On February 7th BANKO information Service found out the reaction of the Russian travel market on the prohibition of Zambian visas issuing on the boarder with the Republic of South Africa (news 6.02). Experts can not find the reasons for Zambian authorities decision as they are interested in the increasing tourist flow from Russia. Among the possible reasons experts specify reorganizing within the structure of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Zambia. Another version refers to the Zambian Consulate in Moscow that does not want to lose money: ‘the embassy issues approximately 300 visas per year, while thousands of Russian tourists travel to the country’, explained Valentina Myagkova, Marketing Director of Sun International in Russia, CIS and Baltic countries. On the other hand, the Consulate itself informed a BANKO correspondent that they knew about the possibility of visa issuing on the border only when they started receiving phone calls from travel companies. The Embassy always required that tourists applied for visas in Moscow’, stated an anonymous representative of the Embassy.
Furthermore, experts point out that visa application process itself is not complex. Tourists need to present in the Consulate a foreign passport, two copies of application forms in English signed by a tourist, two photographs, an invitation or a faxed confirmation from the hotel and plane tickets. A single entry Zambian visa costs $25, double entry visa – $40, multi visa – $80. The inconvenient factor for tour operators is the period of visa issuing – 21 days. Meanwhile, an official period for issuing visa for the Republic of South Africa is two weeks.
At the moment tour operating companies worry that the necessity of application for Zambian visa in Moscow will affect tourist flow to the country. On the other hand, some travel market players disagree: ‘Those who are going to South Africa plan well in advance, minimum a month before the trip’, said Manager of South Africa Department of Bureau South Cross, Olga Baskakova.
