Themed “Growing through Shocks”, this year’s Report focuses on how the Travel & Tourism sector has proved to be resilient against political, health, and security blows in recent years. European countries dominated the top 10 list of most tourism-ready nations in the recently released Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015. The Report assessed the Travel & Tourism sector of 141 advanced and developing economies around the world. Spain outranked the globe as the most tourism-ready nation, topping the list for the first time. It was followed by France (2nd), Germany (3rd), United States (4th), United Kingdom (5th), Switzerland (6th), Australia (7th), Italy (8th), Japan (9th), and Canada (10th).
For nearly a decade, the World Economic Forum has been conducting a comprehensive analysis of the global Travel & Tourism sector. The Report features an in-depth profile of each economy included in the study, global rankings, key findings and insights from industry experts.
More than merely measuring the Travel & Tourism sector’s competitiveness, the report is aimed at helping stakeholders derive actionable insights to further improve the sector. The Report seeks to help government agencies and businesses determine the main drivers of sector competitiveness, benchmark policy progress of other nations, and make informed investment decisions.
Singapore, which ranked 11th overall, is the most tourism-ready nation in Southeast and Southern Asia. This was followed by Malaysia (25th), Thailand (35th), Indonesia (50th), and India (52nd).
The performance of each country’s Travel & Tourism sector is scored based on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The TCCI, comprised of four sub indexes, 14 pillars under these sub indexes, and 90 indicators that are distributed among the pillars, measures how a particular country fared in various factors and policies that enable sustainable growth of the Travel & Tourism sector. The sub indexes considered include the following: Enabling Environment, Policy and Enabling Conditions, Infrastructure, and Natural and Cultural Resources.
Despite major predicaments faced by the Travel & Tourism sector globally, the number of international travellers has exponentially increased. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says the Travel & Tourism sector is foreseen to grow at 4% yearly.
