Key Findings

• After the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restricions, the openness of destinations to international travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
• The trend over time indicates that fewer people worldwide require a traditional visa to travel. While 77% of the world’s population was required to apply for a traditional tourism visa before departure in 2008, this figure has fallen to 47% in 2023.
• The use of electronic visas (eVisas) has increased sixfold from 3% to 18% between 2013 and 2023.
• Destinations have become less reciprocal in their visa policies compared to previous years, demonstrating a growing trend of unilateral action in facilitating travel for international tourism.
• Digitalization in the post-COVID-19 period has increased further, as have specific new visa types, such as digital nomad visas.

Key data, as of May 2023

• 47% of the world population are subject to **traditional visa **requirements.
• 18% of the world population can apply for an eVisa.
• 14% of the world population can obtain a visa on arrival.
• Only 21% of the world’s population can travel for tourism purposes without any kind of visa.
• Asia and the Pacific have the highest openness score of all world regions, with 46 points.
• The **most open subregions **are South-East Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean.
• South Asia and West Africa are the subregions that have seen the **greatest increase **in openness since the last UNWTO report in 2018.
• Central and North Africa, North America and Northern and Western Europe remain the most restrictive subregions, with North America being the most restrictive worldwide.

1. COVID-19-related travel restrictions 2020–2023
2. The role of visas
3. The global and regional dimensions to visas
4. Worldwide openness
5. Reciprocity
6. Interregional and intraregional performances
7. Mobility of citizens – outbound potential and visas
8. Conclusions