(Ecofin Agency) – After the lull in the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022, Zambia had applied a visa exemption to 43 additional countries and regions to revive its badly affected tourism industry. Given the strategic role of this sector in the economy and the prospects of the State, the measure has been extended to 53 new countries.
Zambia has unveiled a list of 53 additional countries and regions whose nationals are now visa-exempt to enter its territory. The measure announced by the Minister of the Interior and Security, Jacob Jack Mwiimbu, will take effect from 1is January 2025.
The African countries included in the additional list are Cape Verde, Comoros, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, and São Tomé and Príncipe. In 2022, Zambia had already exempted 43 states from visas. According to the minister, this policy, which now brings the number of exempted countries to 167, “will open economic opportunities through tourism, trade in goods and services, and job creation”.
Particularly targeted by this measure, the tourism sector is of key importance to the Zambian economy, contributing up to 10% of the national GDP. In 2022, the country received 1,060,788 international visitors while local tourists numbered 336,454 according to the Ministry of Tourism. Based on state policies for this industry, coordinated by the Zambia Tourism Agency, flows are expected to reach 3 million tourists in 2026.
Henoc Dossa
World
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