OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2014 © OECD 2014 PART I Chapter 2 Travel facilitation, tourism and growth This chapter considers the impact on travel and tourism of visa and entry policies which control the movement of people across national borders. It is based on recent workbytheOECDTourismCommitteeanddrawsoncasestudymaterialfrom OECD and partner countries. The chapter considers the potential for smarter approaches to support tourism and economic growth, while simultaneously maintaining the integrity and security of national borders. The issues and challenges policy makers face in developing and implementing policy in this area are outlined. The different approaches governments have adopted, and their impacts, are also highlighted. A number of policy considerations are then discussed, to inform policy making and contribute to the current debate on travel facilitation. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. 47 I.2. TRAVEL FACILITATION, TOURISM AND GROWTH International travel and tourism depends on the ability of people to travel freely from where they live to their destination, crossing borders and entering other countries. However, a range of factors influence travel mobility and limit the free movement of people, with adverse consequences for tourism and economic growth. Safety and security, customs and immigration, access infrastructure and aviation regulations are just some of the issues which can influence the freedom to travel. Travel facilitation focuses on reducing these impediments and making travel simple and straightforward. The OECD’s work in this area examines how countries can adjust to global market trends and maximise tourism as a source of growth by making travel easier and more efficient. Enabling people to travel more freely can enhance the ability of countries to attract visitors and take advantage of business opportunities in a changing global market place. Visas are an important policy issue and have been the focus of much attention, being one of the main tools used to control the movement of people across national borders. A visa is a document issued by a state which permits the holder to enter, leave or stay in a country for a specific period of time. Visas are an advance check on the bona fides of a traveller and their purpose of travel and itinerary, prior to permitting entry to the country. The requirement for, and granting of, a visa may vary according to a number of factors, including the length of stay, purpose of visit, country of origin and reciprocal visa policy, in addition to security and migration issues. However, being in possession of a visa or other form of travel authorisation does not guarantee the holder right of access to a country – the final decision to permit entry is made by border officials at the port of entry. Consequently, travel authorisation and entry policies are interlinked. Such policies may act as an impediment to tourism, not solely due to the requirement for a visa, but also the way in which this requirement is administered. The OECD’s work highlights a range of different approaches which governments have adopted to remove such impediments and make travel easier and more efficient (Box 2.1). It is important to emphasise at the outset that all references to “travel” and “travellers” in this chapter refer to legitimate non-migrant temporary travel/travellers.Alegitimate or bona fide non-migrant temporary traveller is one who satisfies all relevant requirements and is eligible to enter a country for a short period of time (generally less than 90 days), specifically for non-migratory purposes including leisure, business and study, in accordance with that country’s temporary entry policy. The right of each country to determine and enforce the rules and regulations governing entry and exit, including evaluating the bona fides of a traveller, is also acknowledged. Efforts to make travel easier must comply with the relevant legal framework at national level, or international level as in the case of multi-lateral agreements such as the EU Schengen Agreement (see Box 2.3). 48 OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2014 © OECD 2014 I.2. TRAVEL FACILITATION, TOURISM AND GROWTH Box 2.1. Government approaches to travel facilitation ● Streamlining and enhancing visa processing, including simplified procedures, shorter and/or translated application forms, consistent implementation of regulations, online application, automated and/or faster processing, improved customer service and capacity at consulates, outsourcing, mobile biometric capture. ● Changes to visa requirements, including reduced documentation, cost, personal presence at consulate requirement. ● Changes to visa conditions, including multiple entry visas, extended validity, eligible categories of persons. ● Changes to the method of visa issuance, including visa on arrival, immigration on board, electronic visa. ● Removal of visa requirement, including visa exemption, visa waiver programmes. ● Introduction of other forms of travel authorisation, including acceptance of trusted documents from other countries, electronic travel authorisation. ● Improvements in the border entry/exit process, including automated passenger processing, pre-arrival/departure security screening. These rules and regulations are based on the unique set of policy priorities in each country, nationally and internationally. Policy makers are faced with a number of challenges when seeking to find the appropriate balance between the various policy considerations, in order to develop a coherent mix of policies which deliver the best possible outcome overall. Travel facilitation challenges Ensuring people are able to travel and engage in tourism activity is central to realising the economic and other benefits of tourism growth. With tourism’s role as an economic driver, export industry and engine of job creation increasingly recognised, countries are taking measures to encourage tourism demand and assist tourism enterprises. The potential for travel facilitation to boost the global tourism economy is high on the national and international agenda, with governments and private sector organisations alike actively working on these issues. This is most notably evident by the inclusion for the first time of a reference to tourism in the G20 Leaders Declaration in 2012, which recognised the role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth and development and committed to work towards developing travel facilitation initiatives. Similar commitments to explore ways to enable international visitors to move more freely and efficiently have been made by countries in other international fora also (Box 2.2). The OECD is actively engaging with countries and international organisations to promote the travel facilitation agenda, including through the on-going work of the OECD – World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Informal Working Group on Travel Facilitation and Visa Issues. The performance of international tourism is closely linked to that of the world economy. In its long range economic forecast, the OECD predicts wide variations between countries and regions, with growth in emerging market economies outpacing growth in the OECD area. The balance of economic power is expected to shift dramatically over the next OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2014 © OECD 2014 49 I.2. TRAVEL FACILITATION, TOURISM AND GROWTH Box 2.2. International agenda on travel facilitation G20: For the first time, the G20 Leaders Declaration 2012 (Los Cabos, Mexico 18-19 June) acknowledged the economic contribution of travel and tourism and the need to develop travel facilitation initiatives in support of this: “We recognise the role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth and development, and, while recognising the sovereign right of States to control the entry of foreign nationals, we will work towards developing travel facilitation initiatives in support of job creation, quality work, poverty reduction and global growth.” T20: The T20 Declaration 2012 (Mérida, Mexico 15-16 May) said that “Member states will further work to ensure fast, transparent and effective travel facilitation and visa programmes based upon existing international commitments, for the purpose of increasing travel and tourism and job creation”. Welcoming the work carried out to evaluate the impact of travel facilitation, identify best practice and monitor progress, the T20 Declaration 2013 (London, the United Kingdom, 4 November) noted “the advances in visa facilitation following the G20 Los Cabos Declaration and the remaining barriers to progressing the travel facilitation agenda, including entry processes and procedures, as a means to grow the G20 economies and create jobs”. APEC: Recent APEC declarations similarly recognise the potential for travel facilitation to promote tourism and facilitate business and commit to make progress on this issue, most recently in the APEC Leaders Declaration 2013 (Bali, Indonesia, 8 October) which states: “We will … progress work on the Travel Facilitation Initiative as a way to promote tourism and facilitate business, by making travel more accessible, convenient and more efficient while also safe and secure.” European Commission: In 2012, the European Commission adopted a communication