Kenya has stirred up its perspective for a ‘Coalition-of-the-Willing’ plan with Uganda as well as Rwanda since these three countries signed an agreement for joint tourism-marketing to enhance the number of visitors both international and from the region. The ministers in charge of the tourism industry from these countries have methodized a single travel-document which will permit foreign visitors to freely roam across the borders of these countries without paying any additional visa fees.
The Cost of obtaining this document, which will be referred to as a Uni-Visa, has been lowered by 33% to $100 in a bid to attract more tourists. Kenya is focusing on hitting a target of 3 million tourists each year through this initiative which is centered on easing movement across the East African countries which has been a very big obstacle.
Najib Balala the Tourism Cabinet secretary while in Nairobi said that Domestic tourists are going to use their national identification papers to move across these countries. On the other hand, acceptance of the East Africa single-visa has been very slow, bringing in just 4,000 tourists due to inadequate promotion of that product
Uganda and Rwanda will also build up their own unique products and a listing of the key destinations to be marketing in this single portal which will be developed before the end of 2016.
This agreement has been signed by the Tourism ministers as well as key stakeholders, like marketing agencies owned by the respective governments of these countries in Naivasha recently.
Jacinta Nzioka the acting chief executive of the Kenya Tourism Board and Najib Balala the Tourism Cabinet secretary represented Kenya, Prof Ephraim Kamuntu minister of Tourism, Wildlife & Antiquities represented Uganda, while Belise Kariza the chief tourism officer of the Rwanda Development Board represented Rwanda. Part of this team was also Bonifence Byamukama the chairman of the East Africa Tourism Platform together with Stephen Asiimwe the chief executive of the Uganda Tourism Board.
Kenya gets the majority of her visitors from neighboring Uganda at 50,000 each year, from Tanzania – 30,000, from Ethiopia – 20,000 and then from Rwanda receives 10,000 and brings the total arrivals from the region to 120,000 into Kenya.
This recent move is viewed as the strongest effort of the Kenyan government to regenerate the industry which has recently suffered a number of challenges with partners choosing to take other directions to acquire economic growth opportunities.
For instance, Uganda, decided to partner with neighboring Tanzania rather than Kenya for an oil-pipeline whereas Rwanda pulled out of the Standard-Gauge-Railway project that initially included these three countries.
Balala went on to say that they are positive that they are going to see the power and ability of this unity, and nothing is going to hinder movement among these countries. Under this Coalition, these countries decided to help one another in tourism, defense, infrastructure as well as telecommunication projects in the Northern Corridor of East Africa.
Balala went on to say that the implementation of an entirely borderless corridor may not be very easy, stating it requires a positive manner to encourage other East African Community countries to join and now they are still looking forward to Tanzania joining.
On the other hand, Tanzania has given Kenya yet another blow through distancing herself from the not long ago launched common visa now operational between Kenya, Rwanda as well as Uganda.
This common visa is supposed to enable all the member countries to market their tourism-products jointly as one product among several other things.
But Tanzania is not interested in this joint marketing plan that is being pushed for by its neighboring countries Kenya, Rwanda as well as Uganda and won’t be part of the events in line with the East African tourism platform.
This common visa which is currently referred to as ‘the coalition-of-the-willing’ has been given out to about 4,000 tourists that are going to be visiting these 3 countries.
There will be free movement of Tourists in these three countries and ‘the coalition-of-the-willing’ will use the common visa which will be charged at only $100.
These countries have also consented to have one common stand at the WTM (world Travel Market) that will be held on 7th November in London. The stand is themed ‘borderless East Africa’; however Tanzania won’t be part of this.
For more information about Tourism in East Africa, visit adventureugandasafari.com
