The Trans-African Tourism and Unity Campaign has taken the initiative to eliminate visa barriers that stifle tourism, hinder free movement, and fragment the 1.4 billion Africans in order to boost the continent’s tourism potential.
The Group has started visiting about 39 African countries to urge them to take bold steps towards visa-free travel for Africans, expand visa–on–arrival policies, simplify mobility protocols, and champion the African Union (AU) free Movement Protocol.
The group’s leader, Ras Mubarak, told a news conference in Abuja on Monday that they were in Nigeria to urge the Nigerian government to take the lead in the campaign to remove these barriers as they were “remnants of colonial divisions and contradict the African Union Agenda 2063 vision of a united, prosperous Africa.
“Let’s make Nigeria a gateway for intra-African tourism, driving economic growth and unity. We urge all Africans to sign our petition for a visa-free continent and join us in building an Africa where we move as one, trade as one, and dream as one”, he stated.
The group with #OpenAfrica, OpenOpportunities, said that Africa has huge potential to exploit the global tourism market. It stressed that the current $1.9 billion African share of the global tourism market can be doubled if these barriers are removed, as more investment will flood the continent, creating job opportunities for the teeming youth population and at least helping to stem the tide of youth migration from the continent.
The group lamented the challenges associated with securing visas in some African countries and attributed them to suspicion within some African countries and the endemic level of corruption, which must stop in order for the continent to achieve its dream and end its dependence on others.
Inusah Ziblim, Minister -Consular Affairs, Ghana High Commission in Abuja in his remarks, said the challenges in visa procurement and in the aviation sector sometimes force Africans to fly to European countries for connecting flights within Africa due to a lack of competitive intra-African air routes, insufficient infrastructure, high operating costs for airlines and limiting visa policies.
He noted that these challenges must be addressed to enhance tourism, adding that Africa must trade more with itself under the platform of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
