Rwanda announced visa-free travel for Africans to promote free movement of people and trade, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
"Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they want, and they will not pay anything to enter our country. 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 rapid pace in the coming decades," says Kagame.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Summit, taking place in the Rwandan capital of Kigali from November 1 to 3, aims to boost the continent's "inclusive and sustainable growth potential of the travel and tourism sector".
Making the announcement during the summit, the head of state also stressed the importance of working together to make Africa "a premier destination for global travel."
Other countries that have introduced visa-free travel for African nationals include Gambia, Benin and Seychelles, according to the 2022 Africa's Visa Openness Report. In addition, Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Monday that the country plans to abolish visa requirements for all African visitors by the end of the year.
"Visa restrictions amongst ourselves is working against us. When people cannot travel, business people cannot travel, entrepreneurs cannot travel we all become net losers," the leader said.
In 2016, in order to "remove restrictions on Africans' ability to travel, work and live within their own continent," and to rival Europe's Schengen zone, the AU launched its passports. However, only diplomats and AU officials have been issued the travel document so far.
Another project of the organization, aiming to "promote [the continent's] socio-economic growth development" is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), initiated to reinforce "intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market."