Manta Resort Relaunch – June 2021

During the course of the past few months Covid-19 has swept the globe. Not one of us has been immune to the impacts it has had on the health and well-being of our communities, the plight of the wildlife and wild-spaces we aim to protect, or the world economies that we all rely on. With hard times come hard decisions and we’ll continue to see the effects of Covid-19 for months to come. Each of our Kusini Collection partners have become even more creative and determined when faced with such potential loss. Today we share the very brave decision that the team at the Manta Resort have taken, and the driving force behind it. Please read further for a statement from Matt Saus, Managing Director.

“Together, we have made the decision to close The Manta Resort until the 1st June 2021.

As we all begin to come to terms with how this unprecedented global event has affected us, we too find ourselves reflecting on a new tomorrow. A future embracing who we are and importantly why we do what we do on Pemba Island.

To all our trade partners who have done such a great job to persuade their clients to postpone their stays, a huge thanks for all your support. Tanzania is not in lockdown and the president has declared that tourism resume from the 1st June 2020. We have another opinion on how travel will return to our part of the world. We want to plan this carefully over the next 12 months, implementing the most responsible protocols and procedures to reassure our guests of the best possible environment in which to relax and enjoy their stay with us.

We will continue to focus on everything our guests love about Manta. Our spacious property allowing privacy with service provided by our dedicated service fundis (private service expert). Our conservation work through community development and the simple way we share our world on Pemba.

With over 80 Manta family members, each one with up to 8 dependents on Pemba, we’re a big family. Looking after the Manta family and the community continues to be our priority. We have become serious farmers in an effort to create food security in our area with water systems installed to supply water during the dry period. We will also continue working on resilience programs over the coming months to build awareness in the communities around us. We will continue rebuilding Manta to even higher standards. We will continue our conservation work in the Kwanini Marine Conservation Area supporting biodiversity and reef health. We will all stick together as the family we are.

We, the Manta family, will not simply return to normal, we will not remain shackled by the old but rather invite the new. We will celebrate all the good reasons we do what we do. We love the beauty and complexity of nature, we love the strength of community, we love what the future of Pemba Island can be, and we love sharing it with you.

While simultaneously caring for our families and greater community, we will over the next 12 months turn Manta into an even more beautiful and special piece of paradise and relaunch/reopen 1st of June 2021 on only our most important values and in doing so will welcome you to share a relevant, real and purposeful experience at an exquisitely natural and remote place that we call home.

We look forward to welcoming your guests back to The Manta Resort next year.”

If you would like further information on the incredible efforts the Manta Resort and the Kwanini Foundation are taking on, or would like to make a donation, please reach out to sonya@kusinicollection.com.