E-VISA COMING TO ESWATINI

MBABANE – Government will be reviewing Eswatini’s visa regime to launch e-visa and visa-on-arrival for tourists.

Wikipedia, online search engine, explains that e-visa is an electronic visa also called online visa. E-visa procedure is very easy and convenient.
If you will go for offline visa it might be possible that you need to go to their place, but with an e-visa you just need to fill an online form, online details and submit and get your e-visa in your inbox.

Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, in the annual budget for the 2019/20 financial year, announced that tourism had been identified as a priority sector that has potential to catalyse economic growth across the economy.

Sector

He said the sector had proven to be resilient and a fundamental contributor to economic activity in the country by generating foreign currency and creating jobs.
“Government continued to create awareness of the country and to promote it in various international and regional platforms. Government would like to thank our cooperating partners and the SADC Trade-Related Facility, for funding the formulation of the National Tourism Bill,” said Rijkenberg. 

The minister explained that the proposed legislation sought to effectively regulate the tourism sector through active participation of all stakeholders.
In 2018, the country experienced a 5.1 per cent decline in tourist arrivals, an issue which needs to be addressed urgently.

Eswatini tourism experienced a 5.1 per cent overall decline in foreign visitor arrivals in 2018.
Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Research and Statistics Officer Sebenzile Ginindza disclosed that foreign visitor arrivals to the Kingdom of Eswatini in 2018 recorded a total 1.277 million, reflecting a decline of 5.1 per cent when compared to 2017.

Figures

She explained that the lacklustre performance in visitor figures was mainly attributed to dampened demand for leisure travel as consumers reprioritised household expenditures for varying reasons, which include lowered disposable household income, cyclical nature of leisure travel preferences and economic uncertainties within source markets.

Eswatini’s key markets; South Africa (-2.2 per cent), Mozambique (-9.3 per cent), Germany (-6.0 per cent), Netherlands (-25.1 per cent), France (-25.4 per cent), United Kingdom (-15.7 per cent) and United States of America (-14.5 per cent) all registered significant declines during the period in review.
“Globally, 2018 was depicted by economic uncertainties, political tensions and lowered household disposable incomes, which when combined had adverse effects on travel and tourism. She said Eswatini was no exception as well. 

The ETA officer pointed out that neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique had historically remained Eswatini’s main source markets with both accounting for an annual average 77 per cent of total arrivals.



              

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