Ask Skift: How Do Visa Processing Delays Affect Tourism?

30.10.2023 - 15:27 / skift.com / Geoff Freeman / Rashaad Jorden / Fred Dixon / Ask Skift

Some countries, including the United States, have yet to make a full tourism recovery from the pandemic, and lengthy waits for visitor visas are one reason why. Several travel executives have argued that those long waits have hurt the ability to attract visitors.

How do visa processing delays affect tourism? We posed the question to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot. It used information from our past news coverage and Skift Research. We also conducted additional reporting.

Visa processing delays can significantly impact tourism in several ways.

Firstly, they can deter potential tourists from choosing a destination. For example, travelers from many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are choosing more accessible Latin American destinations such as Cancun over popular U.S. destinations like Las Vegas due to long visa processing delays in the U.S.

Secondly, such delays can lead to a loss in tourism spending. It is projected that visa delays will cost the U.S. $12 billion in lost spending in 2023.

Thirdly, these delays can also reduce the number of new travelers a country can attract. For instance, overseas travel to the U.S. was only 78% of its pre-pandemic levels in July 2023, and one of the factors holding the U.S. back from a full return was long visa wait times, which affected would-be tourists from countries like Brazil, India, Mexico, and China.

Lastly, visa wait times can lead to increased competition among destinations. The U.S., for instance, is facing fierce competition from destinations like Saudi Arabia that have improved their tourism infrastructure and are rolling out more welcoming policies.

These challenges highlight the importance of efficient visa processing systems for countries looking to attract foreign tourists.

Visa delays for the U.S.’ top inbound markets are above 400 days on average. As a result, representatives at both LA Tourism and NYC Tourism + Conventions have had to work more with the local travel trade to more specifically target travelers with valid visas.

U.S. Travel Association CEO and President Geoff Freeman said visa wait times in China are close to 200 days, and that the problem will get worse next year when 10 million Chinese citizens have to renew visas.

“This is anything but a welcoming environment,” Freeman said at this year’s Skift Global Forum. “If you are a leisure traveler or a business traveler, you’re likely to say, I’ll go somewhere else.”

The U.S. was the third most searched destination during mid-autumn in China. However, it came in ninth place in total visa applications submitted by Chinese travelers, according to Trip.com Group data shared by NYC Tourism + Conventions CEO and President Fred Dixon at last month’s Skift Global