Zambian Visa Fees Slashed!The government has reduced Zambian visa fees by as much as 70 percent. The visa fees were reduced from US$150.00 to US$50.00 for single entry and US$340.00 to US$ 80.00 for double or multiple entries. The daily entry fees were reduced from US$50 to US$20.00. This was announced by Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Mr. Micheal Kaingu on 7th November 2008 at the Southern Sun Hotels. The new visa fees will only be effective upon the signing of a statutory instrument by the Minister of Home Affairs. Mr. Kaingu said at the media breakfast held at Southern Sun Hotels in Lusaka that the reduction was particularly for the United States and United Kingdom who were overcharged, but the changes were also applicable to other tourists. The Minister said the reduction of the fees was aimed at encouraging more tourists to visit Zambia. This would improve the tourism industry. He said the reduction would result in more foreign currency as the more time the tourists spend in the country the more currency they spend. Mr. Kaingu said Zambia was considered as one of the most expensive tourist destinations in the region. This has contributed to the under development of the industry. “The cheaper the entry fees, the longer our tourist will stay in Zambia because the current statistics indicate that tourists stay in the country for not more than six days,” he said. “My request to the operators is that they should help the Government by reducing their packages by half because the Government has met them half way in reducing the fees,” he further said. Zambia Tourist Board chairperson, Errol Hickey praised the Government for reducing the visa fees. He said this would help the country reach its target goal of having one million tourists enter the country by 2010. Mr. Hickey said current statistics indicate that over 800,000 tourists had visited Zambia this year.
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