PR90427

LONDON, July 6, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

The latest results from the Henley Passport Index

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index] — the original ranking of all the

world's passports according to the number of destinations their holders can

access without a prior visa — show that while there is cause for optimism, it

must be tempered with the reality that cross-border travel continues to be

significantly obstructed. Although some progress has been made, between January

to March 2021, international mobility had been restored to just 12% of

pre-pandemic levels, and the gulf between theoretical and actual travel access

remains significant.

With the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics just weeks away, and the country in a

"quasi" state of emergency, Japan nonetheless retains its hold on the number

one spot on the Henley Passport Index

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index] — which is based on exclusive

data from the International Air Transport Association [https://www.iata.org/]

(IATA) — with a theoretical visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 193.

While the dominance of European passports in the Top Ten has been a given for

most of the index's 16-year history, the pre-eminence of three Asian states —

Japan, Singapore, and South Korea — has become the new normal. Singapore

remains in 2nd place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192, and South

Korea shares joint-3rd place with Germany, each with a score of 191.

However, when compared to the actual travel access currently available even to

the holders of top-scoring passports, the picture looks very different: holders

of Japanese passports have access to fewer than 80 destinations (equivalent to

the passport power of Saudi Arabia, which sits way down in 71st place on the

ranking) while holders of Singaporean passports can access fewer than 75

destinations (equivalent to Kazakhstan, which sits in 74th place).

Plummeting UK and US passport power

There is a similarly gloomy outlook even in countries with highly successful

Covid-19 vaccine rollouts: the UK and the US currently share joint-7th place on

the index, following a steady decline since they jointly held the top spot in

2014, with their passport holders theoretically able to access 187 destinations

around the world.

Under current travel bans, however, UK passport holders have suffered a

dramatic drop of over 70% in their travel freedom, currently able to access

fewer than 60 destinations globally — a passport power equivalent to that of

Uzbekistan on the index. US passport holders have seen a 67% decrease in their

global mobility, with access to just 61 destinations worldwide — a passport

power equivalent to Rwanda.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin [https://chriskalin.com/], Chairman of Henley &

Partners [https://www.henleyglobal.com/], says the gap in travel freedom is now

at its widest since the index began in 2006, with Japanese passport holders

able to access 167 more destinations than citizens of Afghanistan, which sits

at the bottom of the index with visa-free access to just 26 destinations.

"Increasing isolationism and deglobalization will have profound consequences,

among them further damage to the world's economy, a significant reduction in

global mobility, and restrictions on people's freedom."

IATA's Director General, Willie Walsh

[https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/dg-biography/], warns that international

travel should not be restricted to those who have access to vaccination. "The

freedom to travel is important. We need a secure system to efficiently

integrate the checking of vaccine or testing certificates into the travel

process. The IATA Travel Pass

[https://www.iata.org/en/programs/passenger/travel-pass/] enables travelers to

securely share their health credentials with governments and airlines."

Exclusive research commissioned by Henley & Partners

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/] and published in its latest Q3 Global Mobility

Report

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/global-mobility-report/2021-q3],

indicates that since the pandemic was declared, the EU has seen a drop in

tourism of nearly 90%, the UK has had a 73% decline in tourist numbers, and the

US has experienced a 69% decrease in international visitors. With Australia and

New Zealand slamming their doors firmly shut early in the pandemic, they

received only 1% of their March 2019 visitors in March this year.  

Robert Maciejewski [https://www.swissinsurancepartners.com/about-2/], CEO of

SIP Medical Family Office in Switzerland, says "even if a legal obligation to

obtain a Covid passport is unlikely in most democratic countries, not having

one will probably result in de facto restrictions of your freedom, whether it

comes to travel or daily activities."

However, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru

[https://migrationpolicycentre.eu/team/mehari-taddele-maru/] of the Migration

Policy Centre warns that "weaponizing vaccine donations to serve narrow

national interests will only delay rollouts and incur further human and

economic costs in addition to the millions of deaths and a possible USD 9.2

trillion loss to the global economy."

Dr. Juerg Steffen

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/about/key-people/dr-juerg-steffen], CEO of Henley

& Partners [https://www.henleyglobal.com/], says "ensuring future access to

multiple residence options and/or having dual citizenship has become even more

essential for entrepreneurs and investors and their families as a means to

mitigate volatility and reduce their exposure to risk at a national, a

regional, and global level."

Read the full Global Mobility Report 2021 Q3

[https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/global-mobility-report/2021-q3]

Infographic -

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1556604/Henley_Partners_Infographic.jpg

Source: Henley & Partners