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Zimbabwe relaxes visa controls for Seychelles

Xinhua, September 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Zimbabwe announced on Thursday it had relaxed visa controls for Seychelles as it pushes with reform efforts aimed at spurring tourism growth.

Presenting the 2016 mid-term fiscal policy review statement in parliament, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said nationals from Seychelles no longer required a visa to visit Zimbabwe.

Previously, nationals from the island country were required to apply for visa on entry.

Chinamasa said Zimbabwe would also review visa policy for Chinese and Turkish nationals travelling on trips arranged through travel agencies and tour operators.

In March this year, the government relaxed visa controls for China and 36 other countries to allow nationals from those countries to apply for visa on entry.

Previously, nationals from the countries were required to apply for and obtain visas prior to travelling. The government recently said Chinese tourists into Zimbabwe surged by 32 percent in the first half of 2016 after relaxation of the visa controls.

Chinamasa said the visa reforms were meant to spur growth in tourism, currently contributing 1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue and 11 percent to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) from 2 million visitors annually.

The government has set to implement further reforms to boost growth in the sector so that it can contribute 5 billion dollars in revenue and 15 percent to GDP from 5 million annual tourist arrivals by 2020. Endit