Visa-on-arrival: Dissecting gains, challenges

 

 

Would an Africa in which Africans require no visas to travel boost prospects for intra-continental trade? WOLE SHADARE writes that the advantages far outweighs short comings if Africa must promote trade, commerce and overcome the hurdles of intra-African travels

Policy change

Sometimes, unilateral openings pay. Federal Government’s decision to extend the “visa-on-arrival” facility to all African countries is a welcome decision and one that would have great impact on trade, investments and tourism. Despite fears of increase in crime, some countries are liberalising visas to attract investors.

Before now, government had been standing on reciprocity. Pragmatically, it has now decided to boost the economy through enhanced tourism.

But this gesture is not quite an opening of the floodgates for a gushing mass of tourists.

Tourists need to be satisfied that they can get advanced booking for decent accommodation and travel within the country, before they decide to travel to Nigeria. Facilities for this remain limited, particularly of the kind that cater to the volume of the market.

 

Challenges

Similarly, airport facilities to clear immigrants and grant them visas would need substantial upgrade. It would be a publicity disaster if the first few batches of new visitors under the expanded visa-on-arrival scheme were to spread the word on social media that they waited two- and-a-half hours at the airport, queuing for the promised visa.

In a major change to its current visa policy, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the country will begin issuing visas on arrival for all African nationals. Buhari announced the plan while attending a peace and development summit in Egypt.

Nigeria’s tourism potential is truly incredible, with vast variety of resources available. To realise it, the nation needs not just investment in physical facilities and logistics but, even more importantly, a radical change of culture.

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Governments’ commitment

The tourism sector in Africa which, according to UNWTO, saw an eight per cent increase in international arrivals in 2016, is progressively becoming prominent largely due to increased commitment of governments.

Possessing massive potential to foster positive change and transformation, it is timely that most heads of states and governments are seeing the urgency to prioritise the sector now directly accounting for 10.2 per cent of the world’s GDP ($2.3 trillion).

The freer Africans are to travel and live with one another, the more integrated and appreciative of its diversity will become.

 

Nigeria joins the fray

Nigeria joins 23 other African countries that have scrapped or lessened visa restrictions for Africans, among them Ghana, Seychelles, Mauritius, Benin and Rwanda. These efforts by African governments to adopt visa liberalisation policies are in line with the African Union Agenda 2063 policy document that outlines seamless borders and could increase Africa’s tourism revenue by about 25 per cent

The visa challenge has in most cases hindered Africans, who wish to tour the continent. Such a move by other African governments that have already implemented the policy is a major endorsement on the tourism sector.

 

 

East Africa goes next level

East Africans now only require an identity card to travel, do business and live in Kenya. Like her East African compeer, Rwanda, from January 1, 2018, travelers from across the world received a 30-day visa on arrival from the previous policy that was only open to Africans. This has no doubt enhanced Rwanda’s trade relations with the rest of the world, but also further grows tourism prominence both in the country and within the East African region.

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African tourism is still in the early phases of its development. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism is expected to contribute $269 billion to the GDP of the continent and create 29 million new jobs by 2026.

By then, it is hoped African tourism would have gained ground and be well on its way to a thriving and stable industry.

International travel hurdles

Africans know all too well the hurdles of international travel. Talk to anyone travelling on a passport issued by an African country about visa bureaucracy and it boils down to the familiar stories of frustration. African travellers and business people are compartmentalised by the rest of the world, making it frequently difficult for Africans to travel outside their continent. While Western embassies are frequently restrictive in issuing visas to Africans, the situation within the continent itself isn’t much better. A citizen of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, would need 38 visas to travel the length and breadth of the continent. The Seychelles and Benin are the only African countries that have visa-free entry systems for all African citizens; a further nine countries offer either visa-free entry or visa-on-arrival entry to all African citizens.

 

The gains

Businesses large and small stand to benefit from the visa-on-arrival scheme, which will help bring African investors to Nigeria while boosting Nigeria’s vision of closer economic integration within Africa. With African business visitors increasingly attracted to Nigeria  by the promised opening up of the banking and telecoms sectors, investors are likely to require easy access to their projects in the country. But there are challenges that must be overcome for the programme to yield benefits. The first is logistics. One of the problems with intra-African travel is the lack of frequent direct flights between major cities on the continent. However, if tourism infrastructure investment does not keep pace with the increasing number of arrivals, the country runs the risk of suffering from “over tourism.” This can mean disruption to daily life, increased prices and degradation of tourist hotspots, leading to friction between locals and visitors.

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Vigilance

Another crucial challenge is having a system in place that ensures visitors do not overstay their visas while allowing for necessary visa extensions – especially for business people – in a relatively convenient manner.

This is a delicate balancing act. The government needs tourists and business people to boost the economy, but the new system must command public confidence.

The more people, who overstay their visas and reside in the country illegally, the more likely the visa scheme will be labelled a failure and used as a rallying cry by those who opposed it from the word go.Allowing visitors a way to conveniently change their visa status from tourist to resident by fulfilling certain criteria – for example being offered a certain type of employment – will prove useful. This will enable companies to retain highly skilled workers, and will support President Buhari’s vision of turning Nigeria into a continental economic heavyweight. Easing the mobility of people, and, thereby of goods, services and capital, can be a boom to any country.

Last line

In Nigeria’s favour is the fact of having the biggest population on the continent, enormous tourism potential, planned national airline and a government willing to try new things.

Wole Shadare