US travel moving up in competitiveness
The US has moved up to No. 6 in a global survey of the most competitive countries in the travel and tourism sector, according to the World Economic Forum.
The US was No. 8 last year, according to “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011.”
Western European countries are the highest rated, with Switzerland coming in at No. 1, and Germany, France, Austria, and Sweden rounding out the top five.
Now in its fourth year, the global tourism report ranks 139 countries around the world in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), measuring factors and policies that facilitate or drive travel and tourism competitiveness, including health and safety, infrastructure, price levels, culture, environmental protection, and regulation.
The rankings are compiled from survey data from the World Economic Forum’s annual Executive Opinion Survey and quantitative data from publicly available sources, international organizations, and travel and tourism institutions and experts.
The US got high marks in particular for human, cultural, and natural resources, for which it ranked first overall, and for its overall business environment infrastructure, where it ranked third.
The survey showed that unless countries moved ahead in the rankings, they were being left behind.
“For established travel destinations preserving the status quo is definitely not a sustainable strategy for the future in order to win out over new, aspirational travel regions within Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or Asia,” said Jürgen Ringbeck, senior partner and tourism expert with Booz & Company, which was among sponsors of the study.
Overall growth in the tourism sector is moving away from the established regions such as Europe and North America, and towards the East.
By David Wilkening
David
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