Push for Visa-free travel era in Africa is on right track
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 23-12-2022, 08:40AM
NAIROBI, Kenya - The push for a Visa-Free travel era in the African continent is on the right track. This has been revealed by the latest edition of the African Visa Openness Index (AVOI).
This comes at a time when there is a revived push for a single African air transport market, with an initial pilot involving 17 African states to facilitate air mobility on the continent.
AVOI figures show travel within the continent has become more open in 2022, with an even split between visa-free travel and travel where a visa can be obtained on arrival.
In the past year alone, 10 countries on the continent have improved their visa openness score, allowing more travelers to enter African countries without restrictions.
Benin, The Gambia, and Seychelles now offer visa-free entry to Africans from all other countries, whereas, in 2016 and 2017, only one country did so.
24 African nations now offer an eVisa system application, five more than five years ago while 36 others have improved or maintained their Visa Openness Index score since 2016.
The report also indicates 50 countries have maintained or improved their score relative to 2021, often by removing some of the pandemic-induced visa policy restrictions implemented during the pandemic.
Most states - 48 - now offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least one other African country, and 42 countries offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least five other African countries.
Lower-income countries make up a large share of the top-20 ranked countries on the index with liberal visa policies, with 45% classified as low-income and a further 45% classified as lower middle-income.
The AVOI index analyses the visa requirements of each country on the continent and tracks changes in their scores over time.
Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Acting Vice President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery African Development Bank (AfDB) notes that Africa has made great strides towards returning to pre-pandemic normality in 2021–2022.
"The vast majority of countries eased restrictions on movement. Industries that bore the brunt of the pandemic —tourism, hospitality, and others—are rebounding, and travel has surged, both within Africa and around the world. The increase in travel is driven in large part by pent-up personal demand, but also by the realization that many businesses depend on human movement, and that investment thrives on it,” she stated in response to the report.
The rise in visa-free travel and e-Visa availability is seen as a promising development for Africans, who have historically faced significant barriers to travel within the continent.
The easing of restrictions is also positive for African economies, which stand to benefit from increased tourism, and gives impetus to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is gaining traction.
According to African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the links between free movement and the development of regional value chains, investment, and trade in services are clear.
GAROWE ONLINE
