Preface

Cheryl Martin
Head of Industries, Member of the Managing Board
World Economic Forum

Richard Samans
Head of the Centre for the Global Agenda, Member of the Managing Board
World Economic Forum

In the past decades travel & tourism and its enabling ecosystem have proven to be significant drivers of economic growth, contributing over 10% to global GDP and accounting for 1 in 10 jobs on the planet. The industry continues to be a force for good, providing unique opportunities for developing and emerging nations to move up the value chain.

The theme of this seventh edition of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017: Paving the Way for a More Sustainable & Inclusive Future, reflects the increasing focus on ensuring the industry’s sustained growth in an uncertain security environment while preserving the natural environment and local communities on which it so richly depends. The goal of achieving a sustainable and inclusive travel & tourism industry is not new, and the industry has been proactive in its commitment to set targets. Yet, in light of the rise of sustainability on the global agenda through summits in Addis Ababa, New York and Paris, the industry must continue to strive to be a leader in addressing inclusiveness and sustainability both responsively and responsibly. Solutions will need to be both global and local, while ensuring full societal inclusion.

The World Economic Forum has, for the past 11 years, engaged key industry and thought leaders through its Aviation & Travel Industry Partner Community to carry out an in-depth analysis of the Travel and Tourism (T&T) competitiveness of economies around the world. The resulting Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report provides a platform for multistakeholder dialogue with the objective of achieving a strong and sustainable T&T industry capable of contributing effectively to international economic development.

At the core of the Report is the seventh edition of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The aim of the TTCI, which covers 136 economies this year, is to provide a comprehensive strategic tool for measuring the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel & tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country. By providing detailed assessments of the T&T environments of countries worldwide, the results can be used by all stakeholders to work together to improve the industry’s competitiveness in their national economies. It also allows countries to track their progress over time in the various areas measured.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 contains detailed profiles for each of the 136 economies featured in the study, as well as an extensive section of data tables with global rankings covering the 90 indicators included in the TTCI. In addition, it includes insightful contributions from a number of industry leaders.

The Report could not have been put together without the distinguished thinkers who have shared with us their knowledge and experience. We are grateful to our Data Partners: Deloitte, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Bloom Consulting for helping us to design and develop the TTCI, and for providing much of the industry-relevant data used in its calculation. We thank our Industry Partners in this Report—namely ACCOR, Amadeus, AirAsia, Al Nippon Airways, Embraer, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Gulfstream, HNA, Hilton Worldwide, Iberostar Group, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Jet Airways, Jumeirah, Marriott International, SAP/Concur, SpiceJet, Swiss/Deutsche Lufthansa and VISA—for their support in this important endeavour. We also wish to thank the editors of the Report, Roberto Crotti and Tiffany Misrahi, for their energy and their dedication to the project. Appreciation goes to the Global Competitiveness and Risk team as well as to the Mobility team of the World Economic Forum. We would also like to convey our sincere gratitude to our network of 141 Partner Institutes worldwide, without whose hard work the annual administration of the Executive Opinion Survey and this Report would not be possible.