Hotel operators in Botswana have raised concerns over the prolonged full implementation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) UNIVISA framework.

A SADC UNIVISA is an initiative aimed at streamlining travel across the southern part of Africa by eliminating the need to buy separate single-entry visas for countries in the region.   

Despite leaders approving the agreement at the 46th SADC Summit in Durban in August this year, replacing the fragmented system of separate tourist visas with a single, common visa framework remains a distant prospect.

Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) chairperson Lawrence Lecha recently told NBC News on the sidelines of the 18th National Business Conference in Francistown that further delays in launching UNIVISA into action are causing travel friction, thereby impeding tourism growth between SADC countries.

Lecha described the tourism of UNIVISA as a mechanism capable of improving destination competitiveness and stimulating multi-country travel.

“SADC governments should introduce a programme that allows tourists to obtain multiple-entry visas across member states. This would enable a tourist travelling from Namibia to Botswana, for example, to move between countries without having to apply for a new visa each time. A single-entry visa restricts tourists from visiting countries multiple times. Has the UNIVISA been implemented? It would make travel seamless and allow tourists to move freely across the region. We remain concerned about this issue and will continue pushing for its implementation. We will not give up.”

Last year, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola were selected to pilot the new SADC Tourism UNIVISA.