ATB UNVEILLING: Kingdom of Eswatini on Efforts at Issuing Visa on Arrival as African Tourism Board Opens Office in Mbabane
The Eswatini monarchy is upbeat on the efforts at issuing electronic visa and visa on arrival to the country in order to increase traffic in terms of tourists arrivals to the mountain kingdom.
The Right Honorable Cleopas S. Dlamini, the Prime Minister, Kingdom of Eswatini hinted on this while delivering his opening remarks at the unveilling of African Tourism Board’s Secretariat at the Hilton Garden Inn in the capital, Mbabane, recently.
The PM believed that with the ongoing efforts at actualising this bold step which would ultimately place the country in the relevant position among compliant nations when it comes to visa easiness, being promoted by the UNWTO, would come to reality and yield positively because the process has been receiving the consideration of his principal, King Mswati Ill.
“To ensure ease of travel, His Majesty also assured of the ongoing efforts to facilitate visas on arrival as well as electronically. I am sure some of you can attest to the fact that this is an experience that makes it easy to travel and thus promote tourism”, the Prime Minister hinted.
He expressed his government’s confidence at the synergy being promulgated by the African Tourism Board and his country’s tourism plans of action which would also result to something tangible in terms of socio-economic growth within African communities -creating means of livelihood within tourism value-chain.
“In this regards,we are confident that the alignment and synergy between the ATB’s mandate and Eswatini tourism’s strategic objectives will continue to uphold tourism as a powerful catalyst for socio-economic growth in Africa and yield tangible positive results in communities throughout the continent”, the Prime Minister further stated.
The Kingdom of Eswatini remains the only absolute monarch in the world, placing the country in a vantage position among nations as a custodian of undiluted culture. The country also prides itself as the bastion of cultural tourism through its unique festivals such as Marula, among others.
It is expected that if the country adopts electronic and visa on arrival regime, it would, as a matter of fact affirm her readiness to kick-start reaping from the dividend that the sector hopes to usher in as the global recovery process continues.
African Tourism Board is a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to rebrand and re-align the African tourism narratives as it remains the only truly pan-African tourism organization with its headquarters domicile in Africa – (Kingdom of Eswatini) but has a global presence through its Ambassadors, strategic partners and stakeholders.
Present at the event were, Hon. Philda Nani Kereng, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Botswana, Engr. Dr. Walter Mzembi, former Minister of Tourism, Zimbabwe, Hon. Moses Vilakati, Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs – Kingdom of Eswatini, and host of other dignitaries from within and outside of Eswatini.
