For over a decade the World Economic Forum engaged leaders in travel and tourism to carry out an in-depth analysis of the travel and tourism (T&T) competitiveness. Published biennially, Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report and Index benchmarks the T&T competitiveness of 140 economies and measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.
As has been an ongoing trend over the last four years, T&T competitiveness continues to improve worldwide, and connectivity enabling - and enabled by - the industry remains on an upward path. The TTCI 2019 results show that air transportation, digital connectivity and international openness are advancing in a global context of growing trade tensions and nationalism. Air transport infrastructure improvements show a noticeable increase on route capacity and the number of airlines providing services in individual countries. International openness is progressing, with lower-income economies leading the way. Digital connectivity has
been bolstered by a growing number of individuals using the internet and mobile internet subscriptions, meaning more economies are now in a position to leverage the growing list of digital T&T services.
Travel has also become, for the most part, less expensive and safer, with the Price Competitiveness pillar, for example, showing the greatest percentage increase since 2017. Lastly, T&T is increasingly being prioritized by stakeholders around the world as measured by more favourable perceptions of government prioritization, increased industry funding and more effective marketing campaigns.