Country Announces Visa-Free Travel For Africans

To boost the free movement of people and trade, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has declared that the country will grant visa-free travel to Africans.

According to local media reports, the president revealed the plans on Thursday during a speech in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

With this move, Rwanda has joined Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles in eliminating travel restrictions for fellow Africans.

Kagame emphasised the immense potential of Africa as a unified tourism destination.

According to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the continent heavily depends on tourists from outside Africa, accounting for 60% of its total visitors,

“Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country,” said Kagame 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 at a fast pace in the decades to come,” he said.

In a similar development, Kenya’s President William Ruto has revealed plans to allow visa-free travel to Kenya for all Africans by December 31.