19% a year since 2022. That momentum has continued into 2026, with August setting a new monthly record of 124,481 arrivals. Tourism now accounts for 27 to 29.5% of Zanzibar’s GDP, underlining how central visitor demand is to the island’s economy.
Zanzibar sits at the intersection of untouched natural beauty and accelerating economic ambition. As government investment in infrastructure and connectivity compounds, the island is positioning itself as East Africa’s next luxury destination, while land and construction costs remain a fraction of comparable markets.
For investors who move early and move carefully, that gap between opportunity and infrastructure is where the returns live.
Alongside its investment case, Zanzibar is emerging as a centre for the wellbeing movement taking hold across Africa: a growing landscape of wellness retreats, holistic hospitality and slower, healthier ways of living by the ocean.
For residents and guests alike, that shift is becoming as much a part of the island’s appeal as its returns.
Our 2026 market brief on tourism, growth and the investment landscape, free to download.
