The Role of the UNWTO in Visa Facilitation

Abstract

In the last decade, many destinations made substantial improvements in their visa rules and procedures as reflected in the reports, as prepared by the UNWTO. This article first argues that the impact of the UNWTO on state behaviour in visa liberalization has become more significant in relation to the convergence of state's interests that are constrained with the conditions in the international environment, such as financial crises; and global political ties embodied within the international forums, such as the G20. Second, analysing the diverse impacts of the changing rules and procedures applied in visa policies on tourism indicators in the selected countries, this article argues how different rules and procedures produce different policy outcomes in tourist visas; and how this diversity generates different tourism indicators. The article suggests more diverse visa facilitation techniques (i.e., Turkey) to boost the impact of visa facilitation on inbound tourism (i.e., China and Russia).