Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced on Thursday that Rwanda is lifting visa requirements for all Africans traveling to his country. Kagame made this announcement in Kigali, emphasizing the potential of Africa as a unified tourism destination. He pointed out that Africa still relies on 60% of its tourists coming from outside the continent.
“Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish, and they will not pay a thing to enter our country,” Kagame stated. He stressed the importance of focusing on the continental market and highlighted that Africans are the future of global tourism as the middle class on the continent continues to grow rapidly.
President Kagame made these remarks during the opening of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) 2023, which brought together over 1,200 participants from the global tourism industry to discuss the growth and challenges of the sector in Africa.
Once implemented, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to remove travel restrictions for Africans, joining Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles. Kenya has also pledged to eliminate visa restrictions for Africans by the end of this year.
Kenya’s President William Ruto recently announced plans to allow all Africans to travel to Kenya visa-free by December 31, emphasizing that visa restrictions among African nations hinder business and travel opportunities. In 2016, an African passport was launched with the aim of unleashing the continent’s potential, but so far, only diplomats and African Union officials have been issued the travel document.
The summit in Kigali discussed resilience, sustainable growth, the impact of AI, emerging markets, and the challenges and opportunities facing the travel and tourism industry in Africa.
