EAST AFRICA TOURISM PLATFORM
BURUNDI IN THE EAC SINGLE TOURISM VISA REGIME
OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY EAC’S SINGLE TOURIST VISA TO THE BURUNDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY
INTRODUCTION Over the years, studies have revealed that a number of factors, such as accessibility, are inhibiting East Africa Community’s development as a tourism destination of choice. The accessibility of a destination is determined by a number of factors for instance, the frequency, ease and quality of air, sea and land access; aviation regulations; entry permits; visa requirements; route concessions; airport capacities and competition among carriers. A visa requirement, particularly, may be an impediment for tourism because it discourages spur-ofthe-moment, and even planned decisions to travel, whether for business or pleasure, especially, if the visa requirement involves much effort or cost to the potential traveller, such as the need to visit an embassy in person to make the visa application, and then return days or weeks later to collect it. Additionally, visa obligations can be a severe obstacle to travellers as they will have to plan their trip well in advance, sometimes wait several weeks for a visa, often travel long distances to the nearest consulate, wait in line, arrange an interview, cover their own costs and pay a visa fee … all without a guarantee of getting a visa. Therefore, imposing visas causes administrative and financial burdens for prospective visitors and can result in a decline in the visitor numbers from countries that require visas while tourists will choose countries
with fewer restrictions to visit. A number of studies have highlighted the need for a country or region to simplify its visa requirements in order to improve its accessibility and develop its potential as a tourism destination. If a country does not provide visa-free privileges to nationals of its key tourist markets it is unlikely to remain competitive unless it has very special attractions. Many developed countries have agreements which waive the need for a visa for shortstay tourists. This has significantly assisted tourism development in these countries. If tourism can be developed in an appropriate manner, it could well become the engine of growth that can improve the quality of life for millions of East Africans. East Africa Community region is among the top preferred tourist destinations in the world. The region’s tourist attractions include wildlife, a rich variety of wilderness areas and natural wonders of the world, sandy beaches, mountain ranges and a rich historical and cultural heritage which straddle across national borders. To further encourage tourism growth and the benefits it brings, EATP is calling upon all EAC member states to implement the single tourist visa. The economic benefits accruing from this include the distribution of income to many enterprises, some of which may belong to local communities; the optimisation of tourism income, which might lead to the creation of jobs; the abolition of poverty; and
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ultimately an increase in the GDP of the countries in the region. Visa access difficulties have been identified among other problems that are costing EAC tourism millions of US$ annually in lost income from tourists. In a bid to grow cross-border collaboration in tourism marketing, EATP strongly recommends the simplification of visa formalities and reduction or omission of visa fees and custom taxes for tourists who wish to visit EAC region in one trip. With the recurrent world economic slow-down, many countries have become more aware of the economic importance of tourism and are taking measures to encourage tourism demand and assist tourism enterprises, including facilitating travel by simplifying the visa application process, cutting the costs of visas or abolishing visa requirements for certain source markets.
SHARED BENEFITS OF A SINGLE TOURIST VISA Countries across Africa have various visa policies and some of them implement restrictive entry or visa policies, which discourage travel to the region. Even though visas are usually valid for entrance into the country that issues them, EATP advocates for the adoption of a single visa, by all EAC member states, that gives right of entry to EAC member states. This common visa encourages tourism and brings economic development to the entire region. 3
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In essence, EAC’s single tourist visa permits tourists to enter all EAC member countries. By assisting in the movement of international tourists, it enlarges EAC’s market share in world tourism and increases the region’s income. It also increases regional tourism because it removes or waives the visa requirements for regional travellers who desire to access the EAC region. EATP believes that the visa will increase travel and tourism throughout the region since tourists are able to move freely within member countries, with no additional requirement for individual visas per country. Apart from the obvious advantages of the visa, it also benefits countries such as Burundi that have very few consulates abroad. Burundi’s cost of acquiring a tourist visa (US $ 169) is the highest in the EAC region while the EAC’s single tourist visa is the lowest. With just US $ 100, tourists are able to visit all countries within the region. Moreover, EAC’s single tourist visa makes the region more appealing to tourists, relative to other regions, as it expands the choice available to them. However, the extent of the benefits of the single tourist visa depends on the extent to which air travel in the EAC can be liberalised to allow tourists to move much more easily across countries. EAC’s single tourist visa has the same advantages as Schengen Visa in European Union (serving 25 countries) where a visitor from outside a country who has a visa for that country can also use it to visit the other countries included in the agreement, while visitors from inside a country with visa-free privileges for that country have likewise visa-free privileges to the other countries in the agreement. EAC’s single tourist visa will ultimately improve the accessibility of the EAC region, increase visitor numbers and ultimately encourage tourism development in the region. The single tourist visa would encourage freer movement of tourists in the EAC. Additionally, it offers EAC’s tour operators an opportunity to develop multicountry packages, thus increased
revenue. Seamless travel through the joint visa makes EAC more competitive than other regions which struggle with different visa regimes in different countries and the multiple processes required to obtain a visa to visit the region. The cost of obtaining multiple visas - in this case to Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda or Rwanda- whether in terms of money or the paperwork is an impediment to international travel. A joint visa increases the region’s appeal due to the uniqueness offered by each member country. For example, while Kenya is endowed with beaches and world-renowned parks like the Maasai Mara, Uganda is home to the world’s best white-water rafting rivers and also hosts the highest bird species in the world. Rwanda is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. Tanzania is known for its safari circuits, and beaches. Burundi is popular because of its hospitality, vibrant culture, unrivalled heritage and diverse recreational opportunities offered by Lake Tanganyika. This package makes the region unique. This uniqueness will make cross-selling tourism packages across the region possible.
CONCLUSION The dwindling fortunes of the tourism industry in the East African region calls for greater cooperation and innovativeness. The regional bloc has tremendous attractions across the five countries that make up the East African CommunityKenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Whereas Kenya and Tanzania have beach and wildlife-driven tourism that, if combined, can rival the best anywhere in the world, the other three countries also have wild animals, especially the mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda. However, only a tiny fraction of the huge tourism potential is being utilized. Selling East Africa as a package will attract more tourists, as it cuts costs and allows them to enjoy the abundance all at once. EATP urges Burundi to join other East African countries in
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implementing the single tourist visa as part of efforts to boost tourism in the region. Burundi stands a better chance to gain from the adoption of a single tourist visa. The single tourist visa is a multi-entry visa costing US$100 and grants a tourist a 90-day validity period to tour any of the East African countries. In a bid to join the single tourist visa agreement, EATP advises Burundi to contact the EAC secretariat or the Northern Corridor to start the formal procedure of admission. In summary the benefits for Burundi include: »» Political: Regional integration presents enormous business opportunities to the Burundian economy since it is a small market and landlocked country. Importantly, it will improve Burundi’s geopolitical position in the region and even globally. »» Socio-economic: Regional integration not only increases cross-border trade and investment but also raises citizens’ living standards. Marketing of the region, for instance, as a single tourist destination presents more employment opportunities to Burundian citizens. Additionally, East Africa single tourist visa makes Burundi attractive to tourists from neighbouring countries. »» Tourism: Regional tourism has enormous benefits such as distribution of income to many local enterprises, creation of jobs and ultimately an increase in Burundi’s GDP.
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EAST AFRICA TOURISM PLATFORM Kenya Tourism Federation – Secretariat| KWS Headquarters – Langata Road, P.O. Box 15013-00509, Nairobi| Tel: +254208001000/3/1| Mobile: +254724624538 Facebook: East Africa Tourism Platform| Twitter: @TourismEA| Skype: tourismea