Mahdi Al-Zghdidi, a journalist specializing in political and economic sciences
Africa-Press. The number of Africans viewing their continent as a “developed and worthy of discovery” tourist destination is increasing, as noted in international reports discussing a rising internal travel market. However, it still faces an old barrier: the visa. Africa has been the fastest-growing region in global tourism, with international arrivals increasing by about 8% to reach approximately 81.3 million visitors in 2025, compared to 75.4 million the previous year, according to data from a local source. This growth rate is more than double the global average of 4%.
According to the platform “Africa.com,” which specializes in African affairs, the African middle class is expected to exceed 500 million people by 2030, which could contribute to a growing internal travel market. The platform adds that more than 60% of the continent’s population is under the age of 25, and these young people have increasing spending power, with travel being an essential part of their lives.
In a report from a local source, journalist Saiko Jamal, based in Dakar, describes a growing influx of African visitors coming for tourism rather than work, linking this trend to a generation of millennials and “Generation Z” that is beginning to reshape perceptions of travel and leisure. The report quotes Jillian Blackbird, the CEO of the non-profit organization “Eden Africa,” stating that “travel is now seen as part of identity and daily life, not a luxury.”
However, the same report indicates that travel prices within Africa are among the highest globally, with a scarcity of direct flights, although the situation has improved with the emergence of new airlines. For example, in Lagos, Nigeria, weekend trips to neighboring Benin are now offered for about $150.
In the latest developments in this trend, Togo announced in May 2026 that it would exempt citizens of all African countries from visa requirements for stays of up to 30 days, provided they submit an electronic application 24 hours before arrival. Togo thus joined a small club of only six countries that have fully opened their borders to citizens of the continent: Rwanda, Seychelles, Gambia, Benin, and Ghana, while Kenya is close to the list, exempting only Somalia and Libya.
However, this openness remains an exception in a continent of 54 countries, as about 48 of them still adhere to traditional visa systems. The African visa openness index, issued by a local source, shows slow cumulative progress, with Africans traveling without a visa in 28% of travel scenarios in 2024, compared to only 20% in 2016. However, the 2025 version of the index recorded a setback, with the share of trips requiring a prior visa rising from 47.1% to 51.1%, exceeding half of the cases, while the visa-on-arrival dropped to 20.4%, its lowest level, after four countries—Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Somalia—shifted from granting visas on arrival to requiring prior visas.
The institutional framework remains stalled, as the African Union’s protocol on the free movement of people, adopted in 2018, has only been ratified by four countries, while it requires 15 ratifications to come into effect. The African passport, symbolically launched in 2016, remains limited to diplomats and senior officials, making current exemption decisions unilateral sovereign steps that can be reversed, rather than binding legal commitments, according to a local source.
These restrictions reflect the weakness of economic integration itself; intra-African trade does not exceed 16%, compared to over 60% within the European Union, according to a report from a local source. Countries resisting openness cite genuine security concerns, especially in the Sahel region, but observers believe these intersect with economic calculations, including some countries’ reliance on visa revenues as a sovereign resource and fears of labor migration to more attractive economies.
Kenya exemplifies this tension; after replacing its visa system in 2024 with an “electronic travel authorization” system, the system was criticized as a “disguised visa” for imposing a fee of $30 and reducing exemption lists. Kenya’s ranking dropped 17 places to 46th in the 2024 index before Nairobi announced at the beginning of 2025 that it would not apply it to citizens of African countries, except for Somalia and Libya.
Thus, internal tourism in Africa emerges as a significant economic and social opportunity, but visa restrictions remain a practical obstacle to turning this opportunity into a sustainable reality. The continent’s success in transforming partial openness into a coordinated regional policy requires political will, institutional coordination, and economic strategies that address security and revenue concerns; otherwise, the vast potential will remain locked behind passport stamps.
