Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano has addressed complaints about the timeline for reviewing Kenya’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system after the Cabinet approved the process.
In a statement on Wednesday, December 18, Miano announced that a multi-sectoral meeting is scheduled for January 7, 2025, to address concerns raised about the ETA system and its impact on Kenya’s visa openness ranking.
“We have scheduled a multi-sectoral engagement on January 7, 2025, to review and discuss the ETA in detail, based on the concerns raised and the results of the Africa Visa Openness Index. I will keep all stakeholders updated as we work to improve the visa openness index,” she said.
Her response followed criticism from CNN International Correspondent Larry Madowo, who questioned the lack of clear timelines in the government’s announcement.
“Kenya is ‘reviewing and strengthening’ its widely criticized Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system after a major drop in the country’s ranking in a visa openness index. A Cabinet statement does not include timelines or what exactly will change,” Larry stated.
The decision to review the ETA system was made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Tuesday, December 17. The review is part of efforts to boost Kenya’s competitiveness and attract more tourists.
Kenya’s ranking in the 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index has drawn concern, with the country placed 46th out of 54 countries. Released on November 25, 2024, the report gave Kenya a score of 0.113, placing it behind Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The report attributed the low ranking to the government’s policy requiring visitors to obtain an ETA, which has been criticized for limiting accessibility to the country.
