We talked about the best passports for traveling in 2018. In the business context and travel analysis, it can become quite important which passport you are holding when you are part of global team. If business meetings have to be organized on short notice, people with passports which needs a lot of visas for traveling will face disadvantages. Today we want to study the visa free travel, based on our own case.
Visa free travel is important in the business context
If we look at our case in TroopTravel. Our core team of founders and advisers include German, Spanish, South African and Dutch nationalities. If we travel analysis and compare the visa score of these nationalities we get the following results:
- Germany – 126 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Spain – 123 Visa Free Countries, 37 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Netherlands – 123 Visa Free Countries, 36 countries with Visa on Arrival
- South Africa – 64 Visa Free Countries, 30 countries with Visa on Arrival
The three European passports in this list are among the best passports for traveling. The German one is leading travel document in the global ranking. The Spanish and Dutch one are among the Top 10 as well. The South African passport limits the travel freedom remarkably. On a global scale it scores somewhere in the midfield.
According to the Travel Analysis, the 10 Best Passports for Traveling in 2018 are:
- Germany – 126 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Denmark – 125 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Singapore – 125 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Sweden – 125 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Finland – 125 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Italy – 125 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- France – 124 Visa Free Countries, 36 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Spain – 123 Visa Free Countries, 37 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Luxembourg – 124 Visa Free Countries, 35 countries with Visa on Arrival
- Netherlands – 123 Visa Free Countries, 36 countries with Visa on Arrival
9 out of the 10 best passports for traveling in 2018 are from the European Union.
Where does the TroopTravel Team meet?
The information of which passport your travelers are holding when you organize a multi-origin group meeting, is very important. Dealing with visa applications can be a very time-consuming task. Especially, when you have to organize a meeting on short notice, you may have not the time to apply for a visa.
If we want to bring our TroopTravel group of 5 travelers from Madrid (Spain), Hamburg (Germany), Dusseldorf (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Johannesburg (South Africa) together, the most cost effective locations would be:
- Barcelona (Spain) – 800 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Istanbul (Turkey) – 818 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Milan (Italy) – 822 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Zurich (Switzerland) – 844 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Nice (France) – 847 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- London (UK) – 905 EUR Total Group Travel Price
All these locations are visa-free for everyone except the traveler coming from South Africa. Now, if the South African passport holder does not have a valid Schengen visa, a meeting on short notice with this group would not be possible in Europe. Thus, which are the locations which are visa free for all travelers of this group?
There are 52 countries where the group could travel to without anyone of them needing a visa:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Fiji
- Georgia
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Kosovo
- Lesotho
- Macao
- Malaysia
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Namibia
- Nicaragua
- Palestinian Terretories
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Senegal
- Singapore
- South Korea
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Swaziland
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
If you don’t mind getting a Visa on Arrival, you can add another 36 countries to the list.
- Armenia
- Bolivia
- Cambodia
- Cape Verde
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Guinea-Bissau
- Iran
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Nepal
- Oman
- Palau
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Sri Lanka
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Turkey
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
So in the end, there are 88 countries where this group could meet easily without bothering about visa regulations. An interesting fact is that most of the South American countries are visa free for this group.
If we travel analysis and build a new trip now with our group to find locations with no visas needed or with the option of obtaining visas on arrival, the following destinations are the most cost effective ones:
- Istanbul (Turkey) – 818 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Dublin (Ireland) – 907 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Amman (Jordan) – 1195 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Tel Aviv (Israel) – 1415 EUR Total Group Travel Price
- Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) – 1636 EUR Total Group Travel Price
It is very interesting to see that Istanbul is only 18 EUR more expensive in comparison to the cheapest location to meet (Barcelona) independently of visa requirements. All travelers except the German would get a visa on arrival. The German does not need any visa for Turkey.
If you prefer a complete visa free travel, then Dublin (Ireland) is the best option. None of the travelers would need any visa. The additional cost to flying to Dublin instead of Barcelona is 107 EUR.
So would you be ready to pay the extra charge in order to have visa free travel? We would for sure.
Check out the analysis here.
