March 6th was an important day for Ghana,
as the nation celebrated its independence day. During the event,
president Mahama announced that starting this year’s July, all the 54
African Union (AU) citizens will receive arrival visas when visiting
Ghana, as the country currently allows free entry only for the citizens
of 15 countries from the Economic Community of West African States.
Although the president didn’t specified if the new
regulations apply to business visas as well, the new visa policy marked
an important step for African residents, as opening the borders to other
African nations could play a crucial role for Ghana’s tourism industry.
According to the African Development Bank data, only a quarter of the
continent’s countries offer visas on arrival to other country’s
nationals. Except for Seychelles, which has an open access visa policy,
African countries have restricted visa policies that makes it difficult
for African tourists to travel within the continent.
Moreover, during his independence day speech,
president John Dramani Mahama called for its people to learn French in
order to easier develop easier relationships with natives and visitors
from francophone neighbor-countries like Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and
Togo.
The latest measures are considered highly beneficial
for the country’s economy, as travel and tourism industry accounts for
5.9% of Ghana’s GDP.
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