• Agenda
  • Initiatives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership and Governance
    • Our Members and Partners
    • Communities
    • History
    • Klaus Schwab
    • Media
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • World Economic Forum USA
    • Privacy and Terms of Use
  • EN ES FR 日本語 中文
  • Login to TopLink

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our updated Cookie Notice.

I accept
    Hamburger
  • World Economic Forum Logo
  • Agenda
  • Initiatives
  • Reports
  • Events
  • About
  • TopLink
  • Search Cancel

Report Home

<Previous Next>
  • Ranking
  • Country profiles
  • Global press release
  • Latin America Press Release
  • China press release
  • Downloads
  • Blogs
  • Infographics
  • Preface
  • Key messages
  • Europe and Eurasia results
  • Asia Pacific results
  • Sub-Saharan Africa results
  • Middle East and North Africa results
  • Americas results
  • Industry trends
  • Methodology details
  • About the authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • India’s incredible take off
  • Disrupting Travel for 2030: Building Bridges Not Walls
  • A Generation at Stake
  • Do More with Less: The Power of Innovation & Technology
  • Flying towards a Sustainable Future
  • A Security Gap: It is Time for Change
  • Tourism is a Tool for Tolerance, And We Need More Of That
  • The Perfect Trip
  • Tourism and Job Creation – Advancing the 2030 Development Agenda
  • Its your Right to Travel
  • Boomers to the Rescue
  • About the TTCR
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017   Global press release
Home Previous Next
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017   Global press release
Home Previous Next
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 Home Previous Next
  • Report Home
  • Ranking
  • Country profiles
  • Global press release
  • Latin America Press Release
  • China press release
  • Downloads
  • Blogs
  • Infographics
  • Preface
  • Key messages
  • Europe and Eurasia results
  • Asia Pacific results
  • Sub-Saharan Africa results
  • Middle East and North Africa results
  • Americas results
  • Industry trends
  • Methodology details
  • About the authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • India’s incredible take off
  • Disrupting Travel for 2030: Building Bridges Not Walls
  • A Generation at Stake
  • Do More with Less: The Power of Innovation & Technology
  • Flying towards a Sustainable Future
  • A Security Gap: It is Time for Change
  • Tourism is a Tool for Tolerance, And We Need More Of That
  • The Perfect Trip
  • Tourism and Job Creation – Advancing the 2030 Development Agenda
  • Its your Right to Travel
  • Boomers to the Rescue
  • About the TTCR

Global press release

Share

Download PDF

Download Latin America Press Release as PDF

 

Download China Press Release as PDF

Download Latin America Press Release as PDF

 

Download China Press Release as PDF

The Asian Tourism Century is Arriving as Japan, China, South Korea and India Boost Region’s Tourism-Friendliness

  • Asia has most improved its tourism-friendliness of all regions, the 2017 World Economic Forum’s global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index reveals today
  • Japan (fourth, up five places), China (15th, up two) and India (40th, up 12) are Asia’s exponents in the global index led by Spain, France and Germany; the United States (sixth, down two places) and Switzerland (10th, down four) fall back
  • The travel and tourism sector in many countries around the world remains a bright spot in economic and job growth, but technological and sustainability challenges are growing
  • Download the full report, highlights, summary, profiles and rankings here

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 April 2017 – Spain, France and Germany continue to top the travel and tourism rankings in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, released today, but Asia steals the show as the region’s largest economies show the greatest rise in tourism-friendliness. The report ranks 136 countries across 14 separate dimensions, revealing how well countries could deliver sustainable economic and societal benefits through their travel and tourism sector.

Apart from the ranking, the report also shows how the industry is a force for good in an otherwise largely stagnant global economy. The global travel and tourism sector accounts for 10% of global GDP, grows faster than other sectors and provides one in 10 jobs. Underpinning this growth is the increasing accessibility and affordability of travel, although environmental challenges remain and many countries underperform in making technological strides.

The top three in the ranking – Spain, France and Germany – have secured their position thanks to world-class natural and cultural resources, outstanding infrastructure and hospitality services. Traditional strong travel and tourism destinations, including Japan (fourth), the United Kingdom (fifth), the United States (sixth, down two places), Australia (seventh), Italy (eighth), Canada (ninth) and Switzerland (10th), have also made it in the top 10. Switzerland, however, made a steep fall from sixth to 10th place, while Japan (fourth, up five) gained most places.

While advanced economies still hold the top spots in the ranking, 12 of the top 15 most improved countries are emerging markets, with Asia’s as exponents. Asia’s largest markets are not only becoming larger source markets but also more attractive destinations. Almost all of the region’s countries improved their ranking. Except for Japan, Hong Kong (11th, up two), China (15th, up two), Republic of Korea (19th, up 10) and Malaysia (26th) also made it to the top 30, while India made the largest leap in the top 50 (up 12 places) to land in 40th place.

“The rise of Asia’s giants shows that the Asian Tourism Century is becoming a reality,” said Tiffany Misrahi, Community Lead of the Aviation, Travel and Tourism Industries, World Economic Forum. “To reach their potential, the majority of countries still have more to do, from enhancing security, promoting their cultural heritage, building their infrastructure and creating stronger visa policies.”

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 finds that the increasingly protectionist global context, one that is hindering global trade, is not holding back international travel. Travel and tourism’s resilience is clear as the industry continues to build bridges between people and stronger visa policies are being developed to enhance security while facilitating travel. In light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, evidence suggests that, connectivity has increasingly become a must-have for countries as they develop their digital strategy.

“The increasing importance of demand from emerging markets and technology are changing the travel and tourism sector’s landscape at a fast rate,” said Roberto Crotti, Economist, World Economic Forum. “The capacity of countries to respond to and embrace these structural shifts will determine the future success of destinations.”

The report contains detailed country profiles for the 136 economies featured in the study, including a comprehensive summary of their overall positions in the index and a guide to the most prominent travel and tourism competitive advantages and disadvantages of each. Also included is an extensive section of data tables that cover each indicator used in the index’s computation.

The World Economic Forum produced the report in collaboration with our data partners Bloom Consulting, Deloitte, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the UNWTO and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Note to Editors

  • Read the report here
  • View the full PDF here (both report and PDF are embargoed until April 6, 6:00 AM CET / 1:00 AM Buenos Aires)  
  • View the best Forum Flickr photos at http://wef.ch/pix
  • Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook
  • Follow the Forum on Twitter at http://wef.ch/twitter
  • Read the Forum blog at http://wef.ch/blog
  • View upcoming Forum events at http://wef.ch/events
  • Subscribe to Forum news releases at http://wef.ch/news

Appendix: Top 15 most improved tourism-friendly economies since 2015

Back to Top
Subscribe for updates
A weekly update of what’s on the Global Agenda
Follow Us
About
Our Mission
Leadership and Governance
Our Members and Partners
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Communities
History
Klaus Schwab
Our Impact
Media
Pictures
A Global Platform for Geostrategic Collaboration
Careers
Open Forum
Contact Us
Mapping Global Transformations
Code of Conduct
World Economic Forum LLC
Sustainability
World Economic Forum Privacy Policy
Media
News
Accreditation
Subscribe to our news
Members & Partners
Member login to TopLink
Strategic Partners' area
Partner Institutes' area
Global sites
Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Open Forum
Global Shapers
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
EN ES FR 日本語 中文
© 2022 World Economic Forum
Privacy Policy & Terms of Service