Skift Take

The fact that other countries are rushing to attract visitors from the BRICS means these traditionally visa-restrictions-bound citizens will have a lot easier time moving around the world.

Earlier this week we did a story on the least restrictive countries for travelers to go to, based on which countries have opened up and eased restrictions for visitors to come in through the borders. That list is based on UNWTO latest report on “Tourism Visa Openness Report for the Silk Road Countries”, which lists the changes in 2013 in visa regimes.

On the other end of that spectrum are countries whose citizens have the least amount of trouble going to other countries. They enjoy enormous advantages as they are hardly requested to obtain visa, neither traditional nor upon arrival. These are the world’s most mobile citizens.

The following table below lists those citizens which have enjoyed the highest levels of mobility in 2013. They can travel to 75% of the worlds´ destinations without requiring a visa prior to departure. The takeaway: it is great to be a Scandinavian country citizen. Short of that, UK or U.S. will do.

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Concurrently, as the the promising tourism outbound markets of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa (BRICS) become a reality, it becomes clear that destinations are making special efforts to facilitate visa formalities for tourists originating from these prospering economies.

Russian and Chinese citizens were benefitting the most from these newly introduced visa facilitation measures comparing 2013 and 2008 data. Brazilians, already enjoying a high level of mobility, continued improving further. Below are the mobility score

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