Zimbabwe: New visa regulations to boost tourism

Source: Africa Report, 09/03/2016

Zimbabwe: New visa regulations to boost tourism
08 March 2016 – Africa Report

Zimbabwe tourism authorities have relaxed visa requirements in a drive
to shore up the tourism sector, following a report ranking the 27 out
of 52 countries on the continent's visa openness index by the African
Development Bank (AfDB).
Chinese nationals on tourism visits will now be able to apply for
visas on arrival, while permits have been scrapped for countries in
the Southern African Development Community.
It is expected that the new visa regime will enhance migration flows
into Zimbabwe
The department of Immigration's principal director, Clemence Masango
said the new regulations were in response to calls by players in the
tourism industry for a relaxed visa regime.
"All Sadc countries no longer need visas to enter Zimbabwe, as they
are now in category A of our visa regime" he explained. "It is
expected that the new visa regime will enhance migration flows into
Zimbabwe with the resultant socio-economic benefits to the country."
The Zimbabwe migration management system comprises a three-tier visa
model classified into categories A, B and C.
Category A refers to countries whose nationals are exempt from visa
requirements, while those in category B obtain visas on arrival.
Category C national are required to apply for visas prior to travel.
By relaxing visa requirements for emerging economies, the southern
African nation hopes to improve perceptions of the country, long
regarded as a security risk.
As relations with the west grew icy, Zimbabwe has been trying to lure
Chinese tourists, but so far this has not yielded the results the
country hoped for.
A measly 6,000 Chinese tourists visited Zimbabwe last year, the lowest
in the region, as Botswana had an estimated 43,000, Zambia 55,000 and
South Africa 158,000.
The Zimbabwe Council for Tourism says the country lost 1 million
visitors from South Africa in the last two years due to the
depreciation of that country's currency, the rand against the United
States dollar.
The report, Africa Visa Openness 2016 ranks countries on the openness
of their visa regimes, with Zimbabwe having a score of 0.319, lower
than most of its neighbours besides South Africa, which has a poorer
score.