Sydney: The International Air Transport Association (Iata) urged governments around the world to review visa requirements for international passengers and ease travel restrictions to enable economic gains.
The global aviation watchdog said at its 74th annual general meeting on Tuesday that existing visa regimes are “overly restrictive, expensive and inefficient,” adding that these regimes will be unable to cope with the growing demand for travel.
“We will not get the maximum social and economic benefits from this growth [in passenger traffic] if barriers to travel are not addressed and processes streamlined,” said Alexandre de Juniac, Iata’s director-general and chief executive officer.
He pointed out that the number of passengers will double over the next 20 years, and that air travel acts as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth. Iata said that $89 billion in tourism receipts and 2.6 million jobs will be created in the Asia-Pacific alone with a reduction in travel barriers, according to research by the UN World Tourism Organisation and the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Besides visa restrictions, Iata cited other travel barriers including government information requirements and capacity of current processes to absorb a growing number of air travellers.
Iata said that the solution to easing current restrictions lies in sharing information in trusted framework to improve security while also smoothening passenger flows.
The aviation body also urged governments to remove trade barriers as it advocated for an Open Borders Strategy. Iata cited trade barriers as a risk to the aviation industry’s outlook.
“The more barriers you put on borders to trade and migration, the more negative effect you have on the economy and on our industry. We believe in open borders,” de Juniac said.