Despite some progress in vaccinating the world’s population, international mobility has been restored by only 12% of the 2019 level.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – July 6, 2021 – Tourism and Travel
This is evidenced by the data published on July 6, 2021, the data of the passport index for the III quarter from the company Henley & Partners.
According to the authors of the study, the gap between the theoretical possibilities of passports and the actual access to travel remains significant.
According to political scientist Omer Zarpley of the University of Pittsburgh, since the announcement of the pandemic, tourism in the European Union has decreased by almost 90%, in the UK – by 73%, and in the US – by 69%. Some countries continue to hold borders at the castle, including the countries ranked first in the Henley & Partners Passport Index – Japan, Singapore, and Germany.
In particular, the Japanese passport retains first place in the Index, which means that the borders of 193 countries are open to Japanese citizens. Singapore remains in second place with visa-free access to 192 countries, South Korea and Germany share third place with visa-free access to 191 destinations. In practice, holders of Japanese passports have access to less than 80 destinations (equivalent to the passport of Saudi Arabia, which is in 71st place in the ranking). Holders of Singapore passports have actual access to 75 destinations (equivalent to the passport of Kazakhstan, which is in 74th place).
Even in countries with high levels of vaccination – the United States and the United Kingdom – there is a weakening of the actual capabilities of passports. The United Kingdom and the United States rank 7th overall in the index (in 2014, both countries were at the top of the Henley & Partners rankings). In theory, these countries have visa-free access to 187 destinations around the world. But due to the current bans, holders of British passports have access to 60 destinations (equivalent to the possibilities of the passport of Uzbekistan). Holders of US passports have visa-free access to 61 destinations (equivalent to a Rwanda passport).
At the same time, Ukraine dropped from 35th to 37th place during the quarter, but signed a visa-free agreement with New Caledonia, increasing the passport by one point. Holders of Ukrainian passports can travel without a visa or visa after arriving in 137 countries.
According to Henley & Partners Chairman of the Board and author of the index Chris Kelin, it is unknown how long travel restrictions will last, but it is already clear that global mobility will be severely limited, at least until 2021.
“Increased isolationism and the trend towards de-globalization will undoubtedly have serious consequences, including further damage to the global economy, a significant reduction in international mobility, and restrictions on people’s choices for their families and businesses,” he said.
Ukrainian COVID-certificates, which began to be issued in test mode on July 1, became available to the first users of the mobile application and the “Action” portal.
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Source: Ukrgate