Zanzibar Islands now benefit from the surging tourists’ traffic in the mainland’s Serengeti National Park

Zanzibar Island is reportedly benefitting from the spillover of tourists as the number of foreign visitors surge in the Serengeti National Park on the Tanzanian mainland.

The endless plains famous for the legendary large mammals’ cross-country migration, is currently aiming ​at setting record by handling more than 600,000 tourists before June 2026.

Until the second week of December 2025, Serengeti had already received 491,000 visitors, according to the Park Management.

The visitors’ traffic is projected to reach 500,000 tourists by January 2026, due to the current huge surge in tourists landing in the park for end of year holidays.

But the tourists don’t just stop in Serengeti, many combine their experience with trips to Zanzibar where they get to top it up with beach tourism and historical experience in the old stone town.

Despite being Christmas and New Year rush, it is also expected to begin in February 2026 Serengeti will be pulling more visitors out to witness the spectacular wildlife calving in the Southern parts of the park, when nearly 500,000 newborn gnus will see the light of the day.

Just as people from all over the world flock into Serengeti for the wildebeests and zebras’ migration, more traffic of foreign visitors has already booked their way for the calving season which provides the same breathtaking sensation.

Meanwhile, it is that time of the year again and the global Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 rush seems to be heading towards Serengeti, the world-famous National Park in Northern Tanzania, where tour vans’ traffic is staggering.

“The tourist traffic this season is mostly comprising family packs from all over the world traveling together,” said Fidelis Fabian, a tour guide working for the Wild Serengeti Quest.

“These are people who are globe-trotting with their children, taking advantage of the students’ school breaks,” Fabian added,

Between the first day of October and second week of December 2025, Serengeti collected a total of 49.2 billion /- in revenues” said the senior conservation officer at the National Park, Fabian Manyonyi.

Warden Manyonyi explained that this was a 6 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year when the park recorded 46.9 billion/- within the same period of time.

From the current visitors’ trend, the conservator says Serengeti will record more than half-a-million visitors before the end of the current fiscal year.

“So far the park has received over 491,000 tourists as of the second week of December 2025,” pointed out Manyonyi, adding the conservancy targets to rake in over 300 billion/- from tourism by the end of the current fiscal year.

On her part, the Conservation Officer I, Susan Tesha, from the Tourism Department admits they have been recording more bookings during the end of year holidays, despite November and December being usually low season time.

“It is the rainy season now and the great wildebeest migration has settled in the southern plains, which means visitors can view the entire event within very short game drives,” said conservation officer Tesha.

“There is a sudden symbiotic relation between Serengeti and Zanzibar this year; most tourists would spend their Christmas holidays in the National Park then fly on to the Islands for the New Year,” explained other tour guides who had driven their guests to the plains.

Julia Moerer from the Netherlands says she enjoys scuba diving, something which Zanzibar offers in plenty but also loves wildlife and nature, things that take her to Serengeti.