More and more counties around the world are dropping traditional visas and even visa requirements altogether, according to UN Tourism’s latest Tourism Visa Openness report on global visa policies.
The report sheds light on the evolving landscape of travel facilitation. It includes the Tourism Visa Openness Index that measures the degree to which destinations facilitate tourism and how open a country is in terms of visa facilitation for tourism purposes. Mobility scores are also included to indicate the extent to which citizens around the world are subject to visa policies, as well as an in-depth analysis of the reciprocity of visa policies.
Destinations’ openness to international travel has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels following the lifting of Covid-19 related travel restrictions. As a consequence of the pandemic, new forms of travel facilitation also appeared, such as “nomadic visas.
Fewer people worldwide now require a traditional visa to travel, falling from 77% in 2008 to 59% in 2018 and then to 47% in 2023. On the other hand, 18% of the world population can apply for e-visas, an increase from 3% in 2013 and 7% in 2018. Moreover, 21% of the world population do not need any form of visa, an increase from 17% in 2008 and 20% in 2018, while 14% of the world population can apply for visa on arrival, an increase from 6% in 2008 and 15% in 2018.
The report looks at visa regulations for tourism by region, finding that Asia and the Pacific have the highest openness score of all world regions, while the most open sub-regions are Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean. The greatest increase in openness since the last report in 2018 was observed in South Asia and West Africa.
The most restrictive regions remain Central and North Africa, North America and Northern and Western Europe. On the other hand, visa exemptions are particularly prevalent in the Caribbean and Central America, visa on arrival policies is common in East Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and West Africa.
As for e-visas, they are prevalent in West and East Africa and South Asia, while traditional visa requests in the Middle East decreased from 71% of the global population in 2015 to 57% in 2023.
The report underscores the pivotal role of visa policy improvements in fostering tourism growth. Key recommendations include increased integration of tourism perspectives into visa strategies, targeted visa-exemption programs for low-risk traveller markets and expanded visa on arrival facilities. In addition, clear communication on visa policies is vital, along with a streamlined visa application process, accelerated processing times and optimized entry procedures for an enhanced visitor experience.
