Visa-free travel becoming more popular, surge in On-arrival options: UN

Visa-free travel has witnessed a surge and Visa on arrival options have also increased for people across the world, according to the latest UN Tourism report.

The report says, 21 per cent of the world population does not need any form of visa, an increase from 17 per cent in 2008 and 20 per cent in 2018.

Moreover, 14 per cent of the world population can apply for visa on arrival, an increase from 6 per cent in 2008 and 15 per cent in 2018.


Destinations' openness to international travel has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels following the lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions, suggests the report.

Due to the pandemic, novel travel facilitation methods, like "nomadic visas", emerged as a result.

The report says that there has been a decline in traditional visa requirements. Fewer people worldwide now require a traditional visa to travel, falling from 77 per cent in 2008 to 59 per cent in 2018, and then to 47 per cent in 2023.

The percentage of the global population eligible to apply for eVisas has risen to 18 per cent, a significant increase from 3 per cent in 2013 and 7 per cent in 2018.

“The report sheds light on the evolving landscape of travel facilitation. It includes the Tourism Visa Openness Index that measures the degree to which destinations facilitate tourism and how open a country is in terms of visa facilitation for tourism purposes. Also, mobility scores are included to indicate to the extent to which citizens around the world are subject to visa policies, as well as an in-depth analysis of the reciprocity of visa policies,” said UN Tourism.