Launch of EAC single tourist visa now pushed to next week

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa. He said Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are already co-ordinating their efforts so that they can start marketing the region as a single destination. However, tourists coming to East Africa will have to wait until next week to get a single visa covering Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda after the countries missed the January 1 deadline for roll-out of the travel document. PHOTO/FILE 

In Summary

• Once in place, the visa will give tourists multiple-entry access to the three countries — allowing the governments of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to market the region as a single tourist destination.
• However, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, under the Coalition of the Willing, have chosen to accelerate its implementation. Tanzania and Burundi, the other EAC member states, are not adopting the single tourist visa at the moment.

By MUTHOKI MUMO
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Tourists coming to East Africa will have to wait until next week to get a single visa covering Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda after the countries missed the January 1 deadline for roll-out of the travel document.

The East Africa single tourist visa was expected to take effect yesterday. However, government officials told Daily Nation that this launch had been pushed to next week due to logistical concerns.

“The logistics for the roll out are being worked on right now and are expected to be fully in place by next week,” said Mr Kaplich Barsito, a communications official of the Ministry of East African Affairs.

Once in place, the visa will give tourists multiple-entry access to the three countries — allowing the governments of Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to market the region as a single tourist destination.

On December 17, stakeholders from the three countries met in Kigali, Rwanda, to assess the feasibility of rolling out the visa on New Year’s day.

During the meeting, Rwanda noted that it was in the process of distributing 60,000 visa stickers to high commissions and immigration departments of the three countries. The process was expected to be completed by December 23, 2013.

Kenya and Uganda were also expected to send information technology (IT) officials to Kigali for training, which was set to begin on December 22, 2013.

SINGLE TOURIST VISA

It is perhaps these logistics that have seen the launch of the visa delayed until next week.

According to a report issued during the December 17 meeting, the East African tourist visa will have a validity of 90 days and will cost about Sh8,630 ($100).

“The holder of the East African tourist visa shall enter from the country that issued the visa and move within the two other countries without applying for another visa or paying for another visa fee,” reads the report in part.

Issuance of a single tourist visa has been one of the goals pursued by member states of the East African Community (EAC) for the past few years.

However, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, under the Coalition of the Willing, have chosen to accelerate its implementation. Tanzania and Burundi, the other EAC member states, are not adopting the single tourist visa at the moment.

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are already gearing up to jointly market East Africa during the World’s largest tourism trade fair in Berlin, Germany, later this year.

“We expect that this development will lead to an increase of tourists coming to the region. We are also co-ordinating our efforts so that we can start marketing the region as a single destination,” said Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) managing director Muriithi Ndegwa.

However, some industry players warn that the visa will not be a panacea to all that is ailing tourism in East Africa.

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REACTION

‘Lofty plan not a panacea to sector’

Sceptism: Industry players warn that the visa will not be a panacea to all that is ailing tourism in East Africa.

Competition: “We are already having trouble getting high tourist numbers. We need to make Kenya competitive as a destination,” says Kenya Association of Tour Operators chief executive Fred Kaigwa.

Low numbers: After posting consistent growth since 2008, Kenya’s tourism industry stumbled in 2012, with visitor numbers falling 6.14 per cent.

Security concerns: In 2013, uncertainty surrounding the elections as well as security concerns negatively affected the industry.

Slow growth: Latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that growth in the hotel and restaurant sector slowed to 1.3pc during the third quarter of 2013, in comparison with 2.1 per cent during a similar period in 2012.