The Zimbabwean trade has appealed to government to proffer a clear explanation on the Kavango-Zambezi univisa, which was suspended after Zambia reportedly ran out of the paper on which to print the unvisa.
Shearwater Adventures GM Sales and Marketing Trish Mambinge said despite the excitement on the initiative, the delay in the launch of the univisa system was a matter of concern for the tourism industry.
“The tourism industry would appreciate a clear picture on what is happening with the univisa as this was the only negative aspect in our meetings at Indaba. All agents and clients were very excited about this initiative, but it seems to be taking longer than expected to kick off,” said Mambinge.
Mambinge said the univisa was likely to increase arrivals into Zimbabwe.
She said, “We appeal to the respective authorities to please put this in place and increase traffic into our country.”
The univisa regime between Zimbabwe and Zambia was piloted during the 2014 UN World Tourism Organisation general assembly co-hosted by the two countries.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi confirmed the visa regime was no longer functional, saying the reason proffered was that Zambia had run out of the special type of paper used for printing the visa.
This has raised fears that the suspension of the univisa regime between the two countries could derail plans to replicate the system into five other countries in the region.
Plans were afoot to extend the univisa to all countries in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area to promote tourism and ensure convenience for visitors.
It was launched as a six-month pilot programme with the goal of extending it to Namibia, Botswana and Angola.
Minister Mzembi also said he was battling to bring all relevant parties in both countries to put their heads together in order to salvage the situation.
Zambia has since advised visitors through its embassies that the univisa is currently not operational and that it would advise visitors of its resumption in due course.
