eliakeem
JF-Expert Member
- May 29, 2009
- 15,653
- 13,794
Tunaongelea visa wewe unaleta habari za malori........ mbona watanzania wana mabasi yaliyosajiriwa kenya..... achana na hizi story za kienyeji lete takwimu za mambo ya utalii....
A reason why one visa for tourists is not an option for Tanzania
- Thread starter Geza Ulole
- Start date
Tunaongelea visa wewe unaleta habari za malori........ mbona watanzania wana mabasi yaliyosajiriwa kenya..... achana na hizi story za kienyeji lete takwimu za mambo ya utalii....
chash
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 5, 2012
- 548
- 230
Ha! ha! nimekujibu facts kibao bado nasubiria maoni yako, au umepoteza thread nikusaidie kuitafuta?
chash
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 5, 2012
- 548
- 230
Nilitoa mfano huu ili uelewe kwamba mfanya biashara ana uwezo wa kutumia mbinu mbali mbali ili kukwepa hasara au ili kuokoa biashara yake.
Kuhusu visa sioni la kusema kwa sababu Tanzania haitokubali one visa. Lakini hata zikiwepo visa kumi bado watalii wakutokea Kenya wataendelea kuwa wengi tu. Tanzania Tourist board wanafanya kazi nzuri sana kuliko hata Kenya Tourist board ku market nchi ili watalii wajeTanzania kama vile Tanzania investment centre wanafanya kazi nzuri kuleta investors.
At the end of the day kazi ya kumtembeza huyo mtalii kuhakikisha ameridhika au investor kufaulu kwenye mradi alio kusudia inarudi kwa mwenyeji wake ambaye ni mfanya biashara wa kawaida. Kusema kuwa wakenya wanesema Kilimanjaro au zanzibar ipo kwao ni vichekesho. Watanzania wawajibike kuji market na kuleta watalii kwao wakishindwa watasaidiwa tu kwa sababu watu wanataka kupanda mlima. Mtalii hana issue nani anamleta. Inferiority complex uwache mkuu, chapeni kazi mtafanikiwa.
One visa pia itasaidia Tanzania kuliko nchi zingine zote kwa sababu watalii ambao wangeishia nchi nyingine watapata motisha kuja Tanzania na hiyo ni marketing bora zaidi kulikoni kuwazuia
Wacha1
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 21, 2009
- 16,681
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Wacha uongo lete figures za watalii wanaoingia Tanzania kupitia Kenya na wale watalii wanaokuja moja kwa moja bongo. Halafu tupe stats za pesa za visa kutoka 1) USA incl Canada, 2) UK.
Hizi hadithi ati watalii wengi wanakwenda Kenya kuja Tanzania ni za zamani siku hizi watalii wengi wanakuja bongo moja kwa moja. Kenya wanahaha maana walizoea kupata vijisenti lakini siku hizi wanapigwa chenga wanaambulia package za students ambao hawana fedha wenye pesa zao moja kwa moja wanakwenda Tanzania maana ndiko kwenye prime tour. Nina watalii kibao ambao nimewapeleka moja kwa moja bongo.
BTW manyang'au hayashibi. hata pesa za visa yanataka ... phew! Yana njaa kali.
Ngathuyavome
Member
- Aug 15, 2013
- 85
- 19
Chash you keep talking about inferiority complex and afraid to compete while ignoring common sense. Im not tourism expert but I can tell you how Kenyan will benefit from one visa arrangement. Kenyan tour operators will make sure tourist spend as little time as possible in Tanzania. If a tourist wants to see Mount Kilimanjaro They just cross to Tanzania through Taveta right to the mountain and go right back to Kenya. Likewise if they want to see Serengeti, Ngoro Ngoro and Manyara They will go through Namanga and go right back to Kenya. By spending a little time in Tanzania that means tourist spend most of their money (hotels accommodation, food, shopping, and tour operator cost) in Kenya and just pay a little to visit Tanzania attractions. Also Kenyan tour operator are not and will not be interested with southern tourism destination in Tanzania because it takes more time to take a tourist there and hence more money spent in Tanzania.
So Tanzania should not be ashamed to protect its tourism industry while we all know allowing a single visa is just like allowing a middle weight fighter to fight a heavy weight fighter. We have to protect and develop our tourism industry to a level where we can compete effectively, after all protectionism is still practiced by a lot of countries including superpowers like USA. A few in governments may be bribed to accept single visa rubbish but in these times I dont see this happen as we all know the political dynamics in Tanzania. Allowing Single visa can be a political suicide for politicians in Kilimanjaro and Arusha.
chash
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 5, 2012
- 548
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Wala hujanielewa. Watalii waliongia bongo directly kutoka nje ni zaidi ya laki nane kwa takwimu za mwaka jana. Walio pitia kenya kuingia Tanzania sina uhakika lakini sidhani wanafika laki mbili. Kwenye sred yangu nilizungumzia watalii wanaotembelea nchi zote za EAC nikasema kwamba hawa watalii wote watakavyo kuwa wanataka kuingia nchi nyingine kwa ajili ya kunufaika one tourist visa zaidi ya 90% watatoka nchi zingene na kuingia Tanzania. Hiyo ina maana kwamba Tanzania ndio itanufaika kupata wageni kuliko nchi zingine. Sasa, hata kama hawa watalii watakuwa walilipia visa nchi jirani na Tanzania wakapunjwa kwenye kupata hela ya visa, manufaa ya hao wageni kuja Tanzania ni makubwa sana kuliko kuwagomea kuingia kwa sababu wakirudi kwao watasababisha watu wengi zaidi kuja Tanzania direct.
Nasema hivi, Tanzania ikubali one visa kisha waache kuangaza macho kwenye wageni chini ya laki mbili wanao tokea Kenya na badala yake waangalie na waweke bidii yao kwenye wageni zaidi ya 6.5 BILLION! ambao wanaweza kushawishika kwa wepesi kuja Tanzania.
The visitor who has already come is no longer a challenge, The challenge is how to get the next visitor
chash
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 5, 2012
- 548
- 230
Ngathuyavome
The reason I talked of inferiority complex is because you are focusing too much on the numbers coming through Kenya instead of working hard to get the over 6.5 billion available to come directly to Tanzania without passing via Kenya.
You are wasting the chance for personal marketing when these people return to their homeland to say I wish I had gone to Tanzania instead. When they are held up at the border they go back with negative publicity that Tanzania is a hostile country "they held us at the border for so long , they are too bureaucratic" e.t.c The tourist does not know of the tourism wars going on between Tanzania and Kenya.
These tourists from other EAC countries pay for tour package costs and cash is left behind for the park fees, hotel bookings, transport, food e.t.c that is far more than the visa fee. You do not need to look at what tourists have spend in another country. So far Kenya has helped Tanzania so much in advertising and opening up the Northern tourism circuit to the world. Tanzania instead of putting all efforts to open up the southern circuit which has a bigger potential is still focusing on who is coming from Kenya.
Protectionism can apply to other industry but when applying it to tourism, it can severely damage a countries image. One person complaining does more harm than 100 people satisfied. One vise will benefit Tanzania more than any other EAC state because Tanzania easily attracts tourists who come to other EAC states. The experience they get from crossing over is a big advertisement for Tanzania worldwide, has financial benefit for Tanzania and saves Tanzania big time in advertising costs for the northern circuit which money can be channelled to market the southern circuit and other areas
The reason I talked of inferiority complex is because you are focusing too much on the numbers coming through Kenya instead of working hard to get the over 6.5 billion available to come directly to Tanzania without passing via Kenya.
You are wasting the chance for personal marketing when these people return to their homeland to say I wish I had gone to Tanzania instead. When they are held up at the border they go back with negative publicity that Tanzania is a hostile country "they held us at the border for so long , they are too bureaucratic" e.t.c The tourist does not know of the tourism wars going on between Tanzania and Kenya.
These tourists from other EAC countries pay for tour package costs and cash is left behind for the park fees, hotel bookings, transport, food e.t.c that is far more than the visa fee. You do not need to look at what tourists have spend in another country. So far Kenya has helped Tanzania so much in advertising and opening up the Northern tourism circuit to the world. Tanzania instead of putting all efforts to open up the southern circuit which has a bigger potential is still focusing on who is coming from Kenya.
Protectionism can apply to other industry but when applying it to tourism, it can severely damage a countries image. One person complaining does more harm than 100 people satisfied. One vise will benefit Tanzania more than any other EAC state because Tanzania easily attracts tourists who come to other EAC states. The experience they get from crossing over is a big advertisement for Tanzania worldwide, has financial benefit for Tanzania and saves Tanzania big time in advertising costs for the northern circuit which money can be channelled to market the southern circuit and other areas
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Kabaridi
After a long discussion, I guess most of you are slowly going of-track. Kinachozungumziwa ni how single visa contributed to the collapse of Greece economy. Hapa any argument must be supported by facts on how/how not the introduction of single visa in EU contributed to the growth or decline of Greece economy.
Hakuna habari za siasa, au utamaduni, n.k. Simply put discuss the role of EU single visa in Greece's tourism income.
After a long discussion, I guess most of you are slowly going of-track. Kinachozungumziwa ni how single visa contributed to the collapse of Greece economy. Hapa any argument must be supported by facts on how/how not the introduction of single visa in EU contributed to the growth or decline of Greece economy.
Hakuna habari za siasa, au utamaduni, n.k. Simply put discuss the role of EU single visa in Greece's tourism income.
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My fellow Tanzanian Lonestriker, I normally admire your arguments and threads. But in this, I guess you have got it wrong (or I have got wrong either). We are not discussing about competition. The animal called globalization will not allow us to shy from competition, interactions and even, 'integration'. And this is a fact most Tanzanians know as illustrated by your arguments also cause you are a Tanzanian. But the debate here is introduction of single visa in EA. Every country (people) has the right to think critically and decide whichever is best for her. In this topic most Tanzanians think, let each country market her tourism sector and then compete. So the argument of Tanzanians fearing Kenyans is immaterial here. People are discussing pro and cons.
The person who started this thread gave his opinion backed by facts and statistics irrespective whether they are true or not, but this is the type of arguments and counter arguments we expect. We don't need songs of fear or pride or slogans of superiority and inferiority complexity. We need facts so that we conclude whether single visa is viable for Tz or not at this moment.
Another point, I am not sure if some of us are implicitly connotating that Tanzanians should not question anything proposed by our 'brothers'. I don't think this is right.We are the ones to safeguard our interests and build our country like other people in their countries. So lets stop labeling of any critique of anti EAC agenda as ill-intentioned or motivated out of fear.
Kabaridi
JF-Expert Member
- Nov 15, 2011
- 2,023
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you see these we write here are opinions, they might be right or wrong. nobody is forcing TZ to put into practice what kenyans are saying. out of EU, greece and spain are just two members of the bloc, any reason why the rest of the EU members did not collapse still remain a mystery.
i bet you have not done research, Just do your research online and you will be suprised to find simmilar points of what i have written on other sites, i know it is hard to stomach any divergent opinion, especially if it does not improve one's image
Kambi Popote
Member
- Sep 5, 2013
- 14
- 2
Hamna lolote we kibaraka wakifikra
Wacha1
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 21, 2009
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Visa sio issue kwa mtalii, raia wa UK, Canada pamoja na USA hawana sababu ya kulalamikia malipo ya Visa nani analeta agenda za kipumbavu kama hizi kwamba hatutaweza kufaidika kama tukiendelea kuwatoza VISA. BTW VISA ni reciprocal sasa hii nadharia ya kusema tuwapunguzie mzigo wenzetu inatoka wapi? kwanza malipo kwa raia wa nchi husika ni kama masaa tu 2 au matatu kwa wasomi na wale hohehahe ni kama malipo ya kazi kwa siku moja mbona wao hawawaonei huruma wabongo ambao malipo yao yako chini sana na wanalipa VISA kwa bei ya juu zaidi?
BTW Serikali iendeleze operation kimbunga kuwatimua economic migrant hasa kutoka Kenya na Uganda.
BTW Serikali iendeleze operation kimbunga kuwatimua economic migrant hasa kutoka Kenya na Uganda.
Wacha1
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 21, 2009
- 16,681
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chash
Naona unaongea alinacha una uwezo wa kuwalisha 6.5 billion tourists wewe? Kwanza Ndege ya Emirates tu ikitua Dar usafiri hautoshi kwa wageni kwenda kwenye hoteli walizopanga, usafiri wa uhakika kutoka airport hadi kwenye hoteli unachukua zaidi ya masaa matatu. Aina ya usafiri, sisi tuendelee hivi hivi na hawa wachache hadi tutakapoweka utaratibu mzuri na huu utaratibu sio tupangiwe na wageni.
FYI kuna watalii wanaopenda kuja kila wiki at least 600 na wanalipa top rate lakini hatuna usafiri wa uhakika kwenye vivutio vyetu, si unaona ajali zilivyoshamiri kwenye ma-basi yetu, Je, hivi sasa luxury tourist buses zinazofanya kazi zipo ngapi? Top hotels za kuwahudumia watalii 600 kila wiki katika destination zote hizo zipo? Msione nchi jirani wanatoa udende wanafikiri tumelala.
Naona unaongea alinacha una uwezo wa kuwalisha 6.5 billion tourists wewe? Kwanza Ndege ya Emirates tu ikitua Dar usafiri hautoshi kwa wageni kwenda kwenye hoteli walizopanga, usafiri wa uhakika kutoka airport hadi kwenye hoteli unachukua zaidi ya masaa matatu. Aina ya usafiri, sisi tuendelee hivi hivi na hawa wachache hadi tutakapoweka utaratibu mzuri na huu utaratibu sio tupangiwe na wageni.
FYI kuna watalii wanaopenda kuja kila wiki at least 600 na wanalipa top rate lakini hatuna usafiri wa uhakika kwenye vivutio vyetu, si unaona ajali zilivyoshamiri kwenye ma-basi yetu, Je, hivi sasa luxury tourist buses zinazofanya kazi zipo ngapi? Top hotels za kuwahudumia watalii 600 kila wiki katika destination zote hizo zipo? Msione nchi jirani wanatoa udende wanafikiri tumelala.
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Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 59,185
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- Thread starter
- #94
18th January 14
Sitta: Our people come first
Tanzania yesterday declared it was working to safeguard the interests of its people, and that won't be cowed by other East African Community member states forming the so-called coalition of the willing.
As other member states work to fast-track quite a number of issues, Tanzania remains committed to the wishes of its citizens, a stand which other states interpret as reluctance to move along the integration process.
"Sometimes we may be seen as dragging our feet … it is because we are serving the interests of the public," said Samwel Sitta, the Minister for East Africa Cooperation.
The minister made the in Dar es Salaam yesterday, saying that the term ‘coalition of the willing' simply means other countries are not willing to cooperate with the group, which is not true.
He said the so-called ‘coalition of the willing' had been pushing for certain conditions that may not be good for Tanzania and its citizens.
"Tanzania cannot act under pressure from any other EAC member state … the government wants every decision on regional integration to be people centered," he stressed.
Speaking to journalists during a routine ministerial briefing on what the government was doing, the minister said there have been a lot of misconceptions in the coalition of the willing.
He said while the EAC treaty allows two or more member countries to have collaboration on issues of common interest, it does not allow them to go against fundamental principles.
Sitta said Tanzania also initiated talks with neighbouring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a view to establishing economic and trade relations, based on what the three had in common.
He said economically, it was sensible to work with DRC because the country held immense economic potential in the region, and there were now plans to construct a railway line linking Tanzania to DRC.
The minister says the only problem is that the three countries forming the coalition were tackling issues as cooperation and working on agreements, quite similar to what EAC does.
The minister faulted other moves proposed by the coalition, citing the ongoing push to have a single tourist visa, which those behind the move claim will enhance tourist flow in the region, arguing that Tanzania may not get anything out of it.
Mr Sitta said Tanzania, home to many tourist sites, may not earn anything out of such arrangement because most tourists will come through Kenya, pay their visa fees there, and then visit the other countries virtually free of charge.
Experts from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda met in Kigali in September last year to advance discussions on how to implement a directive from their heads of state to have a single tourist visa available from 2014.
This came after the EAC council of ministers officially sought clarification on why the three countries had been running a parallel integration agenda that sidelined the other two partners.
But the "coalition of the willing" went a step further in its Mombasa meeting just months after, seeking to ‘fast track' political federation.
According to reports, another summit will be held in Kigali to review what the panel of experts had agreed on before implementing visa and ID travel arrangements.
One of the things agreed on the single tourist visa was that the cost of $100 for a document covering all three countries would be shared equally, with each country being allocated $30 while the first entry point country would get a further $10 in what is termed as administrative costs.
Using identity cards
The tripartite meeting discussed the implementation of the proposed single visa and use of identity cards as travel documents within the three countries, among others.
But the minister faulted use of IDs instead of passports, saying: "It would be difficult to control and trace entry of people in the country, posing a security threat too."
He said Tanzania which has the biggest land mass in the region, would probably be home to many immigrants.
On security issues, the minister noted that using IDs would not be applicable because there are countries whose citizens cannot easily get into Tanzania.
He said, for instance, that Tanzania had key differences with Somalia, whose citizens could not just come into the country without thorough scrutiny, which isn't applicable in other countries within the region.
THE GUARDIAN
Sitta: Our people come first
CC: Dhuks mwitaz livefire Nairoberry mwathai Smatta Koborer CattleRustler Ab-Titchaz Askari Kanzu lawmaina78 Kabaridi Koba
Sitta: Our people come first
Tanzania yesterday declared it was working to safeguard the interests of its people, and that won't be cowed by other East African Community member states forming the so-called coalition of the willing.
As other member states work to fast-track quite a number of issues, Tanzania remains committed to the wishes of its citizens, a stand which other states interpret as reluctance to move along the integration process.
"Sometimes we may be seen as dragging our feet … it is because we are serving the interests of the public," said Samwel Sitta, the Minister for East Africa Cooperation.
The minister made the in Dar es Salaam yesterday, saying that the term ‘coalition of the willing' simply means other countries are not willing to cooperate with the group, which is not true.
He said the so-called ‘coalition of the willing' had been pushing for certain conditions that may not be good for Tanzania and its citizens.
"Tanzania cannot act under pressure from any other EAC member state … the government wants every decision on regional integration to be people centered," he stressed.
Speaking to journalists during a routine ministerial briefing on what the government was doing, the minister said there have been a lot of misconceptions in the coalition of the willing.
He said while the EAC treaty allows two or more member countries to have collaboration on issues of common interest, it does not allow them to go against fundamental principles.
Sitta said Tanzania also initiated talks with neighbouring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a view to establishing economic and trade relations, based on what the three had in common.
He said economically, it was sensible to work with DRC because the country held immense economic potential in the region, and there were now plans to construct a railway line linking Tanzania to DRC.
The minister says the only problem is that the three countries forming the coalition were tackling issues as cooperation and working on agreements, quite similar to what EAC does.
The minister faulted other moves proposed by the coalition, citing the ongoing push to have a single tourist visa, which those behind the move claim will enhance tourist flow in the region, arguing that Tanzania may not get anything out of it.
Mr Sitta said Tanzania, home to many tourist sites, may not earn anything out of such arrangement because most tourists will come through Kenya, pay their visa fees there, and then visit the other countries virtually free of charge.
Experts from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda met in Kigali in September last year to advance discussions on how to implement a directive from their heads of state to have a single tourist visa available from 2014.
This came after the EAC council of ministers officially sought clarification on why the three countries had been running a parallel integration agenda that sidelined the other two partners.
But the "coalition of the willing" went a step further in its Mombasa meeting just months after, seeking to ‘fast track' political federation.
According to reports, another summit will be held in Kigali to review what the panel of experts had agreed on before implementing visa and ID travel arrangements.
One of the things agreed on the single tourist visa was that the cost of $100 for a document covering all three countries would be shared equally, with each country being allocated $30 while the first entry point country would get a further $10 in what is termed as administrative costs.
Using identity cards
The tripartite meeting discussed the implementation of the proposed single visa and use of identity cards as travel documents within the three countries, among others.
But the minister faulted use of IDs instead of passports, saying: "It would be difficult to control and trace entry of people in the country, posing a security threat too."
He said Tanzania which has the biggest land mass in the region, would probably be home to many immigrants.
On security issues, the minister noted that using IDs would not be applicable because there are countries whose citizens cannot easily get into Tanzania.
He said, for instance, that Tanzania had key differences with Somalia, whose citizens could not just come into the country without thorough scrutiny, which isn't applicable in other countries within the region.
THE GUARDIAN
Sitta: Our people come first
CC: Dhuks mwitaz livefire Nairoberry mwathai Smatta Koborer CattleRustler Ab-Titchaz Askari Kanzu lawmaina78 Kabaridi Koba
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Bantugbro
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 22, 2009
- 4,476
- 4,250
Bravo Hon. 6,
Wakuu, Kwa wale wasio na taarifa/takwimu za mapato yatokanayo na biashara ya utalii kwa nchi za E.A kwa mwaka 2012-2013 zinaonyesha hivi, (Figures in USD$):
Tanzania: 1.82 billion
Kenya: 1.16 billion
Uganda: 800 million
Rwanda: 281 million
Burundi: N/A
Kwa kifupi trend hii inaonyesha kuwa kwa mwaka 2013-2014 mapato ya Tanzania yatakua ni zaidi ya Rwanda + Uganda + Kenya. Wao si wanasema sisi hakuna tunachojua waache basi kulalamika lets compete....:hand:
Wakuu, Kwa wale wasio na taarifa/takwimu za mapato yatokanayo na biashara ya utalii kwa nchi za E.A kwa mwaka 2012-2013 zinaonyesha hivi, (Figures in USD$):
Tanzania: 1.82 billion
Kenya: 1.16 billion
Uganda: 800 million
Rwanda: 281 million
Burundi: N/A
Kwa kifupi trend hii inaonyesha kuwa kwa mwaka 2013-2014 mapato ya Tanzania yatakua ni zaidi ya Rwanda + Uganda + Kenya. Wao si wanasema sisi hakuna tunachojua waache basi kulalamika lets compete....:hand:
Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 59,185
- 79,366
- Thread starter
- #97
Bantugbro
nafurahi kuona mzee Sitta anavyo-stick to his guns kwenye issue kama hizi hawa jamaa wapuuzi sana wanadhani TZ shamba la bibi! Kama wanataka tuingie one visa wakubali 50% ya revenues iende TZ na waruhusu Fastjet iende nchi zao zote! tuone kama kuna mtu atatua Nairobi ukizingatia connecting flight toka JKIA na JNIA ni zaidi ya $ 200
nafurahi kuona mzee Sitta anavyo-stick to his guns kwenye issue kama hizi hawa jamaa wapuuzi sana wanadhani TZ shamba la bibi! Kama wanataka tuingie one visa wakubali 50% ya revenues iende TZ na waruhusu Fastjet iende nchi zao zote! tuone kama kuna mtu atatua Nairobi ukizingatia connecting flight toka JKIA na JNIA ni zaidi ya $ 200
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MANAKE MKARI
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- Jan 25, 2011
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Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 59,185
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- Thread starter
- #99
wanakataa kuiruhusu kutua JKIA au Moi maana wanajua hawawezi mziki wa Fastjet
Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 59,185
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- #100
[h=1]Bumpy ride: EAC single tourist visa plan delayed by national and regional red tape[/h]
Reluctance by Tanzania and Burundi to join the visa plan and national and regional bureaucratic hurdles delay project. TEA Graphic
IN SUMMARY
East Africa's quest for a single tourist visa has received a setback after Tanzania indicated last week that it is not ready to join the arrangement.
The decision by Dar es Salaam has not only made the journey longer but also exposed the bureaucratic and nationalistic hurdles that continue to haunt the plan.
Last week, Tanzanian authorities said that they will adopt the single tourist visa plan later, and gave their blessings to the other EAC partner states to go ahead with the arrangement.
READ: Dar snubs plan for EA single tourist visa
And a similar deal sponsored by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda under the so-called Coalition of the Willing (CoW) has been pushed back, at least by a month, following procurement hiccups.
The three countries had agreed in principle to issue a joint $100 East African tourist visa allowing visitors to enter the three countries without restrictions from January 1, 2014.
Delays in procurement
But in an address to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Tuesday, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni said delays in procurement of the necessary infrastructure had pushed the date to next month. Tourists have had to seek and pay for visas in each of the member states they visit.
The CoW partners decided to roll out the joint visa after they realised that Tanzania and Burundi were dilly-dallying on joining the scheme.
It is understood that countries have had reservations about different issues such as security, collection and distribution of revenue and efficiency of the single visa regime in stimulating tourism growth.
The distribution of revenues has been a major issue. The proposed arrangement is such that the visa fee collected will be shared among member states, with the issuing country taking $10 and the remaining $90 shared equally among member states.
This means that Kenya - though expected to be largest visa issuing country due to its more advanced air transport connections - stands to lose at least $10 for every regional visa it issues.
"Uganda will lose at least $20 on each visa, but an increase in visitors should cover this loss," said Grace Aulo, the acting director in charge of tourism in Uganda.
Tanzania charges $50 for single-entry visas and $100 for multiple entry visas for each applicant. In 2012, it is estimated that Tanzania earned over $50 million in single entry visa fees alone - good income in a country where the official annual tourism earnings stand at $1.82 billion.
Tanzania's EAC Minister Samuel Sitta on Friday last week said Dar was uncomfortable with the single visa arrangement, arguing it was a threat to the country's security and economy.
"Tanzania has the largest number of tourist attractions in the region, and as of last year it had the largest number of tourists in East Africa. In an arrangement like this, how will the revenue from visa charges be shared?" Mr Sitta asked.
READ: Can Tanzania go it alone in tourism?
While this announcement was seen as the latest signal of Tanzania's seeming reluctance to implement regional agreements, it highlights the obstacles the EAC countries face in rolling out big joint projects that have major implications on their economies.
In the absence of a legally binding framework to implement these projects, action and pace has largely depended on the willingness of the different countries.
What is at stake?
The position of East Africa as one of the continent's most attractive tourist destinations has recently come under threat from other blocs taking advantage of the region's cumbersome business procedures, insecurity and poor infrastructure to boost their competitive edge.
EAC member states have therefore been looking for joint and individual initiatives to boost tourism in the region, with the single tourist visa seen as one of the major weapons in this quest.
The latest World Economic Forum (WEF) survey on global tourism and travel competitiveness shows that Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi are trailing emerging global tourism giants in sub-Saharan Africa such as Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa. In the sub-Saharan region, the three were ranked at the top followed by Cape Verde, Namibia, Gambia and Botswana.
Kenya, EAC's top tourism investment destination, came eighth. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda took positions nine, 12 and 13 respectively. Burundi was ranked at 30.
READ: EA falls off global tourists' radar due to insecurity, poor marketing
Kenya saw its tourism earnings drop 7.4 per cent to Ksh96.24 billion ($1.11 billion) in the year ending June 2013, from Ksh103.91 billion ($1.12 billion) the previous year.
Rwanda had 664,729 visitors in 2012 and collected at least $142.5 million in tourism revenues in the first quarter of 2013.
Tourist arrivals in Tanzania increased from 867,994 in 2011, to 1,077, 058 in 2012, a 24 per cent rise.
Uganda's tourism earnings are estimated to have hit $1 billion in 2012.
Industry players said that for a single tourist visa arrangement to work, there has to be a well-financed joint marketing effort to sell the region as a single destination.
"They require up to a 30 per cent increment in their current marketing budgets to meet the requirements of joint marketing," said Waturi Matu, the East Africa Tourism Platform co-ordinator.
The EAC Secretariat said last year that it had lined up several projects to increase tourism earnings from $7 billion to $16 billion annually by 2020. The plan is to double the number of tourists to 10 million annually. The planned investments are expected to cost $3.95 billion by 2020, up from the current $1.65 billion.
Kenya spends about $25 million on marketing tourism, compared with Rwanda's $10 million and Uganda's $100,000. This spending is dwarfed by South Africa's, estimated at $100 million in 2012, with 60 per cent of the amount going to traditional markets like the UK, Germany and the US.
Players see the low spending by regional countries as one of the biggest threats to realising the benefits of a joint regional tourist visa, especially as the region needs to have both country-specific and regional marketing plans.
"We have different packages to sell and merging them will give help cut costs and in return make East Africa a more preferred destination, hence increasing the number of tourists," said Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director at the Kenya Tourist Board.
The WEF ranks East Africa as the second most open sub-region on the globe, with only 33 per cent of the world's population required to have a traditional visa in order to visit the region.
Visa regimes
"Seamless travel through the joint visa has come in time to make EAC more competitive than other regions. We have been having difficulties in explaining to clients the different visa regimes in different countries and the multiple processes required to obtain a visa to visit the region," said Rosette Chantal Rugamba, the founder and managing director of Songa Africa, a Rwanda-based tour firm.
A joint visa is seen a way of increasing the region's appeal due to the uniqueness offered by each member country. For example, while Kenya is endowed with beaches and world-renowned parks like the Maasai Mara, Uganda is home to the world's best white water rafting rivers and also hosts the highest bird species in the world. Rwanda is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. Tanzania is known for its safari circuits, and beaches.
This package is what makes the region unique. It is this uniqueness that industry players say will help make cross-selling tourism packages across the region possible.
Second destination
About 90 per cent of the tourists who visit Rwanda will have first visited Kenya or Tanzania. Tanzania too is often a second destination.
"Out of the 1.1 million tourists who came to Tanzania in 2012, almost 300,000 came courtesy of Kenya's marketing and infrastructural services endowment, which Tanzania must continue to tap," said Hoseana Lunogelo, executive director at Tanzania's Economic and Social Research Foundation.
He said while Tanzania received less than 20 per cent of visitors to the EAC region in the past six years, it got 40 per cent of the total money spent by tourists.
According to statistics, each tourist in Kenya spent about $600, in Uganda about $700 and in Rwanda less than $400. Those visiting Tanzania spent more than $1,500.
According to WEF, the cost of obtaining multiple visas - in this case to Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda - whether in terms of money or the paperwork needed, can be a turn-off for travellers.
"Travellers see visas mainly as a formality that imposes a cost. If the cost of obtaining a visa - either the direct monetary cost imposed in the form of fees or the indirect costs, which can include distance, time spent waiting in lines, and the complexity of the process - exceeds a threshold, potential travellers are simply deterred from making a particular journey or choose an alternative destination with less hassle," said the WEF in its 2013 report.
But Tumaini University Makumira lecturer Elifuraha Laltaika says there is no direct connection between payment of multiple visa fees and flow of tourists.
"I am not convinced that someone can have enough money to spend as a tourist and find $100 or $200 visa fees so expensive as to discourage her or him from coming to East Africa," he said.
Tanzania has said joining the single tourist visa arrangement later on is not uncommon practice.
"In Europe, a few countries adopted the Schengen visa at the beginning and others joined at the later stage," said Tanzania Tourist Board managing director Aloyce Nzuki.
Assessing their readiness
Dr Nzuki added that even in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), only five member states are piloting a single tourist visa, whereas 14 others are still assessing their readiness.
"Since these partner states are sovereign countries, the best thing is to give them time," said the TTB official.
Dr Nzuki argued that if the EAC partner states have no mechanism to share immigration information when a visitor for example enters Tanzania from Kenya, in the absence of an integrated immigration system, criminals can easily cross from one country to the other at will.
"The current cumbersome process for tourists to acquire visas is a major hindrance rather than fees. We need to issue visas online like India if we want increased tourists flow," Dr Nzuki said.
EAC countries are yet to harmonise their immigration management systems to network with border points and embassies abroad. The delay has been caused by slow procurement procedures.
Some industry players in Uganda are pessimistic about the benefits from the single tourist visa, arguing that without equipping the tourism sector, the country will lose out to its counterparts now that visitors have access to all three countries at the same cost. The low marketing budget also means that the other countries can market their attractions independently.
Achieve the opposite
Boniface Byamukama, chair of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators, said that while the government is counting on an increasing the number of tourists to Uganda, the single visa could achieve the opposite.
"Uganda is not competitive in terms of service delivery," he said, adding that the hotel, transport and catering services are all below the standards in the other two CoW countries and tourists could avoid Uganda on that basis.
Reported by Peterson Thiong'o, Adam Ihucha, Berna Namata, Christabel Ligami, Dicta Asiimwe and Scola Kamau
Bumpy ride: EAC single tourist visa plan delayed by national and regional red tape - News - www.theeastafrican.co.ke
IN SUMMARY
- Decision by Dar es Salaam has not only made the journey longer but also exposed the bureaucratic and nationalistic hurdles that continue to haunt the plan.
- In the absence of a legally binding framework to implement these projects, action and pace has largely depended on the willingness of the different countries.
- Players see the low spending by regional countries as one of the biggest threats to realising the benefits of a joint regional tourist visa, especially as the region needs to have both country-specific and regional marketing plans.
East Africa's quest for a single tourist visa has received a setback after Tanzania indicated last week that it is not ready to join the arrangement.
The decision by Dar es Salaam has not only made the journey longer but also exposed the bureaucratic and nationalistic hurdles that continue to haunt the plan.
Last week, Tanzanian authorities said that they will adopt the single tourist visa plan later, and gave their blessings to the other EAC partner states to go ahead with the arrangement.
READ: Dar snubs plan for EA single tourist visa
And a similar deal sponsored by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda under the so-called Coalition of the Willing (CoW) has been pushed back, at least by a month, following procurement hiccups.
The three countries had agreed in principle to issue a joint $100 East African tourist visa allowing visitors to enter the three countries without restrictions from January 1, 2014.
Delays in procurement
But in an address to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Tuesday, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni said delays in procurement of the necessary infrastructure had pushed the date to next month. Tourists have had to seek and pay for visas in each of the member states they visit.
The CoW partners decided to roll out the joint visa after they realised that Tanzania and Burundi were dilly-dallying on joining the scheme.
It is understood that countries have had reservations about different issues such as security, collection and distribution of revenue and efficiency of the single visa regime in stimulating tourism growth.
The distribution of revenues has been a major issue. The proposed arrangement is such that the visa fee collected will be shared among member states, with the issuing country taking $10 and the remaining $90 shared equally among member states.
This means that Kenya - though expected to be largest visa issuing country due to its more advanced air transport connections - stands to lose at least $10 for every regional visa it issues.
"Uganda will lose at least $20 on each visa, but an increase in visitors should cover this loss," said Grace Aulo, the acting director in charge of tourism in Uganda.
Tanzania charges $50 for single-entry visas and $100 for multiple entry visas for each applicant. In 2012, it is estimated that Tanzania earned over $50 million in single entry visa fees alone - good income in a country where the official annual tourism earnings stand at $1.82 billion.
Tanzania's EAC Minister Samuel Sitta on Friday last week said Dar was uncomfortable with the single visa arrangement, arguing it was a threat to the country's security and economy.
"Tanzania has the largest number of tourist attractions in the region, and as of last year it had the largest number of tourists in East Africa. In an arrangement like this, how will the revenue from visa charges be shared?" Mr Sitta asked.
READ: Can Tanzania go it alone in tourism?
While this announcement was seen as the latest signal of Tanzania's seeming reluctance to implement regional agreements, it highlights the obstacles the EAC countries face in rolling out big joint projects that have major implications on their economies.
In the absence of a legally binding framework to implement these projects, action and pace has largely depended on the willingness of the different countries.
What is at stake?
The position of East Africa as one of the continent's most attractive tourist destinations has recently come under threat from other blocs taking advantage of the region's cumbersome business procedures, insecurity and poor infrastructure to boost their competitive edge.
EAC member states have therefore been looking for joint and individual initiatives to boost tourism in the region, with the single tourist visa seen as one of the major weapons in this quest.
The latest World Economic Forum (WEF) survey on global tourism and travel competitiveness shows that Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi are trailing emerging global tourism giants in sub-Saharan Africa such as Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa. In the sub-Saharan region, the three were ranked at the top followed by Cape Verde, Namibia, Gambia and Botswana.
Kenya, EAC's top tourism investment destination, came eighth. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda took positions nine, 12 and 13 respectively. Burundi was ranked at 30.
READ: EA falls off global tourists' radar due to insecurity, poor marketing
Kenya saw its tourism earnings drop 7.4 per cent to Ksh96.24 billion ($1.11 billion) in the year ending June 2013, from Ksh103.91 billion ($1.12 billion) the previous year.
Rwanda had 664,729 visitors in 2012 and collected at least $142.5 million in tourism revenues in the first quarter of 2013.
Tourist arrivals in Tanzania increased from 867,994 in 2011, to 1,077, 058 in 2012, a 24 per cent rise.
Uganda's tourism earnings are estimated to have hit $1 billion in 2012.
Industry players said that for a single tourist visa arrangement to work, there has to be a well-financed joint marketing effort to sell the region as a single destination.
"They require up to a 30 per cent increment in their current marketing budgets to meet the requirements of joint marketing," said Waturi Matu, the East Africa Tourism Platform co-ordinator.
The EAC Secretariat said last year that it had lined up several projects to increase tourism earnings from $7 billion to $16 billion annually by 2020. The plan is to double the number of tourists to 10 million annually. The planned investments are expected to cost $3.95 billion by 2020, up from the current $1.65 billion.
Kenya spends about $25 million on marketing tourism, compared with Rwanda's $10 million and Uganda's $100,000. This spending is dwarfed by South Africa's, estimated at $100 million in 2012, with 60 per cent of the amount going to traditional markets like the UK, Germany and the US.
Players see the low spending by regional countries as one of the biggest threats to realising the benefits of a joint regional tourist visa, especially as the region needs to have both country-specific and regional marketing plans.
"We have different packages to sell and merging them will give help cut costs and in return make East Africa a more preferred destination, hence increasing the number of tourists," said Muriithi Ndegwa, managing director at the Kenya Tourist Board.
The WEF ranks East Africa as the second most open sub-region on the globe, with only 33 per cent of the world's population required to have a traditional visa in order to visit the region.
Visa regimes
"Seamless travel through the joint visa has come in time to make EAC more competitive than other regions. We have been having difficulties in explaining to clients the different visa regimes in different countries and the multiple processes required to obtain a visa to visit the region," said Rosette Chantal Rugamba, the founder and managing director of Songa Africa, a Rwanda-based tour firm.
A joint visa is seen a way of increasing the region's appeal due to the uniqueness offered by each member country. For example, while Kenya is endowed with beaches and world-renowned parks like the Maasai Mara, Uganda is home to the world's best white water rafting rivers and also hosts the highest bird species in the world. Rwanda is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. Tanzania is known for its safari circuits, and beaches.
This package is what makes the region unique. It is this uniqueness that industry players say will help make cross-selling tourism packages across the region possible.
Second destination
About 90 per cent of the tourists who visit Rwanda will have first visited Kenya or Tanzania. Tanzania too is often a second destination.
"Out of the 1.1 million tourists who came to Tanzania in 2012, almost 300,000 came courtesy of Kenya's marketing and infrastructural services endowment, which Tanzania must continue to tap," said Hoseana Lunogelo, executive director at Tanzania's Economic and Social Research Foundation.
He said while Tanzania received less than 20 per cent of visitors to the EAC region in the past six years, it got 40 per cent of the total money spent by tourists.
According to statistics, each tourist in Kenya spent about $600, in Uganda about $700 and in Rwanda less than $400. Those visiting Tanzania spent more than $1,500.
According to WEF, the cost of obtaining multiple visas - in this case to Kenya, Uganda or Rwanda - whether in terms of money or the paperwork needed, can be a turn-off for travellers.
"Travellers see visas mainly as a formality that imposes a cost. If the cost of obtaining a visa - either the direct monetary cost imposed in the form of fees or the indirect costs, which can include distance, time spent waiting in lines, and the complexity of the process - exceeds a threshold, potential travellers are simply deterred from making a particular journey or choose an alternative destination with less hassle," said the WEF in its 2013 report.
But Tumaini University Makumira lecturer Elifuraha Laltaika says there is no direct connection between payment of multiple visa fees and flow of tourists.
"I am not convinced that someone can have enough money to spend as a tourist and find $100 or $200 visa fees so expensive as to discourage her or him from coming to East Africa," he said.
Tanzania has said joining the single tourist visa arrangement later on is not uncommon practice.
"In Europe, a few countries adopted the Schengen visa at the beginning and others joined at the later stage," said Tanzania Tourist Board managing director Aloyce Nzuki.
Assessing their readiness
Dr Nzuki added that even in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), only five member states are piloting a single tourist visa, whereas 14 others are still assessing their readiness.
"Since these partner states are sovereign countries, the best thing is to give them time," said the TTB official.
Dr Nzuki argued that if the EAC partner states have no mechanism to share immigration information when a visitor for example enters Tanzania from Kenya, in the absence of an integrated immigration system, criminals can easily cross from one country to the other at will.
"The current cumbersome process for tourists to acquire visas is a major hindrance rather than fees. We need to issue visas online like India if we want increased tourists flow," Dr Nzuki said.
EAC countries are yet to harmonise their immigration management systems to network with border points and embassies abroad. The delay has been caused by slow procurement procedures.
Some industry players in Uganda are pessimistic about the benefits from the single tourist visa, arguing that without equipping the tourism sector, the country will lose out to its counterparts now that visitors have access to all three countries at the same cost. The low marketing budget also means that the other countries can market their attractions independently.
Achieve the opposite
Boniface Byamukama, chair of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators, said that while the government is counting on an increasing the number of tourists to Uganda, the single visa could achieve the opposite.
"Uganda is not competitive in terms of service delivery," he said, adding that the hotel, transport and catering services are all below the standards in the other two CoW countries and tourists could avoid Uganda on that basis.
Reported by Peterson Thiong'o, Adam Ihucha, Berna Namata, Christabel Ligami, Dicta Asiimwe and Scola Kamau
Bumpy ride: EAC single tourist visa plan delayed by national and regional red tape - News - www.theeastafrican.co.ke
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