Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2026 number 2

The article presents the results of the spatial analysis of travel freedom and countries’ openness to international tourism. The relevance of the study is determined by the transformation of the international tourism space in the context of the global multi-crisis. An institutional approach has been applied, the essence of which consists in identifying and studying the institutionally determined factors of the spatial development of tourism, which are formed at the international level. The article examines the geographical space within which general principles of partnership and cooperation between countries in the field of travel organization operate. A significant factor in the spatial development of tourism is tourist formalities, which are considered in a core-periphery context. They represent the most significant institutional barriers to tourist mobility, standing in the way of international tourist flows. It has been revealed that most countries of the global economic core are characterized by a high level of freedom of movement and, at the same time, increased requirements for incoming travelers. In the periphery, many island states with tourism playing a high role in their economies stand out for their openness. The share of the population traveling around the world without a visa has remained relatively stable over a long period of time. In the countries that largely shape global politics and economy of the modern world (the USA, Great Britain, China, Russia, Germany, and France), changes in visa-free travel opportunities occur synchronously. The general trend of increasing travel freedom observed for citizens of most countries indicates an expansion of the tourism space, despite growing economic and political instability, as well as the consequences of the global tourism crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.