Figure 3: 2024 TTDI performance

Figure 4: 2019–2024 TTDI pillar score percentage change

TTDI results show that while the sector is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, operating conditions remain challenging. Between the 2019 and 2024 editions, 71 out of 119 TTDI-ranked economies progressed past their 2019 scores, but the average index score is just 0.7% above pre-pandemic levels and only 19 economies improved by 3.0% or more. Slow TTDI performance is partly due to diverging pillar trends (Figure 4). Increased pillar scores in Openness to T&T and Natural and Cultural Resources between 2019 and 2024, and Air Transport Infrastructure (+6.6%, 2021 to 2024) reflect a rebound in global T&T demand.

Nevertheless, scores for Air Transport Infrastructure and Tourist Services and Infrastructure are still below 2019 levels, indicating that, despite recent growth, supply factors such as air route capacity, T&T capital investment and productivity have not consistently kept up with climbing demand. The resulting imbalance between T&T demand and supply, combined with continued labour shortages in many countries and broad inflationary pressure, has led to a large average decrease in Price Competitiveness scores. In addition, average scores for Non-Leisure Resources also remain below 2019 levels, highlighting the delayed recovery in global business travel. While climbing average scores for the Environmental Sustainability and T&T Socioeconomic Impact pillars are encouraging for sector sustainability, gains in areas such as reduced emissions may be reversed as sector transport activity grows, while a decreasing 2021 to 2024 score for the T&T Demand Sustainability (-4.7%) pillar also reflects the resurfacing of historical tourism flow challenges associated with the growth in travel, including high seasonality and overcrowding.

Looking at ranking results, more mature, high-income T&T economies in Europe and Eurasia (Europe) and, to a lesser extent, Asia-Pacific make up most of the top rankings in the 2024 TTDI edition. Among the top 30 scorers, 19 are from Europe, seven from Asia-Pacific, three from the Americas, and one from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (the United Arab Emirates). The top 10 ranked economies for the 2024 TTDI are the United States, Spain, Japan, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Italy and Switzerland. T&T sector development in the top-scoring countries typically benefits from factors such as more conducive business environments, access to more dynamic, qualified and resilient labour markets, openness and good ICT readiness. In particular, these countries also tend to have excellent transport and tourism infrastructure and services and a very high concentration of natural, cultural and non-leisure resources and attractions. As a result of these advantages, the top 30 TTDI scorers accounted for over 75% of T&T industry GDP in 2022 and 70% of GDP growth between 2020 and 2022.⁷

Figure 5: TTDI score, 2019–2024, percentage change

However, in terms of momentum, it was less mature, low to middle-income economies that exhibited the most significant enhancement in performance since 2019, accounting for 52 out of 71 economies that improved their TTDI scores. Between 2019 and 2024, these economies accounted for much of the above-average improvements in scores in regions such as sub-Saharan (+2.1%) and North Africa (+1.1%), Eurasia (1.7%), South America (+1.2%), South Asia (+1.2%) and the Balkans and Eastern Europe (+1.0%). Saudi Arabia (+5.7%, 50th to 41st) and the United Arab Emirates (+4.4%, 25th to 18th) are the only high-income economies to rank among the top 10 most improved TTDI performers since 2019, with the remaining top 10 consisting of Uzbekistan (+7.8%, 94th to 78th), Côte d’Ivoire (+6.4%, 116th to 114th), Albania (+5.9%, 78th to 66th), Tanzania (+4.5%, 88th to 81st), Indonesia (+4.5%, 36th to 22nd), Egypt (+4.3%, 66th to 61st), Nigeria (+4.2%, 113th to 112th) and El Salvador (+4.0%, 101st to 97th). Moreover, the major emerging T&T economies of Indonesia, Brazil (+3.3%, 34th to 26th) and Türkiye (+3.1%, 37th to 29th) joined China (+1.0%, 9th to 8th) in the top quartile of the TTDI.

However, despite progress, developing economies account for nearly 90% of below-average index scorers. Far more investment will need to be made in areas such as developing favourable business, health and labour conditions, international openness, ICT, transport and tourist infrastructure, and the promotion and development of natural and cultural resources if these economies wish to increase their share of the T&T market and improve their readiness for future risks and opportunities.

In the future, while many of the aforementioned challenges are likely to lessen, if global inflation pressure eases and sector employment, investment and overall capacity grow, uncertainty about the sustainability of travel demand amid unstable macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions may climb. Furthermore, the T&T sector will be under increasing pressure to prepare for and help mitigate growing risks and challenges ranging from the impact of climate change and global conflict to the responsible use of technological innovation. TTDI 2024 results highlight the difficulty policy-makers and business leaders face when it comes to delivering sustainable, inclusive and resilient T&T development.

The Dimension and Regional results sections of this report provide a more detailed picture of the aforementioned trends and index results, while the special focus section highlights some of the ways in which the T&T sector can be leveraged to address future global challenges.