For long time the ability of the local people, especially in developing countries, to construct sustainable tourism has been doubtful. The characteristics of the industry such as foreign domination, and enclavement have been explained to limit local people to participate to the mainstream tourism economy. The participation of local people to the industry is claimed to be constrained by the inequality that is mainly caused by the relationship between guests and hosts during the production and consumption of tourism. Local people are also claimed to be constrained by societal values, norms, and their perceptions of the tourists’ activities, which opposes their values. Moreover local people are explained to be marginalised in tourism industry because they lack some qualification to enter into the industry. As a result the local people are regarded as the ‘Others’ in the industry. This paper addresses the sustainability of tourism in developing countries by examining the different ways that ‘the Others’ use to participate in the industry. By using the empirical data and the concept of social exclusion the paper shows the different strategies that the others use to cope with the industry marginalisation. It uses the case of Zanzibar the place that is characterised by the growing tourism industry with a wide range of tourist activities and tourism investments. Local people in Zanzibar are known by their strong attachment to Swahili culture which is highly informed by Islamic culture which is often opposes tourism activities and thus influences society’s perceptions of tourism opportunities and benefits: for many people, working directly with tourists is not acceptable. Social exclusion is defined as ‘a process and a state that prevents individuals or groups from full participation in social, economic and political life and from asserting their rights; it derives from exclusionary relationships’ is used to view different people’s coping strategies. The qualitative methods were used to compile and interpret the empirical data. The study found out that local people contribute significantly in challenging the said exclusion because of the roles that they play in the industry. The increased tourists activities in Zanzibar have make local people to feel that tourism is a part and parcel of their lives. Thus, some people see the presence of tourists is exposure to advancement because they get an opportunity to learn. Thus, they have entered in tourism in order to take advantages of the exposure by creating social networks with the foreigners. Some of people, who have been affected by the enclavements, have found other ways in order to enter into tourism. They are either employed directly by the tourism enterprises or by establishing their own ventures in the industry. Therefore, the paper concludes that, the inclusiveness of Others in tourism despite of the limited space to access tourism opportunities, have enabled them to play crucial role in construction of sustainable development.University of Dar es Salaam Business School