via Zim ranks low on tourist visa openness – NewsDay Zimbabwe March 1, 2016
Zimbabwe has performed badly on its openness to tourists and is ranked 27 out of 52 countries on the visa openness index, an inaugural report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) has shown.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
The report, Africa Visa Openness 2016, was released early this month and ranks countries on the openness of their visa regimes.
Zimbabwe had a score of 0.319. Mauritius was ranked the most visa openness country, with a score of 1. Zimbabwe’s neighbours Mozambique and Zambia were ranked seventh and 20th, respectively. Mozambique and Zambia had scores of 0.830 and 0.419 respectively. South Africa was ranked lower than Zimbabwe at 25th, with a score of 0.259.
Seychelles was the best country on the continent in terms of visa openness.
The report said 8 out of 9 Africa’s upper middle income countries have low visa openness scores.
“The average score of the top 10 most visa open countries is more than double the average score of all countries, which shows how far ahead leading countries are on visa openness,” it said.
It said 75% of countries in the top 20 most visa open countries are in East and West Africa.
“Less than a quarter of all African countries provide liberal access at entry for all African countries. Important reforms here can include the introduction of visa on arrival policies,” it said.
The report showed that only 13 out of 55 countries offered liberal access (visa free or visa on arrival to all Africans and over 60% of African countries with low visa openness do not offer visas on arrival.
It said African countries could benefit from tapping into global trends and facilitating freer movement of people by looking at visa openness solutions.
“This will help in reaching milestones set out in the African Union Agenda 2063, including removing visa requirements across the continent by 2018 and the creation of an African passport.”
The report showed that nine countries that include Gabon, Kenya,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Principe, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe have e-visa AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina said the index aims to be a tool for change, to inform and inspire leaders and policymakers to make visa reforms, simplify visa processes and apply positive reciprocity.
Analysts say Zimbabwe’s low ranking should jolt authorities into action if the tourism industry were to grow to $5 billion by 2020.
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