The Mozambican government states that following the decision to exempt visas, the number of tourist visits from countries covered by the measure has increased by 34 percent in the first 90 days of its implementation.
“The measure is making Mozambique more competitive and facilitating access to potential investors,” reads the economic and social assessment of the State Budget execution until the third quarter, which Lusa had access to today. Mozambique introduced the Electronic Visa (e-Visa) in December 2022 and, in May 2023, implemented visa exemptions for citizens of 29 countries, in addition to revising the extended visa granting measure and simplifying requirements for foreign citizens investing in Mozambique.
“The creation of an online visa application platform and the exemption of tourism and business visas for a list of low-risk countries resulted in a 34% increase in the number of visitors to the country in the first 90 days of implementation, compared to the same period the previous year,” states the report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, without providing specific numbers.
In the same document, the government estimates that the average daily expenditure of each visitor is $110, and with an average visit duration of four days, each visitor represents $440 in “new funds” for the economy.
“The increase in visitors to the country due to this measure represents growth in the sector and a multiplier effect on the Mozambican economy,” adds the report.
In August, the Mozambican government announced that over 13,000 foreign citizens had entered Mozambique under the visa exemption measure introduced in May, with the vast majority being tourists, particularly from Portugal. According to the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Eldevina Materula, of these exemptions, with visas granted at the border, “more than 10,000” visitors entered Mozambique “for tourism purposes,” and “the remaining 3,000 for business.
