3 June 2024
Southern Africa enhances tourism with a unified visa for Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, simplifying travel across borders.
FiveSouthern Africa nations recently agreed to extend the scope of a unique regional visa, aiming to simplify tourist travel across their borders, thereby boosting visitor numbers.
The nations involved—Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—are part of the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area and have expressed their commitment to expanding the reach of the “univisa.”
The visa currently facilitates entry into Zambia and Zimbabwe and includes short visits to Botswana via Kazungula.
During a summit of KAZA leaders held in Livingstone, Zambia, there was a consensus on the need to extend the visa’s coverage to additional countries within the conservation and the broader Southern African economic community.
Botswana’s Vice President, Slumber Tsogwane, confirmed his nation’s full adoption of the univisa moving forward.
Furthermore, the KAZA member countries have decided to advocate for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to remove prohibitions on elephant and ivory trading. Established to oversee and restrict wildlife trade to prevent excessive exploitation, CITES imposed a ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory in 1989, a response to the significant decline in elephant populations over the preceding years.
The KAZA nations argue that lifting these restrictions could allow them to sell off accumulated ivory valued at approximately $1 billion, with the proceeds earmarked for conservation efforts.
