The Travel & Tourism (T&T) Industry

The Travel & Tourism (T&T) industry has managed to remain relatively resilient over the recent year despite

the uncertain global economic outlook, which has been characterized by fragile global economic growth,

macroeconomic tensions, and high unemployment in many countries. Indeed, the sector has benefitted from

the continuing globalization process: travel has been increasing in mature markets and, particularly, has been

driven by the rising purchasing power of the growing middle class in many developing economies.

In such a context, Travel & Tourism has continued to be a critical sector for economic development and

for sustaining employment, in both advanced and developing economies. A strong T&T sector contributes

in many ways to development and the economy. It makes both direct contributions, by raising the national

income and improving the balance of payments, and indirect contributions, via its multiplier effect and by

providing the basis for connecting countries, through hard and soft infrastructure—attributes that are critical

for a country’s more general economic competitiveness. Although developing the T&T sector provides

many benefits, numerous obstacles at the national level continue to hinder its development. For this reason,

seven years ago the World Economic Forum, together with its Industry and Data Partners, embarked on a

multi-year research effort aimed at exploring various issues related to the T&T competitiveness of countries

around the world. This year’s Report is published under the theme “Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation,” which reflects the forward-looking attitude of the sector as it aims to ensure strong growth going into the future.

THE TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS INDEX

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) aims to measure the factors and policies that make it
attractive to develop the T&T sector in different countries. The Index was developed in close collaboration
with our Strategic Design Partner Booz & Company and our Data Partners Deloitte, the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). We have also received important feedback from a number of key companies that are Industry Partners in the effort, namely Airbus/EADS, BAE Systems, the Bahrain Economic Development Board,
Bombardier, Delta, Deutsche Lufthansa/Swiss, Embraer, Etihad Airways, Hilton, Jet Airways, Lockheed Martin, Marriott, Safran, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and VISA.

The TTCI is based on three broad categories of variables that facilitate or drive T&T competitiveness.
These categories are summarized into the three subindexes of the Index: (1) the T&T regulatory
framework subindex; (2) the T&T business environment and infrastructure subindex; and (3) the T&T human, cultural, and natural resources subindex. The first subindex captures those elements that are policy related and generally under the purview of the government; the second subindex captures elements of the business environment and the “hard” infrastructure of each economy; and the third subindex captures the “softer” human, cultural, and natural elements of each country’s resource endowments. Each of these three subindexes is composed in turn by a number of pillars of T&T competitiveness, of which
there are 14 in all. These are:
1. Policy rules and regulations
2. Environmental sustainability
3. Safety and security
4. Health and hygiene
5. Prioritization of Travel & Tourism
6. Air transport infrastructure
7. Ground transport infrastructure
8. Tourism infrastructure
9. ICT infrastructure
10. Price competitiveness in the T&T industry
11. Human resources
12. Affinity for Travel & Tourism
13. Natural resources
14. Cultural resources

           Each of the pillars is, in turn, made up of a number of individual variables. The dataset includes both survey data from the World Economic Forum’s annual Executive Opinion Survey (the Survey) and quantitative data from publicly available sources, international organizations, and T&T institutions and experts (for example, IATA, the IUCN, the UNWTO, WTTC, UNCTAD, and UNESCO). The Survey is carried out among chief executive officers and top business leaders in all economies covered by our research; these are the people making the investment decisions in their respective economies. The Survey provides unique data on many qualitative institutional and business environment issues, as well as specific issues related to the T&T industry and the quality of the natural environment.