Visitors are watching elephants in a quarantine area in the Etosha National Park, northwestern Namibia, Aug. 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)
Namibia has launched visa on arrival for visitors from 47 countries in a bid to improve the economy through tourism.
WINDHOEK, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration on Wednesday officially launched a visa on arrival for 47 countries to boost tourism.
The project will be implemented on Hosea Kutako International Airport, Walvis Bay International Airport, Katima Mulilo border post and eventually on all ports of entry.
Flamingos feed in a lagoon in Skeleton Coast Park in Namibia, Sept. 7, 2014. Lying on the Atlantic coast west of Namibia, Skeleton Coast stretches about 500 kilometers from Swakop River in central Namibia up north to Kunene River between Angola and Namibia. The 20,000-square-kilometer area is known for harsh climate, outlandish landscape and various flora and fauna. (Xinhua/Gao Lei)
Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Frans Kapofi said the countries that will now have visa on arrival while coming to Namibia include 27 African countries and 20 more from other parts of the world.
"The decision by Namibia to implement a visa on arrival is in line with African Union drive to promote a visa free Africa as well part of Namibia to improve the economy through tourism," he said.
A sable antelope is seen at the Waterberg Plateau National Park, about 280 km north of Windhoek, capital of Namibia, May 27, 2015. The plateau is largely inaccessible, so in the early 1970s several of Namibia's endangered species were translocated there for protection. The plateau now supplies other Namibian parks with rare species. (Xinhua/Musa C Kaseke)
Visitors that will benefit from the new initiative include visitors, visitors coming to attend workshops, medical visits, as well as friendship and family visits.
According to Kapofi, the visitors will be able to submit their visa application at the point of arrival and get approval and pay within a short period of time as compared to the past when certain nationalities had to apply from their home countries.
Giraffes and steenboks are seen at the Etosha National Park, northwestern Namibia, July 30, 2016. The park spans an area of 22,270 square kilometers and gets its name from the Etosha pan, a large salt pan. The park is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds and reptiles. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)
