Pan-African Visa-Free Travel Campaign Targets $3.3 Trillion Market and Deeper Continental Integration
Story: written Springnewsng August 26,2025
A Pan-African campaign pushing for visa-free travel across the continent is gaining momentum, with advocates stressing that eliminating travel barriers could unlock Africa’s $3.3 trillion economy and create millions of jobs for its 1.4 billion citizens.
The initiative, known as the Trans Africa Tourism & Unity Campaign, is being championed by an eight-member team of non-state actors currently on a 163-day road trip across 39 African countries. Their mission is to build support from governments, civil society groups, and the media to dismantle internal borders and enable unrestricted travel for African passport holders.
Campaign lead and former Ghanaian lawmaker Ras Mubarak described the project as a practical effort to fast-track the African Union’s vision of a borderless continent.
“The unification of Africa is very crucial. This is our contribution as non-state actors to support regional blocs and the AU. We want to ensure Africans can travel freely without restrictions,” Mubarak said during the Nigerian leg of the campaign.
So far, the team has visited Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, with plans to move through Central, Southern, Eastern, and Northern Africa before concluding in Ghana by early 2026.
The campaign is backed by the Government of Ghana and supported by contributions from individuals, institutions like the National Investment Bank of Ghana, and private African companies. Its ultimate target is to achieve a visa-free Africa by 2035, focusing on job creation, economic growth, and stronger cultural ties.
Mubarak stressed that the campaign’s goal is not symbolic but urgent. A report will be compiled from their findings and engagements, which will later be presented to African heads of state.
“A successful campaign would mean African leaders committing to visa-free policies within the next five years, not in 2063. The youth of Africa cannot wait four decades for opportunities,” he emphasized.
The urgency is underlined by Africa’s limited gains from tourism. Despite its population size and growing middle class, the continent earns less than $2 billion annually from global tourism. Advocates believe that figure could quadruple if intra-African mobility was unrestricted.
“Imagine the jobs that could be created if intra-African tourism was booming,” Mubarak said. “Young people could find opportunities as tour guides, hotel workers, chefs, drivers, and entrepreneurs.”
Beyond economics, the campaign also highlights Africa’s rich cultural integration. During their stay in Nigeria, the team shared a northern delicacy known as masa with alefo, underscoring the unifying power of shared traditions.
