Introduction
The world has become a global village through the incidence of the internet, and with it the idea of unrestricted global travel to further bring people and societies together. Unrestricted global travel, the idea that people can move across borders with minimal or no restrictions—has the potential to foster cultural exchange, economic development, and greater global understanding.
This concept is particularly favoured by Pan Africanists and proponents of African Integration and regional development. References are often made to the European Union which has brought together 27 countries. The concept envisages visa-free or simplified travel between countries, open borders for students as well as migrant workers and tourists. While the benefits of unrestricted travel span economic, cultural, educational, and humanitarian areas, there are associated challenges with full scale implementation of such a policy and it would need cooperation and careful planning to ensure its operationalisation.
This is particularly the case, because human mobility is increasingly being seen as both a symbol of opportunity and a subject of deep suspicion. This is especially because the world is increasingly defined by geopolitical tension, digital surveillance, and economic competition. This tension is more visible in the treatment by some countries, of skilled migrants from countries which are vital sources of global talent and innovation. Incidentally, countries with some of these skilled emigrants are seen as strategic adversaries, thereby undermining the concept of free travel.
Recent figures from the Schengen visa statistics for 2024 show that China (1,117,365 applications) and India (over 966,687 applications) were among the top countries whose citizens sought short-term access to the Schengen area. Other countries in the global south include Algeria and Morocco with 544,634 and 591,401 applicants respectively (European Commission, 2024, visaguide.world). France alone issued more than 2 million short-stay visas,
Schengen states have taken an approach worthy of emulating as their visa systems allow for reliance on intra-EU intelligence-sharing mechanisms like the Schengen Information System (SIS II) and EUROPOL databases to vet travelers without obstructing mobility (eulisa.europa.eu , eur-lex.europa.eu). This is a policy worth emulating, as visas to ECOWAS countries would benefit from engendering wide travel across the region.
An overview of the Most Visited Cities in the World in 2024 is provided below to support the argument for unrestricted travel, subject to the security protocols that are expected to be in place.
Similarly, the largest migration corridors in the world include the following as indicated in the 2024 IOM World Migration Report.
Challenges of Unrestricted Global Travel
Unrestricted Global Travel faces a number of challenges which could undermine the significant benefits. These benefits are myriad and need to be shared. Tavel and study in other countries, particularly by Africans have yielded mutual benefits to the host countries and the countries of migrants. Nigeria, a powerhouse in West Africa has over one-third of foreign-born individuals working in U.S. medicine. These healthcare professionals sent an estimated $24 billion in remittances home in 2018 alone, according to Forbes.com. These contributions from the diaspora support international labor markets in addition to supporting home economies. In 2024, global remittance flows reached approximately USD 905 billion in total. This notwithstanding the following are its major challenges;
Security Concerns
There are significant security concerns around unrestricted global travel. These include terrorism and violent extremism, organised crime and smuggling, human trafficking and exploitation, biosafety and public health risks. These risks have tendered to impact travel, as governments use a number of instruments to mitigate the potential impacts through travel bans, visa restrictions and tighter immigration and passport control procedures. Furthermore, it has led to the stereotyping, particularly of African countries whose citizens are usually accused of seeking greener pastures outside the region.
Economic Imbalance
Economies of recipient countries could be undermined if mass migration occurs, as it may strain infrastructure and social services, particularly health services, education and housing. Furthermore, labour costs could be undermined by migrants willing to receive smaller payouts to survive, leading to citizens losing jobs.
Cultural, Religious and Social Tensions
Examples of social tensions abound in international literature on this subject. Religious intolerance is a real danger, often spiraling into brutal attacks by the majority whenever people are unable to exist peacefully. When this occurs, communal cohesion and public safety are undermined.
Environmental Impact
The environmental impacts of unrestricted international travel are a real threat. The carbon footprints emitted particularly by air travel and other travel modes negatively impact the environment.
New Policy Imperatives Occasioned by Fear
In crises, fear often outpaces threat, leading to securitization measures and trust erosion. Security contagion, rooted in international relations and public-health crisis management, describes this dynamic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Western nations imposed travel bans on African countries due to new variants like Omicron, often without clear epidemiological evidence. This policy response, described as a ‘knee-jerk reaction’, had little impact on slowing viral spread and exacerbated stigma and frictions with affected nations (cambridge.org, cisanewsletter.com).
National security is often influenced by the perception of insecurity as alien or foreign, leading to travel restrictions that are often “symbolic” rather than strategic (cnn.com). This has led to disproportionate economic damage and undermined collective efforts to manage crises. The securitization of regions perceived as laden with threats reinforces colonial-era stereotypes, such as Africa as a perpetual locus of disease, violence, and instability (Kaunert &Ezeokafor, 2022). This perception shapes policy diffusion across sectors, as national-security authorities view entire populations as vectors of risk, regardless of actual threat. This results in a policy environment where fear drives exclusion, not evidence, and collaboration is sacrificed for symbolic protectionism.
Institution of Travel Bans
Institution of travel can create unintended security threats by promoting informal or illicit channels, undermining national security. Similarly, closed formal avenues can foster illicit networks, enhancing the threats they aim to suppress. Some countries, faced with real threats may tend to use this as a means of dealing with the challenges associated with unrestricted travel.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The increasing global trend of enacting travel bans, especially those targeting poor nations from Africa and Asia is worrying. It reflects a pattern of policymaking driven more by stereotypes and perceptions than evidence. While intended to mitigate perceived threats, these measures often produce counterproductive outcomes: undermining human and physical resource flows, damaging global cooperation, and reinforcing cycles of exclusion and insecurity. Such policies not only erode trust but also distort development and weaken resilience across borders. Going forward, a more balanced, evidence-informed approach to mobility and security is essential, one that respects international solidarity while safeguarding collective well-being. Unless a more fair and balanced global governance approach to travel is agreed upon, individual national bans would undermine not only economies but hurt overall development of skills and individual endeavour.
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