UN Report: Destination Openness Returns to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Destinations around the world have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels of openness for international travelers.

A new report from UN Tourism, which includes the Tourism Visa Openness Index, reveals this development as part of a larger look at global visa policies and the continuous shifts in international travel regulations.

The Tourism Visa Openness Index in particular, measures “the degree to which destinations facilitate tourism and how open a country is in terms of visa facilitation for tourism purposes.”

The data on this front indicates that there's been a decline in traditional visa requirements. Specifically, fewer people worldwide now require a traditional visa to travel, falling from 77 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2018, and then falling again to 47 percent in 2023.

Also noteworthy, visa-free travel is becoming far more commonplace, per the report. About 21 percent of the world population no longer needs any form of visa to visit a foreign destination. That’s an increase from 17 percent in 2008 and 20 percent in 2018.

China offers a recent example of this trend. In late 2023, China broadened its unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from six nations—France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia—in an effort to bolster the recovery of the East Asian giant’s tourism sector industry. The program was expanded on a trial basis with plans to keep it in effect from December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024.

Obtaining visas upon arrival in a destination is also becoming more widespread: 14 percent of the world population can now take this approach (applying for visa upon arrival). This figure is up from a mere 6 percent in 2028 and 15 percent in 2018, according to the UN Tourism report.

And the latest trend, eVisas, are also proliferating. About 18 percent of the world population is now able to apply for an eVisa for their intended destination. That’s up from just 3 percent in 2013 and 7 percent in 2018.

The report also delves into visa regulations for tourism by region. Highlights on this front include:

• Asia and the Pacific had the highest openness score of all world regions.
• The most open sub-regions are South East 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
• 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.
• Traditional visa requests in the Middle East decreased from 71 percent of the global population in 2015 to 57 percent in 2023.
• eVisas are prevalent in West and East Africa and South Asia.

Visa policy improvements play a pivotal role in encouraging tourism growth. And to that end, the report offers recommendations to continue facilitating the flow of travel globally. Suggestions include greater use of targeted visa-exemption programs for low-risk traveler markets and even more implementation of visa on arrival programs.

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