Emerson Zanzibar – History - Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation

Stone Town's top hotels show community spirit

Emerson Zanzibar, formed by three organisations, was founded by Emerson Skeens. Two of the top hotels in Stone Town, Emerson Spice and Emerson on Hurumzi, along with Emerson's Foundation for Zanzibar, have always had a huge heart for the community and the environment.

The founder, Emerson Skeens, a Zanzibar resident of 25 years, found his niche in Zanzibar and saw opportunities to use his manifold talents and brilliant mind to create two flourishing magnificent hotels.

Besides the contribution of Emerson's Foundation to Zanzibar, the hotels follow a corporate social responsibility strategy that continues to support Zanzibar's community in various ways. This includes contributing to the Sober House 'Free at Last', in support of their daily operations, supporting people recovering from drug addiction, and the active promotion of local artists by offering exhibition space and a stage to local upcoming musicians in the two hotels.

Emerson Zanzibar is proud to work with people from various backgrounds, each with their own talents, which contributes to its success.

Emerson Zanzibar is certified by Responsible Tourism Tanzania, at Sapling level. Responsible Tourism Tanzania is about encouraging and promoting a more sustainable tourism industry within Tanzania. It stands for protecting and caring for the diverse cultures of the country, as well as its natural environment, whilst optimizing on business and economic sustainability. Its standards have been written in line with those of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), giving any RTTZ certified Tanzanian company the same international repute.

Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation

The Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation was co founded (2014) by the late Emerson Skeens, a pioneer of boutique hotels in Zanzibar. Emerson was a Zanzibar resident for 25 years. He had a long and meaningful association with the Stone Town locality and its inhabitants. He saw opportunities to use his manifold talents and brilliant mind to create, among other things, three flourishing hotels. These have featured in worldwide travel magazines, all of which note Emerson's signature style in flamboyance, ostentatious design and extravagant hospitality.

Emerson brought to Zanzibar a vast knowledge of the arts, music and international culture which he used, in partnership with others, to establish:

The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF)

The Dhow Countries Music Academy, a thriving NGO

Sauti za Busara, an internationally renowned musical festival

Stone Town Heritage Society

Honouring local Zanzibari artists

Since 2014, the Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation is a leading organisation honoring local Zanzibari artists in music, film and visual arts and writers such as the poet laureate, the late Mzee Haji Gora. The Foundation has created film, music and visual art awards to inspire and promote Zanzibari artists, who are pursuing their artistic vision in the archipelago, as well as promoting the culture and history of Zanzibar. The three awards complement Zanzibar's platforms, promoting the arts: Zanzibar International Film Festival and Sauti za Busara international Music festival, as well as the efforts of the Dhow Country Music Academy.

It is exciting to see the impact that Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation Awards have had on the recipients' professional lives and what they used the award money for. Follow our social media and see the articles that highlight each of the award recipients.

The board of the Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation announced to use the theme of Sauti za Busara for its sixth Music Award 2022: 'Paza Sauti: Amplifying Women's Voices'. The sixth Emerson's Zanzibar Foundation Music Award will be handed out during the upcoming Sauti za Busara music festival in February.