Horseshoe Bend at dusk
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Thanks in part to its national parks, universities and major cities, the United States now boasts the world’s strongest travel and tourism economy, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.
Overall, European countries dominate the top 10 list, with six making the list, including France, which will be a particularly popular travel destination this summer with Paris hosting the Summer Olympics in 2024.
View of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. France is ranked among the top 10 tourist countries for 2024.
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The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) takes into account a range of factors across multiple categories in its rankings.
The report’s indicators focus on each country’s tourism sector and include factors such as airports, ground transport and ports, natural and cultural resources, safety and security, price competitiveness and the openness of tourism destinations.
“The Index measures a range of enabling factors and policies that lead to sustainable and resilient development. [travel and tourism] “This sector will in turn contribute to the country’s development,” the report said.
Details of the report focusing on the tourism sector around the world are as follows:
Which country will have the most developed travel and tourism industry in 2024?
Mallorca, Spain
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One area that helped the U.S. achieve its top ranking was “non-leisure resources,” in which the U.S. ranked first, defined as the presence of top universities, world-class cities, and large corporations.
With 429 national parks and over 12,000 miles of coastline, the United States ranks third in natural resources behind Australia and Brazil, and sixth in tourism services and infrastructure.
Areas where states are weaker include price competitiveness (115th) and safety and security (77th), with Malaysia coming in first in price competitiveness and Singapore coming in first in safety and security.
In the previous list in 2021, Japan topped the list.
Night view of Kabukicho Street in Shinjuku, Tokyo. This area is a thriving commercial and tourist destination, and is also famous as a downtown area. [+] Entertainment Zone
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Below is the overall ranking of the top 10 countries for tourism in 2024 according to the World Economic Forum.
1. America
2. Spain
3rd place: Japan
4. France
No.5: Australia
6. Germany
No.7: United Kingdom
8. China
9. Italy
10. Switzerland
What does tourism recovery look like post-pandemic?
The report noted that the tourism industry remains strong as it emerges from the pandemic, but many countries, including the United States, are experiencing growing pains.
Of the 119 countries ranked in the TTDI, 71 improved their scores between the 2019 and 2024 editions, but the average index score is only 0.7% above pre-pandemic levels.
The Middle East saw the strongest recovery, with international tourist arrivals up 20% compared to 2019. The Americas, Europe and Africa saw increases of around 90%.
The sustainability of travel demand is also a consideration – a timely one as an increasing number of European cities impose or raise tourist taxes to curb excess tourism or at least offset its effects.
Beautiful canal with old medieval architecture in Venice, Italy. View of the Grand Canal and gondolas.
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Challenges highlighted in the report include a labour shortage in the tourism industry, airlines struggling to keep up with demand, and inflation.
Data for the World Economic Forum report was collected at the end of 2023.
