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| Serengeti migration |
Kenya and Tanzania have reverted to their 1985
bilateral agreement as an interim measure to resolve their differences over
free movement of tourists across the border.
The two countries and Uganda have been accusing
each other of policies that aim to protect their tour operators from regional
competition. In a trilateral crisis meeting in Arusha last week Nairobi,
Kampala and Dar failed to reach a long-term solution.
Under the agreement, tour vehicles from Uganda
and Kenya will not be allowed into each other’s tourism sites; instead, tour
operators will swap tourists at the countries’ respective nearest border point,
Namanga, Sirare and Isebania, Holili /Taveta, Horohoro and Lungalunga.
This is the latest in a string of initiatives to
boost the EAC tourism industry and market it as a single destination.
On February 20, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda launched
a joint tourist visa that will work like the Schengen visa for the European
Union countries. The $100 document will allow tourists to enter any of the
three countries and move freely within the other two without having to pay for another
visa.
Under the interim deal, once at the border, tour
firms will have to contract their counterparts from the other partner state to
take the tourists.
Although the process will not come at an extra
cost for tour firms, the operators find it cumbersome and fear that the same
quality of hospitality may not be accorded their tourists.
Uganda had complained that while it allows Kenyan
registered tour vehicles to enter its tourist sites, Kenya does not
reciprocate. Uganda was also concerned that it does not levy work permit fees
for Tanzania’s tour operators who enter Uganda to drop off or pick up tourists
but Tanzania levies $100.
Tanzania denied the allegations but stated that
prior to July 2013 every non-citizen entering Tanzania for gainful activities
was subject to a fee of $200 for a Carrying on Temporary Assignment Pass (CTA).
The ministers directed Kenya and Tanzania
to respond to Uganda’s concerns before March 20.
Kenya Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs,
Commerce and Tourism Phyllis Kandie said the move will resolve differences,
promote the region as a tourism destination and foster EAC integration.
“Member states should therefore honour timelines
agreed upon and work jointly to implement the decisions,” said Ms Kandie.
Waturi Matu, Kenyan co-ordinator of the East
African Tourism Platform, said that the 1985 bilateral agreement is still
legally binding under the current tourism laws of the two partner states.
The EAC Secretariat was asked to fast track the
harmonisation process of the EAC tourism laws and review the bilateral
agreement in six months.
Kenyan tour operators havesince 2010 expressed
their concerns over the continued refusal by Tanzania to allow
Kenyan-registered tourist vans to enter sites inside the country when Tanzania
tour operators are freely entering the Kenyan sites with their vehicles.
Tanzania’s Tourism Act 2008 stipulates that
foreign registered tour operator vehicles are not allowed entry into tourist
sites. The law, permits only foreign tour operator companies registered in
Tanzania to access these tourist sites. EAC partner state-registered tourist
vehicles are considered foreign.
Tanzania Tourism Federation executive secretary
Richard Rugimbana said the country will implement the agreement as it waits for
the harmonisation of EAC tourism laws.
However, some tour firms are dissatisfied with
the agreement. Nairobi-based Nahdy Travel & Tours Ltd managing director
Faraj Abdalla said that the border closure adds extra costs to the Serengeti
and the Masai Mara package, as tourists have to go back to Nairobi or Arusha to
reach the other side.
“The move to have tourists change vehicles at the
borders of Namanga, Sirare and Taveta is not only a humiliation for tourists,
but also a window dressing for Tanzania’s policy of non-tariff barriers to keep
competition away,” Mr Abdalla said.
Kenya is now charging a park entry fee of $90 per
person for the international tourist, up from $75, while the other countries
are charging between $50 and $60. Tanzania is charging $60 per person for
international tourists while Uganda charges $40.
Other issues addressed by the ministers included
the harassment of drivers and guides at the borders and on Tanzanian highways;
and fees charged to Kenyan citizens.
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