African states urged to review visa regimes, airfares

Cutting red tape: Thamane says bureaucracy is overburdening youth enterprise
Cutting red tape: Thamane says bureaucracy is overburdening youth enterprise

DURBAN: Unfavourable visa conditions and the ever-rising cost of air travel remain the biggest limitation to the growth of the tourism industry in Africa and there is a need to counter the trend as a matter of urgency.

The call was made this week by South African Minister of Tourism Patricia De Lille when officially opening the Africa Travel Indaba here on Tuesday. This year’s Indaba, which ended on Thursday (yesterday) had more than 350 tourism products showcased and featured 1,000 buyers from the global tourism ecosystem as well as just under 1,000 exhibitors.

Most notably, the attendees included destination marketing bodies, hotel groups, airlines, tour operators, and 10 African tourism boards from 21 African countries, including the Botswana Tourism Organisation.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up