The KAZA univisa, which allows travellers to enter both Zimbabwe and Zambia on a single visa, remains suspended despite appeals from the Zimbabwean travel trade to reinstate the visa.
“Zambian authorities maintain that they have run out of paper allocated for Immigration by the UN,” explains Emmanuel Fundira, Group CE of Astoc Leisure Group. However, he adds that the industry view is that it is “a lame excuse”. There has been loss of revenue to Zambia in terms of net tourism inflows resulting from cross-border pick-ups, according to Fundira.
The CEO of the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism, Paul Matamisa, also told Tourism Update that the univisa had been suspended for a few months due to non-availability of forms on the Zambian side. “We understand from Zimbabwean officials that negotiations have been in progress for reconvening the system.”
According to Matamisa, the univisa has been very beneficial for tourism to Zimbabwe. “We can judge by the drop in statistics of cross-border pick-ups, which are currently down by 15%,” he said.
While officials said earlier that the univisa would be implemented “soon”, Karien Kermer, owner of Wild Side Tours and Safaris in Livingstone, says there has been complete silence.
The suspension of the univisa is a hassle for tour operators who want to combine both countries in one travel programme, explains Henk Graaff, MD SW Africa.
Graaff adds, however, that the real frustration is that these kinds of decisions and announcements tend to be unreliable. “These decisions are often changed backwards and forwards at short notice and without consultation or warning,” he says, adding that this makes it challenging to advise clients reliably. “What we as travel advisers/experts tell our clients in the beginning, often turns out to be different at the time of travel.”
According to Graaff, this situation is especially frustrating when organising big groups, which tend to choose their destinations based on the relative ease of movement between countries. When regulations suddenly change closer to the time of travel, this can lead to potential delays and forced changes or omissions in the programme.
