Zanzibar vs. Maldives.
The resort revenue model.
The Maldives generates $5.6 billion in annual tourism revenue from 178 resorts and roughly 2.2 million visitors. In 1990, it had ~195,000 visitors and ~130 resorts.
The Maldives received approximately 2.2 million visitors in recent years and generates $5.6 billion in annual tourism revenue, with resort revenue alone accounting for roughly $4.5 billion. In 1990, the Maldives had approximately 195,000 visitors and around 130 resorts — a visitor volume below Zanzibar's current 917,167. The Maldives built its resort economy through a single-island, all-inclusive luxury model over more than three decades.
Why the Maldives model matters for Zanzibar
The Maldives pursued a deliberately exclusive single-island resort model, limiting each island to one operator and controlling supply tightly. This created scarcity-driven pricing power but also a high barrier to entry for smaller investors.
Zanzibar's market structure is different — multiple developers, mixed residential-tourism zones like Fumba, and lower entry price points (from $85,000 vs. Maldives resort development costs typically in the tens of millions). This makes Zanzibar accessible to a broader range of investors at a comparable stage of underlying demand growth.
Airport-adjacent revenue is a clear gap by comparison: Maldives airport duty-free alone generates $222M annually. See Airport opportunities for how this maps to Zanzibar today.