The Tanzanian government announced the imposition of mandatory tourist insurance fees on all foreign visitors who are not residing in the country, according to the fiscal year 2025/2026, which the Minister of Finance submitted to Parliament.
These fees include all visitors, regardless of the purpose of the visit, and the value of $ 44 per person per person for a period of 62 days, and it is not recovered.
According to the Tanzanian government, this policy aims to provide a safety network in the event of an emergency during the residence of the visitor in Tanzania, where insurance covers emergency medical conditions, accidents, loss or damage to luggage, and other unexpected events that may require compensation.
Some press sources indicated that the insurance fees may not be applied to the citizens of the Group of East African countries, and other sources indicate the possibility of exempting the citizens of the development group countries. For Africa Southern, however, this has not been confirmed yet.
Fears of the tourism sector
Although this policy is a necessary step from the safety perspective, it has raised concerns in the tourism sector, especially among tourist organizers in cities such as Arosha.
As many workers in the field believe that many tourists have a good travel insurance from their countries or their insurance providers, and therefore the imposition of additional insurance purchase may constitute a financial burden on visitors and some may discourage travel to Tanzania.
This law also raised questions about the insurance purchase mechanism, if what There was an electronic platform to facilitate the process before visitors arrived, or that the purchase will only be at entry points, especially since the tourist peak season is about to start.
Zanzibar Island precedes the mainland
It is noteworthy that this policy comes after a similar step taken by Zanzibar Island in October 2024, where it imposed a mandatory tourist insurance on foreign visitors at a value of $ 44 for each adult, and $ 22 per child between the ages of 3 and 17 years, while infants (0 to 2 years) were exempt from fees.
With the adoption of the main righteousness in Tanzania the same policy, those concerned are awaiting more clarifications on the mechanisms of implementation and exceptions.