Mozambique: 34% more visitors in first three months of visa exemption – government

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Mozambique: 34% more visitors in first three months of visa exemption – government

4:00 CAT | 07 Nov 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican government says that its decision to exempt tourists from low-risk countries from visa requirements has increased the number of visits to the country by 34% in the first 90 days of the measure’s implementation.

“The measure is making Mozambique more competitive and facilitating access to potential investors,” reads the economic and social balance of the execution of the State Budget up to the third quarter, to which Lusa had access today.

Mozambique introduced the Electronic Visa (e-Visa) in December, 2022, and on May 1st, 2023, introduced visa exemptions for citizens of 29 countries, in addition to reviewing the measure granting extended visas and simplifying requirements for foreign citizens investing in Mozambique.

“The creation of an online visa application platform and the exemption of tourist and business visas for a list of low-risk countries resulted in a 34% increase in the number of visitors to the country in the first 90 days of implementation, compared to the same period the previous year,” reads the report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, without giving precise numbers.

In the same document, the government estimates the “average [daily] expenditure” for each visitor at US$110 and, with an average visit of four days, each visitor represents US$440 of “new funds” for the economy.

“The increase in visitors to the country due to this measure represents growth in the sector and a multiplier effect on the Mozambican economy,” the report adds.

In August, the Mozambican government announced that more than 13,000 foreign citizens had entered Mozambique under the visa exemption measure introduced in May, the vast majority of them tourists, notably from Portugal.

According to Minister of Culture and Tourism, Eldevina Materula, of these exemptions, with visas granted at the border, “more than 10,000″ visitors entered Mozambique “for the purpose of tourism”, and “the remaining 3,000 for business’ ‘.

“This is a clear sign that the measures taken by the government are having an effect on boosting our sector,” the minister said. “With these measures, we clearly have a new pattern of tourists, with the American, British, Portuguese, Chinese and German nationalities standing out as the five main sources of arrivals in Mozambique, with 7,927 tourists since the visa exemption came into force last May.”

Source: Lusa