EAC Tourism Strategy 2027–2036: East Africa Moves Toward One Brand, Shared Hotel Grades and a Single Tourist Visa

East Africa's tourism ministers have adopted a ten-year EAC tourism strategy that aims to sell the region to the world as a single destination. The EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy (2027–2036) was approved at the 13th Meeting of the East African Community's Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management, which ended on Thursday 15 October at the Community's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The meeting also set fresh deadlines for the long-discussed Single Tourist Visa, agreed common hotel grading plaques, and committed the bloc to using the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations as a shop window for the whole region.

The council was chaired by Uganda's Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Col. Tom Butime. For travellers, nothing changes overnight. But the decisions point to how a multi-country East African trip could be planned, priced and booked over the next decade.

One brand: Visit East Africa, Feel the Vibe

The new strategy will market the Community's eight partner states together under the regional brand "Visit East Africa: Feel the Vibe". According to reports of the meeting by Uganda's URN news agency, published in The Independent, and by The Cooperator News, the plan relies on digital campaigns, strategic partnerships and cross-border tourism packages rather than each country competing alone for the same long-haul visitors.

Butime set out five priorities for the sector: conservation across shared ecosystems, harmonised grading and classification of tourism businesses, better tourism statistics through an EAC Tourism Barometer, progress on the Single Tourist Visa and cross-border travel, and stronger joint marketing. He urged partner states to "create an enabling environment for private-sector investment", to develop bankable regional tourism projects and to set up mechanisms for monitoring progress, The Cooperator News reported.

The EAC's Deputy Secretary General for infrastructure, productive, social and political sectors, Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, said the region had so far captured "only the tip of the iceberg" of what its tourism and wildlife could earn.

Single Tourist Visa: two dates to watch

A single visa covering the whole Community has been discussed for years, and the council stopped short of approving one. Instead it set a timetable. The EAC Secretariat is due to circulate an updated study on the proposed Single Tourist Visa by 20 October 2026, and partner states have until 30 November 2026 to send in their comments. Malueth urged member states to finish their national consultations on the proposal.

Until a regional visa is agreed and launched, the existing arrangements stand. The East African Tourist Visa still covers only Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya; Tanzania, including Zanzibar, needs a separate visa. See our guide to the East Africa Tourist Visa for the current fee, validity and how to apply.

Hotel grading before AFCON 2027

With Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda co-hosting AFCON 2027, the council told partner states to speed up the classification of hotels and other tourism establishments before the tournament. Ministers adopted common designs for EAC classification plaques and certificates, directed that classified establishments be published in the EAC Gazette, and approved the examination results of newly trained hospitality assessors from Kenya and Tanzania.

Malueth was blunt about why standards matter. "The world will judge East Africa by the quality of the rooms, the meals and the service that our visitors receive," he said, according to The Cooperator News.

For visitors, a common grading system should eventually make star ratings mean the same thing in Kampala, Nairobi and Arusha. For hotels, it is a deadline: properties hoping to market themselves to football fans will want to be graded before the tournament. Our earlier report on how Uganda is preparing hotels for AFCON 2027 has more on the domestic side of those preparations.

Kidepo, Elgon, Kagera and Virunga: conservation across borders

The strategy's conservation priority names four shared ecosystems: Kidepo, Mount Elgon, Kagera and Virunga. The council directed the Secretariat to coordinate a three-way memorandum of understanding between Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda for a Kidepo–Karamoja–Turkana Transboundary Conservation Area.

That matters for Uganda's most remote park. Kidepo Valley National Park already borders South Sudan and lies close to the Kenyan frontier, and its wildlife does not stop at the park boundary. A formal cross-border framework could in time support joint protection and, potentially, itineraries that link the three countries. No timetable for the memorandum was given.

Uganda to host the regional expo in May 2027

The council welcomed Uganda's offer to host the fourth EAC Regional Tourism Expo alongside its own Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) in May 2027. The joint event is expected to feature AFCON promotion and multi-country tourism packages, and partner states were urged to send high-level delegations. The Secretariat was told to work with Uganda on preparations and on promoting the regional brand.

Ministers also thanked development partners supporting the sector, among them GIZ, the European Union, TradeMark Africa, IUCN and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development.

Why it matters for the industry

East African countries have often marketed themselves as rivals, competing for the same gorilla, safari and beach travellers. A shared brand, common hotel standards and region-wide visitor data would make it easier for operators to package the kind of trip many long-haul travellers already take, combining Uganda's primates with Kenyan or Tanzanian savanna and an Indian Ocean beach.

The gaps are just as clear. The strategy is a marketing framework rather than a funded programme, and the reports of the meeting gave no budget figures. The visa question, which matters most to many travellers, remains at the consultation stage.

What it means for travellers

If you are planning a trip in the next year, nothing has changed yet: keep budgeting for separate visas outside the Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya scheme, and check entry rules for each country on your route. Watch for the Secretariat's visa study this week and the partner states' responses at the end of November. If you are travelling for AFCON 2027, look for hotels displaying the new EAC classification plaques as grading gets under way, and book early in host cities.

Photo: Halidtz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).