In a survey which will be conducted to analyze the usage of the Single Tourist Visa, the Kenya Tourism Federation has contracted Strathmore University’s Centre for Tourism and Hospitality to conduct a regional survey on the level of its awareness and usage.
The single tourist visa was adopted by East African Community member states – Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda – in February last year, but take up by foreign visitors has been slow despite it being cheaper, according to industry players.
In the survey study, a lot od emphasis will be put on the level of awareness on use of national IDs for cross-border travel by citizens of the three states
According to Joe Wadawi of the Strathmore Centre for Tourism and Hospitality said the audit will identify gaps which are failing the system so far, which if addressed would provide further opportunities for operators and government agencies.
In report from the KTF, only 1,560 single tourist visas had been sold as at December 11 despite hundreds of thousands of in-bound tourists to the region in 2014.
The single visa was launched to entice more tourists into East Africa by allowing them to use one visa to tour the three states currently party to it.
It is also cheaper at a one-off fee of $100 compared to paying $50 in each country, which would amount to $150 if a foreign visitor tours three countries.
