The UNWTO has said it welcomes the decision by the world’s most developed countries to put visa processes at the top of their tourism agenda.
A declaration by the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies (T20) called for priority to be given to facilitating travel as a means of boosting economic growth and creating jobs. The decision follows a plea from the UNWTO to the T20 to look into the issue of visa processes.
“To ensure that tourism can play a key role in creating employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly through linkages to the local economy, raising national income, improving the balance of payments and boosting economic growth, priority should be given to facilitating travel and tourism,” the declaration stated.
It also proposes that countries look into increasing cooperation on bilateral, regional and international travel.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai said he welcomed the declaration.
“UNWTO applauds the commitment of the G20 Ministers of Tourism to visa facilitation,” said Rifai. “This declaration is an extremely positive signal to the international community that we are moving ahead on this issue of vital importance to the tourism sector and the global economy.”
Recent research conducted by the UNWTO and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that improvements to visa processes could create an additional five million jobs for the G20 economies by 2015 and generate an additional US$206 billion in international tourism receipts.
