Europe’s visa regimes are among the most restrictive in the world according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) which estimated that 74% of the global population would have required a visa to travel to Europe in 2015. This number largely accounts for visitors from long-haul source markets which are amongst the most valuable as they tend to stay longer and spend more per day than the average visitor.
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has published a report quantifying the potential impacts of visa facilitation for Chinese travelers on European tourism.
The analysis estimates that a full visa liberalization scenario between China and the EU is likely to increase the average growth of Chinese arrivals from 7% to 18% per year between 2018-2023. This in turn would generate additional inbound spending of €12.5 billion per annum and raise total employment level by nearly 1%, creating 237,000 additional jobs, including 120,000 directly within the travel and tourism sector. This would contribute to an increase of Europe’s GDP by 1%.
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