Call for radical visa reform to boost Europe’s economy
A body responsible for promoting Europe as a destination claims changing the way visas are granted to leisure and business travellers will boost the economy by €114 billion by 2020.
At a press conference at World Travel Market, Peter de Wilde, president of the European Travel Commission, said the continent’s visa regimes were to blame for the loss of global tourism.
"It is the view of ETC that liberalisation of Europe´s visa regimes for leisure travellers is essential for the Continent to maximise its share of the benefit from global tourism growth in the decades ahead," he said.
"It is within our power to change this and to improve our tourism competitiveness. At a time when Europe needs to create new employment, particularly amongst our youth, pro-tourism policy initiatives can deliver a strong return on investment and can do so in a relatively short timeframe."
ETC claims Europe’s visa regimes are among the most restrictive in the world, according to the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation.
In 2014, an estimated 56% of visitors who arrived in Europe needed a visa.
These visitors from the largely long-haul source markets are amongst the most valuable because they tend to stay longer and spend more per day than the average visitor, it said.
ETC´s recommendations for action include simplifying the application processes, reducing fees, and lengthening visa validity.
It said this would generate 3.4 million additional arrivals from 10 targeted countries each year by 2020, boosting tourism spend by €18.3 billion.
It is also calling for the deployment of new visa types, including electronic visas and visas on arrival, which it said would lead to 8.5 million more annual visitors and a €45 billion increase in tourism spend.
It would also like to see the citizens of more countries offered visa-free access, which would bring an additional 21.8 millon new arrivals by 2020, generating an extra €114 billion in new export revenue and 615,000 new jobs.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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