By ADAM IHUCHA
Rwanda is pushing for the East African partner states to relax visa rules, ahead of a single tourists visa roll out, to woo more tourists to the region.
Rwanda is pushing for the East African partner states to relax visa rules, ahead of a single tourists visa roll out, to woo more tourists to the region.
Kigali precisely, demands Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and
Tanzania to waive visa fees, in a bid to spur massive tourists flow.
Already, Kigali has tabled its proposal to the EAC Sectoral
Council, seeking the ministerial support,
to push the waiver visa fees for tourists.
In a document seen by this reporter, Rwanda argues that the
benefits of waiving the visa fees are far higher, than the amount of money
collected from the same.
The outgoing EAC Director for productive sectors, Dr.
Nyamajeje Weggoro said that the Kigali’s bid is an apt form of stimulating the
economies of scale.
“Rwanda’s proposal means that through free-visa the EAC
region would draw more tourists who in turn would bring more money that would
stimulate all sectors of economy,” Dr. Weggoro explained.
The Kigali’s proposal comes amid a backdrop of the EAC plan
mooted to boost tourism earnings from $7 billion to $16 billion by 2020.
Principal tourism officer at the EAC secretariat, Mr
Shadrack Mashauri said the blueprint would see the region doubles the number of
tourists from five to 10 millions in the next seven years.
The plan shows that travel and tourism capital investment in tourism infrastructures and marketing the region as a single destination, would be augmented to hit $3.95 billion in 2020, up from the current $1.65 billion.
EAC technocrats therefore believe that the Kigali’s latest
bid to waiver visa fee, if approved, would be a major boost to their drive to
double foreign tourists arrival.
However, there’s an argument that the Kigali’s idea would
deny the EAC member countries the much-needed revenues accrued from visa to
finance their budgets.
Indeed, the EAC member states collect a substantial amount
of money from visa fees; a factor that analysts say might make Kigali idea to
flop.
It is understood; Kenya and Tanzania charge $50 for
single-entry visas and $100 for multiple entry visas for each applicant.
Tanzania, for instance, in 2012 earned over $50 million in
single entry visas fee alone-- respectable income indeed in a country where the
official annual tourism earnings stand at a $1.4 billion.
Tanzania Tourists Board Managing Director, Dr. Aloyce Nzuki
said that a visa fee is not deterrent for tourists flow.
“The cumbersome process for tourists to acquire visa is the
major hindrance rather than fees. We need to issue visa online like India, if
we want massive tourists flow” Dr. Nzuri said.
It is arguably that online visa application will save
tourists time and the anguish of having to hop from one embassy to another to
seek for different visas to visit EA region.
Analysts say Kigali needs to come up with alternative means
to mitigate the loss of the income from visa fee waiver and the evidence that
move would encourage more tourists.
Tumaini University Makumira (TUMA) Lecturer, Elifuraha
Laltaika said that there is no direct connection between payment of visa fee
and flow of tourists.
“I am not convinced that someone can have enough money to
spend as a tourist and find visa fee to be so expensive to the extent of
discouraging her or him to come to East Africa” Mr Laltaika said.
The visa fees should not be abandoned, for the purpose of
increasing tourists, he said, arguing that move would unnecessarily deny the
poor countries the income.
In his view, Mr Laltaika said the major obstacle for the
region tourism growth in the EAC, is poor infrastructure, uncoordinated
marketing blitzes, and incapacitated tourism human resources.
The sectoral council which met in Burundi a fortnight ago
agreed 2014 as an apt time for the roll out of a long-overdue single visa, to
give an ample time for harmonization of visa application questions, procedures,
visa categories and formats in addition to visa fee management.
The immigration management systems as well as ICT systems
used by the partner states to network with border points and embassies also
would be harmonized.
All partner states immigration departments need to have the
sophisticated ICT equipment that will not only allow them to exchange security
data, but also to control forged visas.
“We need competent human resources to man this system in
order to be efficient to avoid frustrating tourists in the process” Dr.
Weggoro explained.
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