Rwanda Announces Visa-Free Travel For Africans
The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has announced that the country will grant visa-free travel to Africans to boost free movement of people and trade.
This decision puts Rwanda as the latest African nation to adopt such a measure.
Kagame disclosed his plans on Thursday during a speech in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.He emphasized the immense potential of Africa as a unified tourism destination.
Currently, the continent heavily depends on tourists from outside Africa, accounting for 60% of its total visitors, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country,” Kagame said during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“We should not lose sight of our own continental market. Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come,” he added.
Rwanda has become the latest African nation to eliminate travel restrictions for fellow Africans, following in the footsteps of Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles.
