Smart travel shows the way ahead

Tourism is the second largest industry globally - which is why countries should reduce barriers to travel by making visa requirements more straightforward and simplifying immigration procedues at airports.

It accounts for one in 11 jobs and is the second largest industry in the world, representing 9.5 per cent of global GDP. Yet despite its huge potential for growth, tourism remains held back by outdated travel practices.

For example, some in the industry have myopic viewpoints that often fail to appreciate that the removal of restrictions on visitors can provide as much uplift to an economy as globalisation and free trade.

Looking at visa practices, it is obvious that the travel and tourism industry has not kept up with the pace of change. For many, getting a visa to travel can be a costly challenge. But this is not just about money. Visa applicants often have to journey far to apply through a consulate and have to wait lengthy periods of time before getting a visa approved.

Research shows that by improving visa processes, the G20 economies could generate an estimated additional US$35 billion to $206bn in tourism receipts by 2015, which would result in up to 5.1 million new jobs. Consider the implications in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions where it is often easier to travel outside the continent to reach another destination within it.

But visas are not the only issue. Another barrier to travel is the airport experience. How often do you wait in long queues to pass through airport security, only to get in line again to have your documents inspected by immigration and customs officers? These repetitive obstacles would be justifiable if they improved security, but they don’t necessarily.

The UAE is making strides in this area. With the opening of the first 14 "smart gates" at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 last year, the use of biometric recognition to automate security checkpoints made things a lot easier for travellers entering the country. This smart borders approach has been accompanied by efforts to facilitate travel through its visa regime, which now enables citizens from the GCC nations and 46 other countries to enter the UAE for up to 30 days without a visa.

With a Smart Travel approach, travellers would submit to only one process, starting with their visa application and carrying their personal information over to follow them through airport screening and border control. This would assign responsibility to verify passenger information and ensure that it is checked with international databases such as that used by Interpol.

So how can we make the visa process work better? The first step is to take a hard look at the barriers in place and remove those that are unnecessary or for which the costs outweigh the benefits. We need to better use technology to reduce travel times.

The introduction of “visa on arrival”, “trusted traveller” and electronic visa programmes also enhances convenience for travellers. Many countries have already taken steps in this direction.

While eliminating visa requirements worldwide is unrealistic in the short term, countries can start facilitating travel by creating common visa areas. By enabling travellers to visit more than one country with one visa, travellers are able to save time and money. A number of regions support this premise and have taken action, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region.

While it is clear that a common visa requires interstate collaboration on politically sensitive matters and presents several legal and implementation challenges, none is insurmountable. Like the smartphone, which transformed the telecoms and media industries, we believe that smart travel can revolutionise the travel and tourism sector and bring job creation and growth along with it.

Tiffany Misrahi is a member of the World Economic Forum’s mobility industries team.

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