[ad_1]
Ethiopian Airlines will start helping Chinese visitors to process visa applications to travel across Africa.
Starting in 2019, the first African airline will set up a center that will allow travelers from China to apply for visas for 35 African countries, said company head, Tewolde Gebremariam, at the agency. Xinhua Chinese press.
The program aims to reduce the application process, especially for citizens who have to visit embassies in the capital, Beijing. Holders of Chinese passports can obtain a visa upon arrival in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "The visa system will make it easier for Chinese experts and business travelers to travel by plane and reduce their financial costs," Tewolde said, adding "we are very happy".
As a dominant airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has in recent years adopted a pan-African strategy, establishing more links, re-launching missing national airlines and setting up more platforms in Africa.
Part of this growth includes serving cargo and passenger flights to five destinations in China, namely Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong. To take advantage of the growing number of Chinese traveling abroad, the airline began accepting payments in its mobile application in September via the Alipaba payment platform, owned by Alibaba.
The creation of a visa center is also likely a tactical tactic, placing the state-owned carrier at the heart of efforts to facilitate movement on the continent. In November, Ethiopia launched an arrival visa campaign for all African travelers as more and more African countries liberalized their visa regimes to attract more trade and tourists. This plan is also beneficial for the Ethiopian, especially as his center in Addis Ababa has now overtaken Dubai as a global gateway to Africa.
The visa hub is also symptomatic of the deepening of China's place in Africa. In addition to coming to work and trade, Chinese tourists are showing increased interest in the continent's cultural and historical sites. Conscious of this, countries such as Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia have relaxed their visa rules or launched marketing campaigns to encourage and attract more Chinese travelers. South Africa even went so far as to issue multiple entry visas of five to ten years for business travelers upon their arrival.
Sign up for the Quartz Africa weekly report here for news and analysis on African business, technology and innovation in your inbox
Source link
