EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY MEMBER STATES TO ADOPT ONE SINGLE ENTRY VISA TO THEIR NATIONAL GAME PARKS.

Reports Leo Odera Omolo

Residents of the East African Community {EAC] will be required to pay the same fees as Tanzanians to enter the country’s national parks.

A note recently sent to game park managers by Tanzania National Parks Authority spokesman, Pascal Shelutete, reads as follows; ‘This is to inform you that nationals of Rwanda and Burundi are to be charged preferential rates just like those of Kenya and Uganda.

“Thus arrangement is in line with the EAC plans to promote the region as a single tourism destination,” adds the note.

This mean EAC residents will now pay Tshs 1,500 [about USD 1 for adults]and Tshs 500 { about 35 cents USD} for children visiting any national parks in Tanzania per day.

Analysts believe the uniform directive is timely and will boost the industry in the EAC Common Market with nearly 130 million consumers and combined GDP of nearly USD 60 billion.

In 2006, each of the three founding EAC partner states of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were charging different figures for non-citizen tourists. In Uganda, the entrance fees for EAC citizens to any of the country’s national game parks was USD 10 per day, while Ugandans were charged Ushs 5,000 {about USD 2.5}.

In Tanzania, the entry fees to Mount Kilimanjaro and Serengeti for foreign tourists and EAC residents was USD 60 and USD 50 respectably. In Kenya, the average charge fee for non-citizens was set at USD 30 per adult and USD 19 per student or child per day.

At the same time, sources at the EAC secretariat in Arusha say a task force appointed to study the region’s preparedness for a single tourist visa will present its report in June this year.

“The partner states are still consulting on the matter with the possibility of a trial visa to be introduced first, as they try to harmonize their tourism policies and laws,” a source explained.

The secretariat is reported to have approached the partner states, seeking information from the immigration departments on visa regulations and statistics from major tourism market countries.

Sources added that there was a likelihood of starting with a trial single visa in June this year, to determine whether East Africa is ready to introduce a single tourist visa for the region.

Experts working on the matter want visitor’s statistics for the sample countries that will participate in the suggested trial visa before the actual document is introduced.

The major source market for tourists coming to East Africa are the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa and Scandinavian countries.

Also sought for is information on information and communication technology {ICT} system used by the partner states to network with various centers such as border points and embassies.

In recent past, tourism players based in Arusha were said to have faulted the EAC governments for delaying the single visa tourism entry visa for the region.

Tourists visiting the region often spend hours crossing from one EAC state to another because they use different visa for each country.

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com