Relaxations on Travel Visa Requirements Are Good News

Visa stamps in passports are, thankfully, getting easier to obtain. Photo by Clark Norton

Traditionally, some of the most painful experiences in traveling internationally have taken place before the trips even begin.

No, I’m not talking about buying the plane tickets, though that can be painful as well. I’m not even talking about packing your bags to satisfy TSA requirements.

I am talking about obtaining visas, especially for certain countries that seem to do everything they can think of to discourage visitors from actually coming and spending money within their borders — just about as short-sighted a policy as you can get, since tourism is now the world’s number one industry.

And yes, the U.S. is one of those countries. I wrote about Brazil sparring with the U.S. over mutually restrictive visa requirements in an earlier post.

But now, things are loosening up a bit, according to a report… Continue reading →