改善欧洲国家的签证制度以发展旅游业

Improving the Visa Regimes ofEuropean Nations to Grow Tourism A view from the European Travel Copyright © 2015 European Travel Commission Improving the Visa Regimes of European Nations to Grow TourismAll rights reserved. The contents of this report may be quoted, provided the source is givenaccurately and clearly. Distribution or reproduction in full is permitted for own or internal use The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the Published and printed by the European Travel CommissionRue du Marché aux Herbes, 61, 1000 Brussels, BelgiumWebsite:www.etc-corporate.org This document was compiled by:Mark Henry With input from: Cover: © Rawpixel CONTENTS Foreword OpportunitiesidentifiedbytheUNWTO&WTTC The benefits of improvement Foreword Europe is at a cross-road. How open are the nations of Europe to welcoming those from beyondour borders? Some nations may choose a more restrictive approach to admitting foreigners in If we are interested in growing our share of global tourism then there is only one correct pathto follow – that of increased openness. I do not mean we should grant blanket permission for Europe is losing share of global tourism arrivals. Our visa regimes are a contributory factorin this decline. It is within our power to change this and to improve our Continent’s tourism Peter De WildePresident of the European Travel Commission Mark HenryVice President of the European Travel Commission Europe’s tourism challenge Europe has been the world’s leading tourism destination since records began. The Europeancontinent welcomed over 580 million international tourists in 2014 who spent €385 billion during However Europe is losing share. Within a few years, the continent is expected to host theminorityoftheworld’stouristsforthefirsttimeinhistory.3Although this share decline abatedin the past few years with the help of a weaker Euro and political instability in neighbouring TheEuropeanUnionhasidentifiedthechallengethatnearly90%ofallinternationaltraveltotheEUcomesfromwithintheregion,comparedtojust73%and75%inAsiaandthePacificandthe Americas respectively.4This has a tangible impact on tourism earnings as long-haul travel is The European Travel Commission (ETC) is the body that unites 32 of Europe’s national touristorganisations (NTOs). Its primary role is to promote leisure tourism into the continent of Europe.ETC agrees wholeheartedly that Europe needs to increase its appeal to residents in long-haul Even if long-haul tourists want to come here, and even if they have the means of doing so, manyhowever face the hurdle of securing a visa to visit. Visa obligations can deter legitimate leisure This is a hurdle whose height is within our own control. The harder it is for potential tourists tosecure a visa, the greater the share of global tourism that Europe will lose. The easier it is for It is the view of ETC that liberalisation of Europe’s many visa regimes for leisure travellers isessentialfortheContinenttomaximiseitsshareofthebenefitfromglobaltourismgrowthinthe Europe’s current visa regimes Three-quarters of the world’s population need to obtain a visa ahead of a visit to Europe accord-ing to the UNWTO. In a global comparison, the organisation describes Europe’s visa regimes Note:The higher the score, the better. Openness indicates to what extent a destination is facilitating tourism. It is calculated bysumming the percentage of the world’s population exempt from obtaining a visa, with the percentages of no visa by 1, visa on Source citation:World Tourism Organization (2014), Visa Openness Report 2014, UNWTO, Madrid, p. 6., data based oninformationofnationalofficialministries. The European Travel Commission estimates that 44% of all long-haul travellers that actuallyarrived in Europe in 2014 required a visa to do so.7Visas were also required for travel from the ETC recognises the importance of visas as essential tools for government to ensure securityand to control immigration. Nevertheless, targeted liberalisation for leisure and business travel- Schengen area countries The Schengen Area comprises 26 European countries who have agreed to allow free move-ment of their citizens between each other. Of the participating countries, 22 are part of the Those who require a visa to visit a Schengen country can apply for a Uniform Schengen Visa.This permits travel to one of the Schengen Area Member Countries to transit or reside in the de- The citizens of many countries in North and South America are able to visit the Schengen areavisa-free for up to 90 days (in any 180 day period). However citizens of most countries in the TheintroductionoftheSchengenAreahasundoubtedlycontributedsignificantlytoboost-ing travel within Europe since its inception in 2001. The continued growth in the list of na- European Union members who are not covered by Schengen There are currently six European Union member states who are not members of the Schengen