Who gets to be a tourist?
TravelArticleSeptember 25, 2026
The surprising gap between passport power and visa openness: why your passport can shape your travel opportunities just as much as the destination you choose.
In some ways, travel is more open than ever. More routes. More platforms. More ways to book, compare and go. But openness depends on where you start.
For some travelers, planning a trip means booking a hotel and making sure their passport is still valid. For others, it can mean application forms, supporting documents, fees, appointment slots and the uncertainty over whether approval will arrive in time.
The World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026 (TTDI 2026), produced in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group, highlights one of the most important distinctions in international travel: being open to visitors and having a powerful passport are not the same thing. The countries that make it easiest for visitors to enter are not always the countries whose own citizens can travel most freely.
The old travel distinction was relatively simple: visa-free or visa required. Today, more destinations sit somewhere in between. Electronic travel authorizations, e-visas, online pre-registration systems, changing transit rules and nationality-specific requirements are creating a more conditional form of openness. This raises a difficult question: Who gets to be a tourist?
Who gets to be a tourist?
Visa openness (how easy it is for visitors to enter a country) versus Passport mobility (how easily that country’s passport holders can travel abroad).
1. The open-door countries
Some of the most striking examples are countries that rank highly for inbound visa openness but much lower for global passport mobility.
Top 5 countries for visa openness
- Malaysia
- Rwanda
- Mauritius
- Singapore
- Kazakhstan
Source: World Economic Forum, Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
Rwanda, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Bolivia all fall into this category. Rwanda ranks second globally for visa openness but 84th for passport mobility. Nepal ranks 16th for visa openness but 109th for passport mobility.
These countries are effectively saying to the world: Visiting us is relatively straightforward. For destinations seeking to grow tourism, easier entry can be a competitive strategy. Visa-free access, visas on arrival and e-visas can help attract visitors, support local businesses and reduce friction at the point of travel.
Yet the experience can be very different for their own citizens. A traveler may find it easy to visit, while a Rwandan or Nepali passport holder faces considerably more barriers when travelling abroad.
2. The passport superpowers
The reverse pattern is just as revealing. Some of the world’s most powerful passports belong to countries with relatively restrictive inbound visa regimes.
Top 5 countries for passport mobility
- Singapore
- Japan
- South Korea
- United Arab Emirates
- Sweden
Source: World Economic Forum, Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
Sweden, France and Germany all rank near the top for passport mobility but much lower for visa openness. The U.S., New Zealand and the UK show the same broad pattern: Their citizens enjoy high levels of international mobility, while entry into their countries remains more selective.
These countries remain among the most visited destinations in the world. But passport mobility and inbound openness are shaped by different policy choices. Making it easier for citizens to travel abroad does not necessarily mean making entry easier for visitors.
The world is becoming more conditional
Travel is not necessarily becoming less open. A small group of countries – the including Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates – even score highly on both measures, combining strong passport mobility with relatively open borders.
But travel is becoming more conditional. In some cases, newly introduced systems can make travel easier. They move paperwork online, reduce processing times and allow more travelers to enter without a traditional visa.
But they can also create confusion at exactly the wrong moment. A traveler may not need a visa in the traditional sense but may still need approval before departure. A layover may require documentation that the final destination does not. A law may change between booking and departure. A family or group traveling on different passports may discover that the same itinerary is not equally simple for everyone.
This is where travel preparation is becoming more administrative. The modern traveler may need to monitor entry requirements, electronic authorizations, passport-validity rules and transit conditions as closely as flight times and hotel check-ins. In some cases, travel insurance and assistance providers can help travelers access real-time destination information, travel alerts and support if documentation issues, entry-rule changes or disruptions affect a trip before it begins.
After all, the first question in travel is not always, “Where should I go?” Sometimes it’s: “Is the door open to me?”
We analyzed two indicators from the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026 (TTDI 2026), covering 110 economies: Visa Requirements, which measures how easily travelers from global source markets can enter a destination for tourism, and Passport Mobility, which measures the visa-free or visa-on-arrival access available to a country’s passport holders. We focused on those where the gap between inbound visa openness and outbound travel freedom is most pronounced, illustrating the difference between being open to visitors and having citizens who can travel freely. Because travel requirements change over time and may vary by nationality, travelers should always check official government sources before booking or departing.
