(Posted 17th September 2024)
As reported by ATCNews some time ago, has the Zanzibar government demanded that foreign visitors to the island must now purchase a travel insurance, exclusively from a local provider and regardless of already having a relevant insurance policy.
#Zanzibar introduces mandatory travel insurance for inbound tourists
As ATCNews suggested at the time is this move raising protests and TATO, the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, has now taken issue with these demands.
TATO Chairperson Wilbard Chambulo has said that TATO is strongly opposed to the insurance demand: ‘The proposed compulsary insurance policy is irrational. It is rare for tourists to travel without insurance, so this requirement is a needless duplication.
Chambulo also suggested that international travel agents and tour operators are questioning rationale and motive behind the move, further suggesting that this could impact on the reputation of Zanzibar as a preferred destination. He, as did ATCNews at the time, called the mandatory insurance a kind of tax.
He added: ‘The government’s role should be to ensure that all visitors have an insurance but not to dictate price of provider‘.
