Asia ahead on easy visas

MADRID, 30 January 2013: UNWTO research on visa facilitation suggests Asia and the Americas are the most open regions to obtain visas.

UNWTO’s findings showed that in 2012 an average 20% of the world’s population did not require a visa to visit an Asian destination, while 19% could obtain a visa-on-arrival and 7% an e-visa. In the Americas the averages were 31%, 8% and 1% respectively.

European destinations were the least open when comparing three components of a visa policy (no visa; visa-on-arrival and e-visas). Although 21% of the world population did not require a visa to enter Europe as a tourist, only 6% were able to apply for a visa-on-arrival and no e-visa system was in place.

“An overall restrictive visa policy means lost opportunities for economic growth and jobs. Travellers regard visas as a formality which entails a cost. This can be a deterrent to travel if costs – whether monetary or indirect – including distance, wait times and service, exceed a certain threshold” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

On a global level, in 2012, only 18% of the world’s population could travel without needing visas. On average, 63% of the world’s population needed to obtain a traditional visa before initiating an international journey. Another 16% could apply for a visa-on-arrival, while only 2% of the population could apply for an e-visa.

This new UNWTO research also shows some progress towards visa facilitation over recent years. The requirement of a traditional tourism visa affected 77% of the population in 2008. It reduced to 63% of the world’s population by 2012, with significant changes over the last two years.

Since 2010, 43 destinations clearly facilitated the visa process for citizens of at least 20 countries by changing their visa policies from ‘visa required’ to either ‘no visa required’, ‘visa-on-arrival’ or e-visa’, directly impacting on 5,080 destination-source market relations.

“We welcome moves by the US, the EU and many other countries which have implemented or are looking into implementing more open visa policies. But we cannot ignore that visa procedures still represent an obstacle to tourism growth and we hope that these good examples can be followed by others,” Mr Rifai added.

Sourced: TTRweekly