(ZANZIBAR ) - While braving a global pandemic (COVID-19) in the middle of 2020, Zanzibar launched its vision 2050 – a document laying out the semi-autonomous archipelago’s ambitious goal of attaining high middle income status by the year 2050. The island plans to achieve this through building a diverse and resilient economy in three 10-year periods. The blue economy agenda is set to carry a majority of the transformations needed in the economy in order to achieve diversification in Zanzibar’s economy. Oil and gas, a sector still in exploration stages, is an area of focus alongside the blue economy. It is no surprise that Zanzibar is embarking on a journey to diversify its economy. Tourism contributes significantly to Zanzibar’s economy and this left the economy significantly exposed to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, further motivating economic diversification. Travel restrictions across the globe resulted in more than a 50% drop in the number of tourists visiting Zanzibar in 2020 compared to 2019, affecting the accommodation sub-sector which saw a drop in growth from 11.5% to -12.7% in the same time. Between these effects on the economy (growth dropping to 1.2% in 2020 from 7% in 2019) and a population that is growing at rate of 2.3% per annum, per Capita GDP also dropped to USD 1099 in 2020 compared to USD1,114 in 2019.