Uganda has agreed to allow tourists in the East African region to fly directly to the country’s national parks without having to clear with the immigration department in Entebbe.

This comes more than three years after Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda enacted a joint visa scheme where visitors could visit any of the three countries on a single-entry permit. 

“This step furthers regional integration, by making it very easy, say, for a tourist visiting Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve to take one flight and land directly into Uganda’s tropical rainforest at Kibale National Park,” said Mr Justus Karuhanga, Uganda representative for the Giants Club, in a statement. 

“Requiring all visitors entering Uganda to do so only at Entebbe International Airport was holding back the potential to fully develop the country’s tourism potential.”