What Afcon revealed about the challenges of intra-Africa travel
The implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and a Single Air Transport Market a few years ago was expected to have eased travel for Africans across the continent. While there have been some improvements, the majority of Africans still need visas to travel around the continent.
Cameroon—this year’s host of the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon)—ranks 41st on the 2021 Africa Visa Openness Report (pdf), with nationals from 46 African countries requiring visas in advance to visit the country. The experiences of African journalists who traveled to the country to cover the event reveal the challenges of intra-Africa travel.
In the case of Nigerians, a visa-on-arrival policy and a new direct flight route from Lagos to Douala removed only a few layers from the eerily familiar harsh, expensive experience Africans grapple with when they travel on the continent.
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