Rwanda announced Thursday it will allow visa-free travel for Africans, becoming the latest nation to remove restrictions in a bid to boost free movement and trade across the continent.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame made the announcement in Kigali, pitching Africa as “a unified tourism destination” even though 60% of tourists still come from outside the continent, according to U.N. data.
“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.”
Once implemented, Rwanda will join Gambia, Benin and Seychelles in waiving visa requirements for African nationals.
Kenyan President William Ruto said Monday his country will allow visa-free travel for all Africans by Dec. 31.
“Visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us,” Ruto said at a summit in Congo Brazzaville.
In 2016, the African Union launched an African passport, saying it would rival the European Union model in “unleashing the potential of the continent.” So far, only AU diplomats and officials have received the travel document.
The AU says the African Passport and free movement aim to remove restrictions and allow Africans to “travel, work and live within their own continent.”
The AU also launched the African Continental Free Trade Area, a $3.4 trillion market intended to boost economic development through a unified single market for Africa’s 1.3 billion people.
