Knowledge of the Potential and Challenges of Tourism among Youth at Stone Town in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Abstract: This article assessed the knowledge of the potential and challenges of tourism towards youth development in Zanzibar using the case of Stone Town, one of the famous World Heritage Sites in Zanzibar. It focused on a survey of youth and key informants in tourism activities in Zanzibar, which is part of the urban district. The study selected participants by purposive and snowball sampling procedures, having 20 participants in the survey and 6 focus group discussion participants. The secondary data source involved documentary reviews, like book and journal reviews. The primary data were gathered through interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. The analysis was done through a mixed approach where content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study found that the youth possess knowledge of the potential of tourism in Stone Town. There are modernisation challenges of tourism development in the study area, such as drug abuse and erosion of traditional values. It was concluded that there is a high level of knowledge of tourism among youth that is affected by modernisation challenges that require mitigations. The high level of knowledge could be associated with tourism’s contribution to the development of Zanzibar. It is recommended that the government should promote investment in youth to enable them to gain more benefits that will trickle down to development, given their high numbers and the contribution of the tourism sector in Zanzibar.

Keywords: Knowledge, Tourism, Stone Town, Zanzibar and Youth