Still at the top of the world’s tourist destinations, France is in fourth place in the Tourism and Travel Development Index (IDTT), the 2024 edition of which was published this Tuesday, May 21. Directed by the World Economic Forumthe IDTT measures “all the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism”, for 119 countries.
The top 10 countries most favorable to tourism are made up of the United States, at the top as in 2019, the date of the previous ranking, Spain and Japan, France therefore, then Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Italy and finally Switzerland. France has gained two ranks compared to 2019.
This ranking was carried out using data from other organizations, which made it possible to establish a calculation based on 102 indicators corresponding to five major themes: the country’s environment, tourism policies, infrastructure and services, resources and sustainable development.
High-income countries more conducive to tourism development
This edition focused particularly on the state of the sector’s recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the top 30 ranked countries, “26 are high-income countries. 19 of these are based in Europe and seven in Asia-Pacific,” the report notes.
“These countries benefit from a favorable business environment and labor market, open travel policies, adoption of advanced technologies, excellent transportation and tourism infrastructure, and rich natural, cultural and others.”
Developing countries are progressing more strongly
The index shows, however, that while 71 of the 119 ranked economies improved their score between 2019 (date of the last ranking) and 2023, the average improvement is only 0.7% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The improvement for France is only slightly above average, 0.8% compared to 2019.
The study notes, however, that countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, but also Ivory Coast, Albania, Egypt and El Salvador have increased their score by more than 4% and are moving up several places in the ranking. Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey (+3.1%, moved from 37th to 29th place) join China (+1.0%, moved from 9th to 8th place) “in the upper quartile of the hint”.
“The global tourism industry is expected to recover from the trough of the pandemic and exceed the levels observed before the crisis” in 2024, predicts the World Economic Forum report, which notes “a significant increase” in global demand, as well as an “increase in the number of available flights”.