1. Insight ReportThe Travel & TourismCompetitivenessReport 2013Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job CreationJennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, editors

2. Insight ReportThe Travel & TourismCompetitivenessReport 2013Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job CreationJennifer BlankeThea ChiesaEditors 2013 World Economic Forum 3. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013is published by the World Economic Forum withinthe framework of The Global Competitiveness andBenchmarking Network and the Industry PartnershipProgramme for Aviation, Travel & Tourism.Professor Klaus SchwabExecutive ChairmanBrge BrendeManaging Director, Government Relations andConstituents EngagementRobert GreenhillManaging Director, Chief Business OfficerJohn MoavenzadehSenior Director, Head of Mobility IndustriesEDITORSJennifer Blanke, Senior Director, Lead Economist,Head of The Global Competitiveness andBenchmarking NetworkThea Chiesa, Director, Head of Aviation,Travel & TourismTHE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS AND BENCHMARKING NETWORKBeat Bilbao-Osorio, Associate Director,Senior EconomistCiara Browne, Associate DirectorRoberto Crotti, Quantitative EconomistMargareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Director, Senior Economist,Head of Competitiveness ResearchBrindusa Fidanza, Associate Director, EnvironmentalInitiativesThierry Geiger, Associate Director, EconomistTania Gutknecht, Community ManagerCaroline Ko, Junior EconomistCecilia Serin, Team CoordinatorWe thank Hope Steele for her excellent editing work andNeil Weinberg for his superb graphic design and layout.The terms country and nation as used in this report donot in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is a stateas understood by international law and practice. Theterms cover well-defined, geographically self-containedeconomic areas that may not be states but for whichstatistical data are maintained on a separate andindependent basis.World Economic ForumGenevaCopyright 2013by the World Economic ForumAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, or otherwise without the prior permission ofthe World Economic Forum.ISBN-13: 978-92-95044-40-1ISBN-10: 92-95044-40-1This report is printed on paper suitable for recycling andmade from fully managed and sustained forest sources.Printed and bound in Switzerland by SRO-Kundig.The full edition of the Report, with profiles of all 140economies as well as an interactive data platform, isavailable at www.weforum.org/ttcr. 2013 World Economic Forum 4. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | iiiPartner Institutes vPreface xiiiby Brge Brende and Robert Greenhill,World Economic ForumExecutive Summary xvby Jennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, World EconomicForumPart 1: Selected Issues of T&T Competitiveness1.1 The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness 3Index 2013: Contributing to National Growthand Employmentby Jennifer Blanke, Thea Chiesa, and Roberto Crotti,World Economic Forum1.2 How to Succeed as a Tourism 43Destination in a Volatile Worldby Jrgen Ringbeck and Timm Pietsch, Booz & Company1.3 Visa Facilitation: Stimulating Economic 49Growth and Development through Tourismby Dirk Glaesser and John Kester, with Mrcio Favilla,Sandra Carvo, Lorna Hartantyo, Birka Valentin, LisaFrba, Kate Holmes, Jacinta Garca, and Alberto G.Uceda, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)1.4 The Economic Benefits of Aviation 57and Performance in the Travel & TourismCompetitiveness Indexby Julie Perovic, International Air Transport Association(IATA)1.5 Travel & Tourism as a Driver 63of Employment Growthby Rochelle Turner, World Travel & Tourism Council, andZachary Sears, Oxford Economics1.6 Competiveness, Jobs, and Green 71Growth: A Glocal Modelby Geoffrey Lipman, Greenearth.travel and VictoriaUniversity Melbourne, and Terry Delacy and PaulWhitelaw, Victoria University MelbournePart 2: Country/Economy Profiles and 79Data Presentation2.1 Country/Economy Profiles 81How to Read the Country/Economy Profiles...................................83Index of Countries/Economies.........................................................85Country/Economy Profiles...............................................................862.2 Data Tables 367How to Read the Data Tables........................................................369Index of Data Tables......................................................................371Data Tables...................................................................................373Technical Notes and Sources 471About the Authors 479Acknowledgments 481Contents 2013 World Economic Forum 5. 2013 World Economic Forum 6. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | vThe World Economic Forums Global BenchmarkingNetwork is pleased to acknowledge and thank thefollowing organizations as its valued Partner Institutes,without which the realization of The Travel & TourismCompetitiveness Report 2013 would not havebeen feasible:AlbaniaInstitute for Contemporary Studies (ISB)Artan Hoxha, PresidentElira Jorgoni, Senior ExpertEndrit Kapaj, ExpertAlgeriaCentre de Recherche en Economie Applique pourle Dveloppement (CREAD)Youcef Benabdallah, Assistant ProfessorYassine Ferfera, DirectorArgentinaIAEUniversidad AustralEduardo Luis Fracchia, ProfessorSantiago Novoa, Project ManagerArmeniaEconomy and Values Research CenterManuk Hergnyan, ChairmanSevak Hovhannisyan, Board Member and Senior AssociateGohar Malumyan, Research AssociateAustraliaAustralian Industry GroupColleen Dowling, Senior Research CoordinatorInnes Willox, Chief ExecutiveAustriaAustrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)Karl Aiginger, DirectorGerhard Schwarz, Coordinator, Survey DepartmentAzerbaijanAzerbaijan Marketing SocietyFuad Aliyev, Deputy ChairmanAshraf Hajiyev, ConsultantBahrainBahrain Economic Development BoardKamal Bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting ChiefExecutive of the Economic Development BoardNada Azmi, Manager, Economic Planning and DevelopmentMaryam Matter, Coordinator, Economic Planning andDevelopmentBangladeshCentre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Senior Research FellowKishore Kumer Basak, Research AssociateMustafizur Rahman, Executive DirectorBarbadosSir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies,University of West Indies (UWI)Judy Whitehead, DirectorBelgiumVlerick Business SchoolPriscilla Boiardi, Associate, Competence CentreEntrepreneurship, Governance and StrategyWim Moesen, ProfessorLeo Sleuwaegen, Professor, Competence CentreEntrepreneurship, Governance and StrategyBeninCAPODConception et Analyse de Politiques deDveloppementEpiphane Adjovi, DirectorMaria-Odile Attanasso, Deputy CoordinatorFructueux Deguenonvo, ResearcherBosnia and HerzegovinaMIT Center, School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo,University of SarajevoZlatko Lagumdzija, ProfessorZeljko Sain, Executive DirectorJasmina Selimovic, Assistant DirectorBotswanaBotswana National Productivity CentreLetsogile Batsetswe, Research Consultant and StatisticianBaeti Molake, Executive DirectorPhumzile Thobokwe, Manager, Information and ResearchServices DepartmentBrazilFundao Dom Cabral, Bradesco Innovation CenterCarlos Arruda, International Relations Director, Innovationand Competitiveness ProfessorDaniel Berger, Bachelor Student in EconomicsFabiana Madsen, Economist and Associate ResearcherMovimento Brasil Competitivo (MBC)Carolina Aichinger, Project CoordinatorErik Camarano, Chief Executive OfficerBrunei DarussalamMinistry of Industry and Primary ResourcesPehin Dato Yahya Bakar, MinisterNormah Suria Hayati Jamil Al-Sufri, Permanent SecretaryBulgariaCenter for Economic DevelopmentAdriana Daganova, Expert, International Programmes andProjectsAnelia Damianova, Senior ExpertBurkina Fasolnstitut Suprieure des Sciences de la Population (ISSP),University of OuagadougouBaya Banza, DirectorPartner Institutes 2013 World Economic Forum 7. Partner InstitutesBurundiUniversity Research Centre for Economic and SocialDevelopment (CURDES), National University of BurundiBanderembako Deo, DirectorGilbert Niyongabo, Dean, Faculty of Economics &ManagementCambodiaEconomic Institute of CambodiaSok Hach, PresidentSokheng Sam, ResearcherCameroonComit de Comptitivit (Competitiveness Committee)Lucien Sanzouango, Permanent SecretaryCanadaThe Conference Board of CanadaMichael R. Bloom, Vice-President, OrganizationalEffectiveness & LearningDouglas Watt, Associate DirectorCape VerdeINOVE RESEARCHInvestigao e Desenvolvimento, LdaJlio Delgado, Partner and Senior ResearcherJos Mendes, Chief Executive OfficerSara Frana Silva, Project ManagerChadGroupe de Recherches Alternatives et de Monitoring du ProjetPtrole-Tchad-Cameroun (GRAMP-TC)Antoine Doudjidingao, ResearcherGilbert Maoundonodji, DirectorCeline Nnodji Mbaipeur, Programme OfficerChileUniversidad Adolfo IbezFernando Larrain Aninat, Director MBALeonidas Montes, Dean, School of GovernmentChinaInstitute of Economic System and Management, NationalDevelopment and Reform CommissionChen Wei, Research FellowDong Ying, ProfessorZhou Haichun, Deputy Director and ProfessorChina Center for Economic Statistics Research, TianjinUniversity of Finance and EconomicsBojuan Zhao, ProfessorFan Yang, Professor Jian Wang, Associate ProfessorHongye Xiao, ProfessorLu Dong, ProfessorColombiaNational Planning DepartmentSara Patricia Rivera, AdvisorJohn Rodrguez, Coordinator, Competitiveness ObservatoryJavier Villarreal, Enterprise Development DirectorColombian Private Council on CompetitivenessRosario Crdoba, PresidentMarco Llins, VicepresidentCte dIvoireChambre de Commerce et dIndustrie de Cte dIvoireJean-Louis Billon, PresidentMamadou Sarr, Director GeneralCroatiaNational Competitiveness CouncilJadranka Gable, AdvisorKresimir Jurlin, Research Fellowvi | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013CyprusThe European UniversityBambos Papageorgiou, Head of Socioeconomic andAcademic ResearchcdbbankThe Cyprus Development BankMaria Markidou-Georgiadou, Manager, Business Developmentand Special ProjectsCzech RepublicCMC Graduate School of BusinessTomas Janca, Executive DirectorDenmarkDanish Technological Institute, Center for Policy and BusinessDevelopmentHanne Shapiro, Center ManagerEcuadorESPAE Graduate School of Management, Escuela SuperiorPolitcnica del Litoral (ESPOL)Elizabeth Arteaga, Project AssistantVirginia Lasio, DirectorSara Wong, ProfessorEgyptThe Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES)Iman Al-Ayouty, Senior EconomistOmneia Helmy, Acting Executive Director and Directorof ResearchEstoniaEstonian Institute of Economic ResearchEvelin Ahermaa, Head of Economic Research SectorMarje Josing, DirectorEstonian Development FundKitty Kubo, Head of ForesightOtt Prna, Chief Executive OfficerEthiopiaAfrican Institute of Management, Development andGovernanceZebenay Kifle, General ManagerTegenge Teka, Senior ExpertFinlandETLAThe Research Institute of the Finnish EconomyMarkku Kotilainen, Research DirectorPetri Rouvinen, Research DirectorPekka Yl-Anttila, Managing DirectorFranceHEC School of Management, ParisBertrand Moingeon, Professor and Deputy DeanBernard Ramanantsoa, Professor and DeanGabonConfdration Patronale GabonaiseRegis Loussou Kiki, General SecretaryGina Eyama Ondo, Assistant General SecretaryHenri Claude Oyima, PresidentGambia, TheGambia Economic and Social Development Research Institute(GESDRI)Makaireh A. Njie, DirectorGeorgiaBusiness Initiative for Reforms in GeorgiaTamara Janashia, Executive DirectorGiga Makharadze, Founding Member of the Board of DirectorsMamuka Tsereteli, Founding Member of the Board of Directors 2013 World Economic Forum 8. Partner InstitutesThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | viiGermanyWHUOtto Beisheim School of ManagementRalf Fendel, Professor of Monetary EconomicsMichael Frenkel, Professor, Chair of Macroeconomics andInternational EconomicsGhanaAssociation of Ghana Industries (AGI)Patricia Addy, Projects OfficerNana Owusu-Afari, PresidentSeth Twum-Akwaboah, Executive DirectorGreeceSEV Hellenic Federation of EnterprisesMichael Mitsopoulos, Senior Advisor, EntrepreneurshipThanasis Printsipas, Economist, EntrepreneurshipGuatemalaFUNDESAFelipe Bosch G., President of the Board of DirectorsPablo Schneider, Economic DirectorJuan Carlos Zapata, General ManagerGuineaConfdration Patronale des Entreprises de GuineMohamed Bnogo Conde, Secretary-GeneralGuyanaInstitute of Development Studies, University of GuyanaKaren Pratt, Research AssociateClive Thomas, DirectorHaitiGroup Croissance SAPierre Lenz Dominique, Coordinator, Survey DepartmentKesner Pharel, Chief Executive Officer and ChairmanHong Kong SARHong Kong General Chamber of CommerceDavid ORear, Chief EconomistFederation of Hong Kong IndustriesAlexandra Poon, DirectorThe Chinese General Chamber of CommerceHungaryKOPINT-TRKI Economic Research Ltd.va Palcz, Chief Executive OfficerPeter Vakhal, Project ManagerIcelandInnovation Center IcelandArdis Armannsdottir, Marketing ManagerKarl Fridriksson, Managing Director of Human Resourcesand MarketingThorsteinn I. Sigfusson, DirectorIndiaConfederation of Indian Industry (CII)Chandrajit Banerjee, Director GeneralMarut Sengupta, Deputy Director GeneralGantakolla Srivastava, Head, Financial ServicesIndonesiaCenter for Industry, SME & Business Competition Studies,University of TrisaktiTulus Tambunan, Professor and DirectorIran, Islamic Republic ofThe Center for Economic Studies and Surveys (CESS), IranChamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and AgricultureMohammad Janati Fard, Research AssociateHamed Nikraftar, Project ManagerFarnaz Safdari, Research AssociateIrelandInstitute for Business Development and CompetitivenessSchool of Economics, University College CorkJustin Doran, Principal AssociateEleanor Doyle, DirectorCatherine Kavanagh, Principal AssociateForfs, Economic Analysis and Competitiveness DepartmentAdrian Devitt, ManagerConor Hand, EconomistIsraelManufacturers Association of Israel (MAI)Dan Catarivas, DirectorAmir Hayek, Managing DirectorZvi Oren, PresidentItalySDA Bocconi School of ManagementSecchi Carlo, Full Professor of Economic Policy, BocconiUniversityPaola Dubini, Associate Professor, Bocconi UniversityFrancesco A. Saviozzi, SDA Professor, Strategic andEntrepreneurial Management DepartmentJamaicaMona School of Business (MSB), The University of the WestIndiesPatricia Douce, Project AdministratorEvan Duggan, Executive Director and ProfessorWilliam Lawrence, Director, Professional Services UnitJapanKeio UniversityYoko Ishikura, Professor, Graduate School of Media DesignHeizo Takenaka, Director, Global Security Research InstituteJiro Tamura, Professor of Law, Keio UniversityKeizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives)Kiyohiko Ito, Managing Director, Keizai DoyukaiJordanMinistry of Planning & International CooperationJordan National Competitiveness TeamKawther Al-Zoubi, Head of Competitiveness DivisionBasma Arabiyat, ResearcherMukhallad Omari, Director of Policies and Studies DepartmentKazakhstanNational Analytical CentreDiana Tamabayeva, Project ManagerVladislav Yezhov, ChairmanKenyaInstitute for Development Studies, University of NairobiMohamud Jama, Director and Associate Research ProfessorPaul Kamau, Senior Research FellowDorothy McCormick, Research ProfessorKorea, Republic ofCollege of Business School, Korea Advanced Institute ofScience and Technology KAISTByungtae Lee, Acting DeanSoung-Hie Kim, Associate Dean and ProfessorJinyung Cha, Assistant Director, Exchange ProgrammeKorea Development InstituteJoohee Cho, Senior Research AssociateYongsoo Lee, Head, Policy Survey UnitKuwaitKuwait National Competitiveness CommitteeAdel Al-Husainan, Committee MemberFahed Al-Rashed, Committee ChairmanSayer Al-Sayer, Committee Member 2013 World Economic Forum 9. Partner InstitutesKyrgyz RepublicEconomic Policy Institute Bishkek ConsensusLola Abduhametova, Program CoordinatorMarat Tazabekov, ChairmanLatviaStockholm School of Economics in RigaKarlis Kreslins, EMBA Programme DirectorAnders Paalzow, RectorLebanonBader Young Entrepreneurs ProgramAntoine Abou-Samra, Managing DirectorFarah Shamas, Program CoordinatorLesothoPrivate Sector Foundation of LesothoO.S.M. Moosa, PresidentThabo Qhesi, Chief Executive OfficerNteboheleng Thaele, ResearcherLibyaLibya Development Policy CenterYusser Al-Gayed, Project DirectorAhmed Jehani, ChairmanMohamed Wefati, DirectorLithuaniaStatistics LithuaniaOna Grigiene, Deputy Head, Knowledge Economyand Special Surveys Statistics DivisionVilija Lapeniene, Director GeneralGediminas Samuolis, Head, Knowledge Economyand Special Surveys Statistics DivisionLuxembourgLuxembourg Chamber of CommerceChristel Chatelain, Research AnalystStephanie Musialski, Research AnalystCarlo Thelen, Chief Economist, Member of theManaging BoardMacedonia, FYRNational Entrepreneurship and CompetitivenessCouncil (NECC)Mirjana Apostolova, President of the AssemblyDejan Janevski, Project CoordinatorMadagascarCentre of Economic Studies, University of AntananarivoRavelomanana Mamy Raoul, DirectorRazato Rarijaona Simon, Executive SecretaryMalawiMalawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce andIndustryHope Chavula, Public Private Dialogue ManagerChancellor L. Kaferapanjira, Chief Executive OfficerMalaysiaInstitute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS)Jorah Ramlan, Senior Analyst, EconomicsSteven C.M. Wong, Senior Director, EconomicsMahani Zainal Abidin, Chief ExecutiveMalaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC)Mohd Razali Hussain, Director GeneralLee Saw Hoon, Senior DirectorMaliGroupe de Recherche en Economie Applique etThorique (GREAT)Massa Coulibaly, Executive Directorviii | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013MaltaCompetitive MaltaFoundation for National CompetitivenessMargrith Lutschg-Emmenegger, Vice PresidentAdrian Said, Chief CoordinatorCaroline Sciortino, Research CoordinatorMauritaniaCentre dInformation Mauritanien pour le DveloppementEconomique et Technique (CIMDET/CCIAM)L Abdoul, Consultant and AnalystMehla Mint Ahmed, DirectorHabib Sy, Administrative Agent and AnalystMauritiusBoard of Investment of MauritiusNirmala Jeetah, Director, Planning and PolicyKen Poonoosamy, Managing DirectorJoint Economic CouncilRaj Makoond, DirectorMexicoCenter for Intellectual Capital and CompetitivenessErika Ruiz Manzur, Executive DirectorRen Villarreal Arrambide, President and Chief ExecutiveOfficerRodrigo David Villarreal Ramos, DirectorInstituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO)Priscila Garcia, ResearcherManuel Molano, Deputy General DirectorJuan E. Pardinas, General DirectorMinistry of the EconomyJose Antonio Torre, Undersecretary for Competitivenessand StandardizationEnrique Perret Erhard, Technical Secretary forCompetitivenessNarciso Suarez, Research Director, Technical Secretaryfor CompetitivenessMoldovaAcademy of Economic Studies of Moldova (AESM)Grigore Belostecinic, RectorCentre for Economic Research (CER)Corneliu Gutu, DirectorMongoliaOpen Society Forum (OSF)Munkhsoyol Baatarjav, Manager of Economic PolicyErdenejargal Perenlei, Executive DirectorMontenegroInstitute for Strategic Studies and Prognoses (ISSP)Maja Drakic, Project ManagerPetar Ivanovic, Chief Executive OfficerVeselin Vukotic, PresidentMoroccoComit National de lEnvironnement des AffairesSeloua Benmbarek, Head of MissionMozambiqueEconPolicy Research Group, Lda.Peter Coughlin, DirectorDonaldo Miguel Soares, ResearcherEma Marta Soares, AssistantNamibiaInstitute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)Graham Hopwood, Executive Director 2013 World Economic Forum 10. Partner InstitutesThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | ixNepalCentre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA)Ramesh Chandra Chitrakar, Professor, Country Coordinatorand Project DirectorMahendra Raj Joshi, MemberHari Dhoj Pant, Officiating Executive Director, Advisor, SurveyprojectNetherlandsINSCOPE: Research for Innovation, Erasmus UniversityRotterdamFrans A. J. Van den Bosch, ProfessorHenk W. Volberda, Director and ProfessorNew ZealandThe New Zealand InitiativeCatherine Harland, Research FellowOliver Hartwich, Executive DirectorNigeriaNigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)Frank Nweke Jr., Director GeneralChris Okpoko, Associate Director, ResearchFoluso Phillips, ChairmanNorwayBI Norwegian Business SchoolEskil Goldeng, ResearcherTorger Reve, ProfessorOmanThe International Research FoundationSalem Ben Nasser Al-Ismaily, ChairmanPublic Authority for Investment Promotion and ExportDevelopment (PAIPED)Mehdi Ali Juma, Expert for Economic ResearchPakistanMishal PakistanPuruesh Chaudhary, Director ContentAmir Jahangir, Chief Executive OfficerParaguayCentro de Anlisis y Difusin de Economia Paraguaya(CADEP)Dionisio Borda, Research MemberFernando Masi, DirectorMara Beln Servn, Research MemberPeruCentro de Desarrollo Industrial (CDI), Sociedad Nacionalde IndustriasNstor Asto, Project DirectorLuis Tenorio, Executive DirectorPhilippinesMakati Business Club (MBC)Michael B. Mundo, Chief EconomistMarc P. Opulencia, Deputy DirectorPeter Angelo V. Perfecto, Executive DirectorManagement Association of the Philippines (MAP)Arnold P. Salvador, Executive DirectorPolandEconomic Institute, National Bank of PolandPiotr Boguszewski, AdvisorJarosaw T. Jakubik, Deputy DirectorPortugalPROFORUM, Associao para o Desenvolvimento daEngenhariaIldio Antnio de Ayala Serdio, Vice President of the Boardof DirectorsFrum de Administradores de Empresas (FAE)Paulo Bandeira, General DirectorPedro do Carmo Costa, Member of the Board of DirectorsEsmeralda Dourado, President of the Board of DirectorsPuerto RicoPuerto Rico 2000, Inc.Ivan Puig, PresidentInstituto de Competitividad Internacional, UniversidadInteramericana de Puerto RicoFrancisco Montalvo, Project CoordinatorQatarQatari Businessmen Association (QBA)Sarah Abdallah, Deputy General ManagerIssa Abdul Salam Abu Issa, Secretary-GeneralSocial and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI)Hanan Abdul Ibrahim, Associate DirectorDarwish Al Emadi, DirectorRomaniaSC VBD Alliance Consulting SrlIrina Ion, Program CoordinatorRolan Orzan, General DirectorRussian FederationBauman Innovation & Eurasia Competitiveness InstituteKaterina Marandi, Programme ManagerAlexey Prazdnichnykh, Principal and Managing DirectorStockholm School of Economics, RussiaIgor Dukeov, Area PrincipalCarl F. Fey, Associate Dean of ResearchRwandaPrivate Sector Federation (PSF)Hannington Namara, Chief Executive OfficerAndrew O. Rwigyema, Head of Research and PolicySaudi ArabiaNational Competitiveness Center (NCC)Awwad Al-Awwad, PresidentKhaldon Mahasen, Vice PresidentSenegalCentre de Recherches Economiques Appliques (CREA),University of DakarDiop Ibrahima Thione, DirectorSerbiaFoundation for the Advancement of Economics (FREN)Mihail Arandarenko, DirectorAleksandar Radivojevic, Project CoordinatorBojan Ristic, ResearcherSeychellesPlutus Auditing & Accounting ServicesNicolas Boulle, PartnerMarco L. Francis, PartnerSingaporeEconomic Development BoardAnna Chan, Assistant Managing Director, Planning & PolicyCheng Wai San, Head, Research & Statistics UnitTeo Xinyu, Executive, Research & Statistics UnitSlovak RepublicBusiness Alliance of Slovakia (PAS)Robert Kicina, Executive Director 2013 World Economic Forum 11. Partner InstitutesSloveniaInstitute for Economic ResearchPeter Stanovnik, ProfessorSonja Uric, Senior Research AssistantUniversity of Ljubljana, Faculty of EconomicsMateja Drnovek, ProfessorAle Vahcic, ProfessorSouth AfricaBusiness Leadership South AfricaFriede Dowie, DirectorThero Setiloane, Chief Executive OfficerBusiness Unity South AfricaNomaxabiso Majokweni, Chief Executive OfficerJoan Stott, Executive Director, Economic PolicySpainIESE Business School, International Center forCompetitivenessMara Luisa Blzquez, Research AssociateAntoni Subir, ProfessorSri LankaInstitute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS)Ayodya Galappattige, Research OfficerDilani Hirimuthugodage, Research OfficerSaman Kelegama, Executive DirectorSurinameSuriname Trade & Industry Association (VSB)Helen Doelwijt, Executive SecretaryRene van Essen, DirectorDayenne Wielingen Verwey, Economic Policy OfficerSwazilandFederation of Swaziland Employers and Chamber ofCommerceMduduzi Lokotfwako, Research AnalystZodwa Mabuza, Chief Executive OfficerNyakwesi Motsa, Administration & Finance ManagerSwedenInternational University of Entrepreneurship and TechnologyNiclas Adler, PresidentSwitzerlandUniversity of St. Gallen, Executive School of Management,Technology and Law (ES-HSG)Rubn Rodriguez Startz, Head of ProjectTobias Trtsch, Communications ManagerTaiwan, ChinaCouncil for Economic Planning and Development, ExecutiveYuanHung, J. B., Director, Economic Research DepartmentShieh, Chung Chung, Researcher, Economic ResearchDepartmentWu, Ming-Ji, Deputy MinisterTajikistanThe Center for Sociological Research ZerkaloRahima Ashrapova, Assistant ResearcherQahramon Baqoev, DirectorGulnora Beknazarova, ResearcherTanzaniaResearch on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA)Cornel Jahari, Assistant ResearcherJohansein Rutaihwa, Commissioned ResearcherSamuel Wangwe, Professor and Executive Directorx | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013ThailandSasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration,Chulalongkorn UniversityPongsak Hoontrakul, Senior Research FellowNarudee Kiengsiri, President of Sasin Alumni AssociationToemsakdi Krishnamra, Director of SasinThailand Development Research Institute (TDRI)Somchai Jitsuchon, Research DirectorChalongphob Sussangkarn, Distinguished FellowYos Vajragupta, Senior ResearcherTimor-LesteEast Timor Development Agency (ETDA)Jose Barreto, Survey ManagerPalmira Pires, DirectorChambers of Commerce and Industry of Timor-LesteKathleen Fon Ha Tchong Goncalves, Vice-PresidentTrinidad and TobagoArthur Lok Jack Graduate School of BusinessMiguel Carillo, Executive Director and Professor of StrategyNirmala Harrylal, Director, Internationalisation and InstitutionalRelations CentreThe Competitiveness CompanyRolph Balgobin, ChairmanTunisiaInstitut Arabe des Chefs dEntreprisesAhmed Bouzguenda, PresidentMajdi Hassen, Executive CounsellorTurkeyTUSIAD Sabanci University Competitiveness ForumIzak Atiyas, DirectorSelcuk Karaata, Vice DirectorSezen Ugurlu, Project SpecialistUgandaKabano Research and Development CentreRobert Apunyo, Program ManagerDelius Asiimwe, Executive DirectorFrancis Mukuya, Research AssociateUkraineCASE Ukraine, Center for Social and Economic ResearchDmytro Boyarchuk, Executive DirectorVladimir Dubrovskiy, Leading EconomistUnited Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi Department of Economic DevelopmentH.E. Mohammed Omar Abdulla, UndersecretaryDubai Economic CouncilH.E. Hani Al Hamly, Secretary GeneralInstitute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), ZayedUniversityMouawiya Alawad, DirectorEmirates Competitiveness CouncilH.E. Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Secretary GeneralUnited KingdomLSE Enterprise Ltd, London School of Economics andPolitical ScienceAdam Austerfield, Director of ProjectsNiccolo Durazzi, Project ManagerRobyn Klingler Vidra, ResearcherUruguayUniversidad ORT UruguayIsidoro Hodara, Professor 2013 World Economic Forum 12. Partner InstitutesThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xiVenezuelaCONAPRIThe Venezuelan Council for Investment PromotionLitsay Guerrero, Economic Affairs and Investor ServicesManagerEduardo Porcarelli, Executive DirectorVietnamHo Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS)Nguyen Trong Hoa, Professor and PresidentDu Phuoc Tan, Head of DepartmentTrieu Thanh Son, ResearcherYemenYemeni Businessmen Club (YBC)Mohammed Esmail Hamanah, Executive ManagerFathi Abdulwasa Hayel Saeed, ChairmanMoneera Abdo Othman, Project CoordinatorMARcon Marketing ConsultingMargret Arning, Managing DirectorZambiaInstitute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR),University of ZambiaPatricia Funjika, Research FellowJolly Kamwanga, Senior Research Fellow and ProjectCoordinatorMubiana Macwangi, Director and ProfessorZimbabweGraduate School of Management, University of ZimbabweA. M. Hawkins, ProfessorBolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, PanamaINCAE Business School, Latin American Center forCompetitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS)Ronald Arce, ResearcherArturo Condo, RectorMarlene de Estrella, Director of External RelationsLawrence Pratt, DirectorLiberia and Sierra LeoneFJP Development and Management ConsultantsOmodele R. N. Jones, Chief Executive Officer 2013 World Economic Forum 13. 2013 World Economic Forum 14. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xiiiThe World Economic Forum has, for the past sevenyears, engaged key industry and thought leadersthrough its Aviation, Travel & Tourism IndustryPartnership Programme, along with its Global AgendaCouncil on New Models for Travel & Tourism, to carryout an in-depth analysis of the T&T competitivenessof economies around the world. The resulting Travel &Tourism Competitiveness Report provides a platform formulti-stakeholder dialogue to ensure the developmentof strong and sustainable T&T industries capableof contributing effectively to international economicdevelopment. The theme of this years Report,Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and JobCreation, reflects the importance of the sector for thispurpose.Encouraging the development of the Travel &Tourism (T&T) sector is all the more important todaygiven its important role in job creation, at a time whenmany countries are suffering from high unemployment.The sector already accounts for 9 percent of GDP, a totalof US$6 trillion, and it provides 120 million direct jobsand another 125 million indirect jobs in related industries.This means that the industry now accounts for one ineleven jobs on the planet, a number that could even riseto one in ten jobs by 2022, according to the World Travel& Tourism Council.This edition of the Report comes at an uncertaintime for the T&T sector. Although the global economy isshowing signs of fragile recovery, the world is becomingincreasingly complex and interconnected. In thiscontext, it is notable that the T&T sector has remainedremarkably resilient in a number of ways. The numberof travelers has increased consistently over the pastyear, notwithstanding the difficult economic climateand shrinking budgets. Indeed, the UNWTO reportsthat international tourist arrivals grew by 4 percent in2012, and forecasts that they will continue to increaseby 3 percent to 4 percent in 2013. Although this trendis primarily driven by increasing demand from theemerging-market middle class, the picture has also beenbrightening for many developed economies.The industry has responded to the changingenvironment with a number of structural adjustments.Indeed, 2012 witnessed a number of alliances,mergers, and strategic investments both in the aviationindustry and in online travel services. Resilience hasalso been demonstrated in the way that some aviationcompanies responded to erratic fuel prices by exploringnew business models and acquiring energy assets.Additionally, industry players have made commitmentsto a low-carbon economy through several initiativesaimed at optimizing operations, retrofitting, recycling, andpreserving the environment.Yet despite these many positive developments, theneed for greater openness remains one of the majortrends impacting the T&T sector, especially with regardto the freer movement of people. The importance ofefforts in this area has been highlighted specificallyby the G20 Los Cabos communiqu in June 2012, inwhich the group recognized the importance of tourismas a vehicle for job creation, economic growth anddevelopment and furthermore committed to worktowards developing travel facilitation initiatives in supportof job creation, quality work, poverty reduction andglobal growth.At the core of the Report is the fifth edition of theTravel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). Theaim of the TTCI, which covers a record 140 economiesthis year, is to provide a comprehensive strategic toolfor measuring the factors and policies that makeit attractive to develop the T&T sector in differentcountries. By providing detailed assessments of the T&Tenvironments of countries worldwide, the results can beused by all stakeholders to work together to improve theindustrys competitiveness in their national economies,thereby contributing to national growth and prosperity. Italso allows countries to track their progress over time inthe various areas measured.The full Report is downloadable from www.weforum.org/ttcr; this contains detailed profiles for each of the 140economies featured in the study, as well as an extensivesection of data tables with global rankings coveringover 75 indicators included in the TTCI. In addition,it includes insightful contributions from a number ofindustry experts. These chapters explore issues such ashow visa facilitation can play a relevant role in stimulatingeconomic growth, the importance of policymakersleveraging local competitive advantages to thrive in avolatile environment, the impact of the tourism sectoron employment creation, how the connectivity that thePrefaceBRGE BRENDE AND ROBERT GREENHILLWorld Economic Forum 2013 World Economic Forum 15. Prefaceaviation sector creates sustains economic development,and the essential role of green growth in enhancing theresilience of the sector.The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report2013 could not have been put together without thedistinguished thinkers who have shared with ustheir knowledge and experience. We are gratefulto our Strategic Design Partner Booz & Company,and our Data Partners Deloitte, the International AirTransport Association (IATA), the International Unionfor Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World TourismOrganization (UNWTO), and the World Travel & TourismCouncil (WTTC) for helping us to design and develop theTTCI and for providing much of the industry-relevant dataused in its calculation. We thank our Industry Partnersin this Reportnamely Airbus/EADS, BAE Systems,Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bombardier,Delta, Deutsche Lufthansa/Swiss, Embraer, EtihadAirways, Jet Airways, Hilton, Lockheed Martin, Marriott,Safran, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and VISAfor theirsupport in this important venture.We also wish to thank the editors of the Report,Jennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, as well as theproject manager, Roberto Crotti, for their energy andtheir commitment to the project. Appreciation goes toother members of the competitiveness team: BeatBilbao-Osorio, Ciara Browne, Margareta DrzeniekHanouz, Thierry Geiger, Tania Gutknecht, Caroline Ko,and Cecilia Serin. Finally, we would like to convey oursincere gratitude to our network of 150 Partner Institutesworldwide, without whose hard work the annualadministration of the Executive Opinion Survey and thisReport would not be possible.xiv | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 2013 World Economic Forum 16. Executive SummaryThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xvExecutive SummaryJENNIFER BLANKE AND THEA CHIESAWorld Economic ForumThe Travel & Tourism (T&T) industry has managed toremain relatively resilient over the recent year despitethe uncertain global economic outlook, which hasbeen characterized by fragile global economic growth,macroeconomic tensions, and high unemployment inmany countries. Indeed, the sector has benefitted fromthe continuing globalization process: travel has beenincreasing in mature markets and, particularly, has beendriven by the rising purchasing power of the growingmiddle class in many developing economies.In such a context, Travel & Tourism has continuedto be a critical sector for economic development andfor sustaining employment, in both advanced anddeveloping economies. A strong T&T sector contributesin many ways to development and the economy. Itmakes both direct contributions, by raising the nationalincome and improving the balance of payments, andindirect contributions, via its multiplier effect and byproviding the basis for connecting countries, throughhard and soft infrastructureattributes that are criticalfor a countrys more general economic competitiveness.Although developing the T&T sector providesmany benefits, numerous obstacles at the national levelcontinue to hinder its development. For this reason,seven years ago the World Economic Forum, togetherwith its Industry and Data Partners, embarked on amulti-year research effort aimed at exploring variousissues related to the T&T competitiveness of countriesaround the world. This years Report is published underthe theme Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth andJob Creation, which reflects the forward-looking attitudeof the sector as it aims to ensure strong growth goinginto the future.THE TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESSINDEXThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI)aims to measure the factors and policies that make itattractive to develop the T&T sector in different countries.The Index was developed in close collaborationwith our Strategic Design Partner Booz & Companyand our Data Partners Deloitte, the International AirTransport Association (IATA), the International Unionfor Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World TourismOrganization (UNWTO), and the World Travel & TourismCouncil (WTTC). We have also received importantfeedback from a number of key companies that areIndustry Partners in the effort, namely Airbus/EADS, BAESystems, 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 ofvariables that facilitate or drive T&T competitiveness.These categories are summarized into the threesubindexes of the Index: (1) the T&T regulatoryframework subindex; (2) the T&T business environmentand infrastructure subindex; and (3) the T&T human,cultural, and natural resources subindex. The firstsubindex captures those elements that are policy relatedand generally under the purview of the government; thesecond subindex captures elements of the businessenvironment and the hard infrastructure of eacheconomy; and the third subindex captures the softerhuman, cultural, and natural elements of each countrysresource endowments.Each of these three subindexes is composed in turnby a number of pillars of T&T competitiveness, of whichthere are 14 in all. These are:1. Policy rules and regulations2. Environmental sustainability3. Safety and security4. Health and hygiene5. Prioritization of Travel & Tourism6. Air transport infrastructure7. Ground transport infrastructure8. Tourism infrastructure9. ICT infrastructure10. Price competitiveness in the T&T industry11. Human resources12. Affinity for Travel & Tourism13. Natural resources14. Cultural resourcesEach of the pillars is, in turn, made up of a numberof individual variables. The dataset includes both surveydata from the World Economic Forums annual ExecutiveOpinion Survey (the Survey) and quantitative data frompublicly available sources, international organizations,and T&T institutions and experts (for example, IATA, the 2013 World Economic Forum 17. Executive SummaryTable 1: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013 and 2011 comparison2013 2011Country/Economy Rank/140 Score Rank/139Switzerland 1 5.66 1Germany 2 5.39 2Austria 3 5.39 4Spain 4 5.38 8United Kingdom 5 5.38 7United States 6 5.32 6France 7 5.31 3Canada 8 5.28 9Sweden 9 5.24 5Singapore 10 5.23 10Australia 11 5.17 13New Zealand 12 5.17 19Netherlands 13 5.14 14Japan 14 5.13 22Hong Kong SAR 15 5.11 12Iceland 16 5.10 11Finland 17 5.10 17Belgium 18 5.04 23Ireland 19 5.01 21Portugal 20 5.01 18Denmark 21 4.98 16Norway 22 4.95 20Luxembourg 23 4.93 15Malta 24 4.92 26Korea, Rep. 25 4.91 32Italy 26 4.90 27Barbados 27 4.88 28United Arab Emirates 28 4.86 30Cyprus 29 4.84 24Estonia 30 4.82 25Czech Republic 31 4.78 31Greece 32 4.75 29Taiwan, China 33 4.71 37Malaysia 34 4.70 35Croatia 35 4.59 34Slovenia 36 4.58 33Panama 37 4.54 56Seychelles 38 4.51 n/aHungary 39 4.51 38Montenegro 40 4.50 36Qatar 41 4.49 42Poland 42 4.47 49Thailand 43 4.47 41Mexico 44 4.46 43China 45 4.45 39Turkey 46 4.44 50Costa Rica 47 4.44 44Latvia 48 4.43 51Lithuania 49 4.39 55Bulgaria 50 4.38 48Brazil 51 4.37 52Puerto Rico 52 4.36 45Israel 53 4.34 46Slovak Republic 54 4.32 54Bahrain 55 4.30 40Chile 56 4.29 57Oman 57 4.29 61Mauritius 58 4.28 53Uruguay 59 4.23 58Jordan 60 4.18 64Argentina 61 4.17 60Saudi Arabia 62 4.17 62Russian Federation 63 4.16 59South Africa 64 4.13 66India 65 4.11 68Georgia 66 4.10 73Jamaica 67 4.08 65Romania 68 4.04 63Lebanon 69 4.04 70Indonesia 70 4.03 74xvi | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 20132013 2011Country/Economy Rank/140 Score Rank/139Morocco 71 4.03 78Brunei Darussalam 72 4.01 67Peru 73 4.00 69Sri Lanka 74 3.99 81Macedonia, FYR 75 3.98 76Ukraine 76 3.98 85Albania 77 3.97 71Azerbaijan 78 3.97 83Armenia 79 3.96 90Vietnam 80 3.95 80Ecuador 81 3.93 87Philippines 82 3.93 94Trinidad and Tobago 83 3.93 79Colombia 84 3.90 77Egypt 85 3.88 75Dominican Republic 86 3.88 72Cape Verde 87 3.87 89Kazakhstan 88 3.82 93Serbia 89 3.78 82Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 3.78 97Namibia 91 3.77 84Gambia, The 92 3.73 92Honduras 93 3.72 88Botswana 94 3.71 91Nicaragua 95 3.67 100Kenya 96 3.66 103Guatemala 97 3.65 86Iran, Islamic Rep. 98 3.64 114Mongolia 99 3.63 101Suriname 100 3.63 n/aKuwait 101 3.61 95Moldova 102 3.60 99Guyana 103 3.60 98El Salvador 104 3.59 96Rwanda 105 3.56 102Cambodia 106 3.56 109Senegal 107 3.49 104Zambia 108 3.46 111Tanzania 109 3.46 110Bolivia 110 3.46 117Kyrgyz Republic 111 3.45 107Nepal 112 3.42 112Venezuela 113 3.41 106Tajikistan 114 3.41 118Paraguay 115 3.39 123Uganda 116 3.39 115Ghana 117 3.38 108Zimbabwe 118 3.33 119Swaziland 119 3.31 116Ethiopia 120 3.29 122Cameroon 121 3.27 126Pakistan 122 3.25 125Bangladesh 123 3.24 129Malawi 124 3.22 121Mozambique 125 3.17 128Cte dIvoire 126 3.15 131Nigeria 127 3.14 130Burkina Faso 128 3.12 132Mali 129 3.11 133Benin 130 3.09 120Madagascar 131 3.09 127Algeria 132 3.07 113Yemen 133 2.96 n/aMauritania 134 2.91 136Lesotho 135 2.89 135Guinea 136 2.88 n/aSierra Leone 137 2.87 n/aBurundi 138 2.82 137Chad 139 2.61 139Haiti 140 2.59 n/a 2013 World Economic Forum 18. Executive SummaryThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xviiIUCN, the UNWTO, WTTC, UNCTAD, and UNESCO). TheSurvey is carried out among chief executive officers andtop business leaders in all economies covered by ourresearch; these are the people making the investmentdecisions in their respective economies. The Surveyprovides unique data on many qualitative institutionaland business environment issues, as well as specificissues related to the T&T industry and the quality of thenatural environment.The details of the composition of the TTCI areshown in Appendix A of Chapter 1.1; detailed rankingsand scores of this years Index are found in Appendix Bof that chapter.THE TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESSINDEX RANKINGS 2013Table 1 shows the overall rankings of the 140 economiesassessed in this edition TTCI, comparing this yearsrankings with those from the 2011 edition of the Report,.Switzerland maintains its top position in the rankings,which it has retained for five consecutive editions, sincethe very first Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report.Tables 26 present the rankings in a regional context,grouping economies into the following five regionalgroups: Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific (includingCentral Asia), the Middle East and North Africa, andsub-Saharan Africa. We discuss below a selection ofcountries from each region to provide a sense of theresults and how they are interpreted at the national level.More countries are discussed in detail in Chapter 1.1.EuropeIn line with statistics on international tourist arrivals,Table 1 shows that Europe remains the leading regionfor Travel & Tourism competitiveness, with all of thetop five places taken by European countries. Likewise,13 of the top 20 countries are from the region. Table 2shows the rankings for European countries only, withthe first column showing the rank within the region,the second column showing the overall rank out of all140 economies included in the Index this year, and thethird column showing the score. As the table shows,Switzerland is ranked 1st out of all countries in the 2013TTCI, a position it has held since the first edition ofthis Report in 2007. Germany, Austria, Spain, and theUnited Kingdom complete the top five, while France andSweden are among the top 10 overall.Switzerland continues to lead the rankings,performing well on almost all aspects of the Index.Switzerlands infrastructure, especially ground transport(3rd), is among the best in the world. The country alsoboasts top marks for its hotels and other tourism-specificfacilities, with excellent staff thanks to the availability ofqualified labor to work in the industry (ranked 2nd)perhaps not surprising in a country that holds many ofthe worlds best hotel management schools. Switzerlandalso attracts tourists because of its rich and well-managednatural resources. A large percentage of thecountrys land area is protected, environmental regulationis among the most stringent (3rd), and the T&T industryis considered to be developed in a sustainable way(7th). These good environmental conditions, combinedwith the high safety and security of the country (2nd),contribute to its solid T&T competitiveness. Switzerlandis not only a strong leisure tourism destination but alsoan important business travel hub, with many internationalfairs and exhibitions held in the country each year,driving its showing on the cultural resources pillar (6th).Switzerlands strong performance in all these areasenables the country to somewhat make up for its lackof price competitiveness (139th), which, together with afairly restrained international visa policy, does indeed limitthe number of arrivals.Germany ranks 2nd in Europe and out of allcountries in the TTCI. Similar to Switzerland, itsinfrastructure is among the best in the world: it is ranked6th for ground transport infrastructure and 7th for airtransport infrastructure, facilitating connections bothwithin the country and internationally. Germany also hasabundant cultural resources (ranked 5th worldwide for itsmany World Heritage cultural sites) and is host to almost600 international fairs and exhibition per year (2nd), whilehotel prices are relatively competitive (55th). In addition,Germany makes great efforts to develop in a sustainableway (4th), with the worlds most stringent environmentalregulationswhich are also among the best-enforcedand the strong support of international environmentalefforts, as demonstrated through its ratification of manyinternational environmental treaties.Austria ranks 3rd, improving by one position since2011. Its strong performance is driven by factors such astourism infrastructure, in which it ties for 1st place withItaly; a welcoming attitude toward visitors; a very safeand secure environment (7th); and, most importantly, itsrich cultural resources. Austria hosts nine World Heritagecultural sites, has excellent creative industries, andattracts many travelers with several fairs and exhibitionsorganized every year. The countrys tourism industry isalso being developed in a sustainable way (10th), withsome of the most stringent (4th) and well-enforced (7th)environmental regulations in the world, driving its overallpositive performance on environmental sustainability(ranked 6th).Spain is the country among the top 10 that seesthe most improvement since 2011: moving up fourplaces since the last assessment, it is now ranked 4th.Spain continues to lead in cultural resources, ranking1st this year in this area because of its extremelynumerous World Heritage sites (2nd) and its largenumber of international fairs and exhibitions (3rd), as wellas its significant sports stadium capacity. Its tourisminfrastructure is another strength, with its many hotel 2013 World Economic Forum 19. Executive SummaryTable 2: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: EuropeT&T regulatory Business environment T&T human, cultural,OVERALL INDEX framework and infrastructure and natural resourcesrooms, car rental facilities, and ATMs. Furthermore, itsair transport infrastructure is highly developed and ranksamong the top 10 worldwide. Spain has improved in afew areas since the last edition. In particular, startinga business has become less costly and onerous,according to the World Bank, and hotel prices havecome down a bit. The government has also kept tourismhigh in its development agenda, making Spain a top10 economy for prioritization of the industry. Spain hasnotably maintained its efforts on marketing activity andspending on the industrys development amid difficulteconomic circumstances.xviii | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013SUBINDEXESThe United Kingdom moves up by two morepositions since the last edition of the Report, to reach5th place this year. The countrys T&T competitivenessis based on its excellent cultural resources (ranked3rd), with many World Heritage cultural sites, a largenumber of international fairs, and strong creativeindustries (all ranked within the top 10). The countryhas probably benefitted from two important events in2012: the Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee ofQueen Elizabeth II. Although the outcome is not yet fullyreflected in the data, the United Kingdom has leveragedthe preparation of these events in terms of tourismcampaigns, generating interest in visiting the countryRegional OverallCountry/Economy rank rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank ScoreSwitzerland 1 1 5.66 1 5.94 1 5.42 2 5.63Germany 2 2 5.39 8 5.57 6 5.29 7 5.31Austria 3 3 5.39 2 5.80 11 5.11 9 5.24Spain 4 4 5.38 14 5.48 5 5.30 6 5.36United Kingdom 5 5 5.38 17 5.44 10 5.13 3 5.57France 6 7 5.31 9 5.56 7 5.18 11 5.20Sweden 7 9 5.24 12 5.54 23 4.89 8 5.30Netherlands 8 13 5.14 16 5.45 15 5.01 16 4.97Iceland 9 16 5.10 3 5.77 13 5.06 36 4.47Finland 10 17 5.10 5 5.74 22 4.89 24 4.65Belgium 11 18 5.04 18 5.43 26 4.78 18 4.90Ireland 12 19 5.01 7 5.68 19 4.96 40 4.41Portugal 13 20 5.01 20 5.42 27 4.78 19 4.84Denmark 14 21 4.98 25 5.31 16 4.98 26 4.64Norway 15 22 4.95 11 5.55 28 4.77 33 4.53Luxembourg 16 23 4.93 21 5.41 20 4.96 39 4.42Malta 17 24 4.92 15 5.47 14 5.06 49 4.22Italy 18 26 4.90 50 4.90 29 4.76 14 5.05Cyprus 19 29 4.84 22 5.35 21 4.89 46 4.27Estonia 20 30 4.82 10 5.55 30 4.72 51 4.19Czech Republic 21 31 4.78 28 5.24 37 4.49 28 4.61Greece 22 32 4.75 39 5.02 33 4.65 30 4.58Croatia 23 35 4.59 42 4.99 39 4.43 42 4.37Slovenia 24 36 4.58 33 5.12 35 4.52 52 4.11Hungary 25 39 4.51 26 5.29 49 4.16 54 4.08Montenegro 26 40 4.50 34 5.09 50 4.14 47 4.26Poland 27 42 4.47 49 4.92 58 3.94 32 4.56Turkey 28 46 4.44 64 4.62 52 4.08 27 4.63Latvia 29 48 4.43 35 5.08 40 4.40 77 3.81Lithuania 30 49 4.39 41 4.99 48 4.19 61 3.98Bulgaria 31 50 4.38 58 4.79 45 4.24 53 4.10Slovak Republic 32 54 4.32 43 4.96 60 3.92 55 4.06Russian Federation 33 63 4.16 92 4.24 46 4.22 58 4.02Georgia 34 66 4.10 30 5.18 80 3.46 91 3.67Romania 35 68 4.04 66 4.61 68 3.67 73 3.85Macedonia, FYR 36 75 3.98 57 4.79 74 3.58 100 3.58Ukraine 37 76 3.98 60 4.73 71 3.62 99 3.59Albania 38 77 3.97 63 4.65 90 3.31 63 3.96Armenia 39 79 3.96 51 4.88 88 3.34 94 3.65Serbia 40 89 3.78 74 4.50 81 3.40 109 3.45Bosnia and Herzegovina 41 90 3.78 75 4.47 95 3.19 92 3.66Moldova 42 102 3.60 65 4.61 97 3.16 133 3.04 2013 World Economic Forum 20. Executive SummaryThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xixand reinforcing their already-solid ICT and air transportinfrastructure (ranked 10th and 5th, respectively). Thegenerally supportive policy environment, ranked 8th,encourages the development of the sector, while thecountry relies on an excellent human resources base(ranked 6th). On a less positive note, the United Kingdomcontinues to receive one of the poorest assessmentsfor price competitiveness (138th), in large part becauseit has the 2nd highest tax rate on tickets and airportcharges worldwide.France is ranked 7th overall in this edition, losingfour positions since 2011. France continues to attractmany tourists with its rich cultural heritage (ranked 4thfor the number of World Heritage cultural sites and 8thfor creative industries). The country also hosts manyinternational fairs and exhibitions (ranked 5th). Francesground transport infrastructure is still one of the bestin the world (ranked 5th), with particularly good roadsand railroads as well as good air transport infrastructure(ranked 8th). However, the overall policy rules andregulation framework is not sufficiently supportiveof developing the sector, and the prioritization of theT&T sector declines this year (ranked 35th overall).Additionally, the assessment has weakened somewhatin terms of the quality and availability of qualified labor inthe country.Italy moves up one spot this year to place 26thoverall and 18th in Europe. As well as its culturalrichnesswith many World Heritage Sites, internationalfairs and exhibitions, and rich creative industriesItalys strengths lie in its excellent tourism infrastructure(tying with Austria for 1st place) and its relatively goodair transport infrastructure (24th). However, it faces anumber of challenges that bring its overall rating down.These include policy rules and regulations that arestill not sufficiently supportive of the development ofthe sector (100th) and a lack of price competitiveness(134th).Greece is ranked 32nd, down another threepositions since the last assessment. The countrysrich cultural resources (ranked 25th) and excellenttourism infrastructure (3rd) are still important strengths.Additionally, Greece has very good health and hygieneconditions (ranked 13th overall) and good air transportinfrastructure (20th). Further, there is a strong nationalaffinity for tourism compared with many other Europeancountries, including a generally open and positiveattitude toward tourists. The decline in the rankingscan be traced to a further worsening of the policyenvironment and a lower perceived prioritization ofTravel & Tourism within the country, probably because ofdwindling resources available for the particular industryamid general economic and financial difficulties.Turkey climbs four positions this year to reach 46thplace. The countrys main strength continues to lie inits rich cultural resources (19th), with 20 World Heritagecultural sites, several international fairs and exhibitions,and strong creative industries. In addition, Turkeygains significantly in a number of areas and has seen asignificant increase in tourist arrivals over the last twoyears. The policy rules and regulations governing thesector are supportive and have continued to progresssince the 2011 T&T Report. Turkey has also improvedits air transport infrastructure (29th) and its tourisminfrastructure (45th). However, some areas still hold backthe overall T&T competitiveness performance of thecountry: although improving, safety and security issues(79th) remain worrisome, ground transport infrastructureis inadequate (especially railroads and ports), and ICTinfrastructure remains unsatisfactory (71st), especially fora rapidly growing tourism destination. In addition, moreefforts must be made toward environmental sustainability(ranked 95th), an area that will be of increasing concerngoing forward.The AmericasTable 3 shows the regional rankings for the countries inthe Americas. As this table shows, the United Statesis the highest-ranked country in the Americas and 6thout of all countries, with stable performance since thelast assessment. Overall, the country receives highmarks for its business environment and infrastructure.In particular, the United States has excellent airtransport infrastructure (ranked 2nd) and high-qualitytourism infrastructure, as well as a strong focus oncustomer satisfaction. Its cultural resources and naturalresources (ranked 5th and 3rd, respectively), with manyWorld Heritage cultural and natural sites, drive its highposition in the rankings, together with several fairs andexhibitions (1st) and strong creative industries (2nd). Ona less positive note, the countrys natural endowmentsare not being sufficiently protected (ranked 112th forenvironmental sustainability). Also, compared with othertop-ranked economies, the quality of ground transportcould be improved more (27th) and the perception ofsafety and security leaves room for improvement (57th).Canada moves up one place to 8th overall. Thecountry has several strengths, including its rich naturalresources (10th) with numerous World Heritage sites(ranked 5th), excellent air transport infrastructure, highlyqualified human resources (5th), and a strong policyenvironment (10th). Its cultural resources are also astrong point, with many international fairs and exhibitionsin the country. Canada has lost some ground in terms ofprice competitiveness and environmental sustainability,where, although it still ranks fairly high (41st), it registersa decline in the perception of the enforcement ofenvironmental regulations and continues to suffer fromhigh CO2 per capita emissions.Barbados ranks 3rd in the region and 27th overall,up one place since the last assessment. Barbadoscomes in 2nd overall for the countrys affinity for Travel 2013 World Economic Forum 21. Executive SummaryTable 3: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: The AmericasT&T regulatory Business environment T&T human, cultural,OVERALL INDEX framework and infrastructure and natural resources& Tourism, with a positive attitude toward tourists andtoward the value of tourism in the country, although itdoes receive a middling score for the degree of customerorientation (64th). The importance of the T&T sector forBarbados is reflected in the high prioritization placed onTravel & Tourism (8th), with significant emphasis put onthe sectors development by the government and highspending on the sector, ensuring effective destination-marketingcampaigns and collecting relevant sector dataon a timely basis. However, although there have beensome marginal improvements in some elements of itsenvironmental sustainability, additional efforts to protectthe natural environment would reinforce the countrysstrong T&T competitiveness.Panama witnesses one of the most markedimprovements in this years TTCI, moving up to 37thposition overall and 4th in the region. The countrysmost important competitive advantage is its richendowment of natural resources, with its diverse fauna,significant protected land areas, and a number ofWorld Heritage sites. The improvement in this yearsrankings can be traced mainly to an improvement in thecountrys infrastructure. Tourism infrastructure has beendeveloped (now ranked 42nd), most notably with moreavailable hotel rooms. The quality of ground transportxx | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013SUBINDEXEShas also improved across almost all modes, with portinfrastructure now ranked 4th and railroads ranked32nd. Air transport improves as well and is now ranked16th. The expansion of stadium capacity and creativeindustries exports is also notable. On the other hand,areas requiring further improvement include safety andsecurity (70th), the human resources base (79th), andhealth and hygiene standards (86th).Mexico is stable this year at 44th position (and5th in the region). Mexico receives impressive marksfor its natural resources (ranked 8th), an area thatshows an improvement since the last assessment,with many World Heritage natural sites and rich fauna.The countrys cultural resources are also among thebest in the world (21st), with 34 World Heritage culturalsites, several international fairs and exhibitions, andstrong creative industries. These inherent strengths arereinforced by the overall prioritization of the sector inthe country (34th) and effective marketing and brandingcampaigns. Some areas have improved, yet continueto require attentionfor example, ground transportinfrastructure is being developed but still ranks relativelylow (69th), and more efforts are required to ensure thatthe sector is being developed in a sustainable way(105th). Finally, despite a marginal improvement sinceRegional OverallCountry/Economy rank rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank ScoreUnited States 1 6 5.32 44 4.95 2 5.36 1 5.65Canada 2 8 5.28 27 5.27 8 5.17 5 5.39Barbados 3 27 4.88 13 5.50 18 4.96 50 4.20Panama 4 37 4.54 54 4.83 36 4.52 45 4.29Mexico 5 44 4.46 83 4.43 61 3.92 15 5.02Costa Rica 6 47 4.44 52 4.88 56 3.98 38 4.45Brazil 7 51 4.37 82 4.43 76 3.57 12 5.10Puerto Rico 8 52 4.36 40 4.99 43 4.33 81 3.75Chile 9 56 4.29 53 4.87 53 4.07 65 3.94Uruguay 10 59 4.23 31 5.18 78 3.53 62 3.97Argentina 11 61 4.17 69 4.54 72 3.61 41 4.38Jamaica 12 67 4.08 59 4.76 64 3.76 87 3.72Peru 13 73 4.00 96 4.17 85 3.36 37 4.47Ecuador 14 81 3.93 85 4.37 83 3.38 56 4.05Trinidad and Tobago 15 83 3.93 104 4.07 54 4.07 95 3.64Colombia 16 84 3.90 101 4.11 103 3.09 34 4.51Dominican Republic 17 86 3.88 67 4.60 75 3.58 108 3.45Honduras 18 93 3.72 97 4.17 92 3.28 89 3.69Nicaragua 19 95 3.67 98 4.15 101 3.11 82 3.74Guatemala 20 97 3.65 109 3.93 98 3.15 69 3.88Suriname 21 100 3.63 106 4.05 100 3.11 86 3.72Guyana 22 103 3.60 80 4.44 111 2.88 106 3.47El Salvador 23 104 3.59 99 4.14 82 3.39 125 3.24Bolivia 24 110 3.46 125 3.55 102 3.09 85 3.73Venezuela 25 113 3.41 119 3.67 99 3.12 110 3.45Paraguay 26 115 3.39 103 4.09 115 2.80 120 3.29Haiti 27 140 2.59 138 2.93 136 2.39 140 2.44 2013 World Economic Forum 22. Executive SummaryThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xxilast year, safety and security remains the main sourceof concern for the T&T sector, where Mexico still ranks alow 121st.Brazil is ranked 7th in the Americas and 51stoverall, up one position since 2011. The country isranked 1st out of all countries for its natural resourcesand 23rd for its cultural resources, with many WorldHeritage sites, a good proportion of protected land area,and the richest fauna in the world. This is buttressed bya focus on environmental sustainability (ranked 30th), anarea that has been improving over recent years, althoughthe protection of the countrys diverse fauna requiresadditional efforts. The safety and security environmentand health and hygiene conditions have also improvedslightly since the last assessment. On the other hand,the ground transport network remains underdeveloped(129th), with the quality of roads, ports, and railroadsrequiring improvement to keep pace with the economicdevelopment of the country. Preparations for two majorsports events in the next five years (the FIFA WorldCup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016) provideopportunities to bridge the infrastructure gap. Brazil alsocontinues to suffer from a lack of price competitiveness(126th), with high and increasing ticket taxes andairport charges, as well as high and rising prices moregenerally. Further, the overall policy environment is notparticularly conducive to the development of the sector(ranked 119th), with discouraging rules on FDI, muchtime required for starting a business, and somewhatrestrictive commitments to opening up tourism servicesunder GATS commitments.Chile ranks 9th in the region and 56th overall,maintaining a stable performance since the lastassessment. It has notable cultural resources, with sixWorld Heritage cultural sites and several internationalfairs and exhibitions. In addition, policy rules andregulations are conducive to the development of the T&Tsector (12th), with few foreign ownership restrictions,a liberal visa regime, and open bilateral Air ServiceAgreements, although the time and cost for startingnew businesses remain relatively high. The countryalso benefits from good safety and security by regionalstandards (31st). Additionally, tourism infrastructurehas improved noticeably and now rank 49th. However,Chiles T&T competitiveness would be strengthened byupgrading its transport infrastructure and thus raisingthe quality of tourism infrastructure further, as well as byfocusing more on preserving the environment to developthe industry in a more environmentally sustainable way.Peru is ranked 13th in the region, placing 73rdoverall. Perus natural and cultural resources remainimportant assets for the tourism industry. The countryhas one of the richest fauna in the world (3rd) and hostsseveral natural and cultural World Heritage sites. Peruhas seen a continuous growth in tourist arrivals andinternational flights, even during the global recession.The effectiveness of marketing and branding to promotethe T&T sector shows improvement, and governmentspending on the industry has increased slightly.However, in order to raise its T&T competitivenessfurther, safety and security must be improved (118th)and ground transport infrastructure must be upgraded(121st). Additionally, the country has lost some pricecompetitiveness because of higher general and tourism-specifictaxation, most notably the high ticket taxesand airport charges (where the country ranks 135th). Amore in-depth analysis of the performance of the T&Tcompetitiveness of Peru will be conducted in a dedicatedpublication to be issued in April 2013, on occasion of theWorld Economic Forum on Latin America 2013.Asia PacificTable 4 displays the regional rankings and data for theAsia Pacific region. As the table shows, Singapore isthe top-ranked economy in the region at 10th positionoverall, the same position it has held for the past threeeditions. Singapore benefits from excellent transportinfrastructure, with ground transport infrastructureand air transport infrastructure ranked 2nd and 14th,respectively. Singapore ranks 2nd for the high qualityof its available human resources. And with its famouslywell-functioning public institutions, it is perhaps notsurprising that Singapore ranks 1st out of all economiesfor its policy environment, with rules and regulationsthat are extremely conducive to the development of itsT&T industries (policies facilitating foreign ownershipand FDI, well-protected property rights, and few visarestrictions). Further, Singapore is among the safesteconomies of all assessed with regard to safety andsecurity, and receives strong assessments for othertypes of infrastructure. One area of concern is its pricecompetitiveness, which has eroded as seen in increasinghotel prices and taxation.Singapore is followed in the regional rankings byAustralia, which improves by two places and is nowat 11th position overall. Australias T&T competitivenesscontinues to be characterized by a number of clearstrengths, including its rich natural resources and thehighest number of World Heritage natural sites in theworld, benefiting from diverse fauna and a comparativelypristine natural environment. Given the importanceof the environment for much of its leisure tourism,it is notable that the stringency and enforcement ofits environmental regulations are well assessed. Andgiven the countrys distance from other continentsand the related importance of domestic air travel toovercome the large distances between major sites,its competitiveness is also buttressed by excellent airtransport infrastructure (ranked 4th) as well as goodgeneral tourism infrastructure (ranked 20th). Australiaalso sees some improvements in the policy rules andregulations affecting the sector, especially its increased 2013 World Economic Forum 23. Executive SummaryTable 4: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: Asia PacificT&T regulatory Business environment T&T human, cultural,OVERALL INDEX framework and infrastructure and natural resourcesopenness in bilateral Air Service Agreements. In termsof visa requirements, Australia has one of the mostadvanced visa policies in the world (especially withrespect to the electronic visa process) at a time whena number of other countries are moving in the oppositedirection.New Zealand ranks 3rd in the region and 12thoverall, an improvement of seven positions, one of themost significant in the region. The country continues tobenefit from its rich natural resources, with a numberof World Heritage natural sites (ranked 18th) and apristine natural environment (ranked 3rd), protectedby strong and well-enforced environmental legislation.The countrys policy rules and regulations are highlyconducive to the development of the sector (ranked2nd), with very transparent policymaking and amongthe least time and lowest cost required to start abusiness in the world. The country also benefits fromhigh-quality human resources (ranked 13th) and a verysafe and secure environment overall (9th). AlthoughNew Zealands ground transport network remainssomewhat underdeveloped given its advanced stageof development, its air transport infrastructure getsexcellent marks (ranked 12th) and its ICT infrastructure isquite good by international standards. The most relevantimprovement in New Zealands performance in thisedition is registered in its tourism infrastructure, drivenxxii | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013SUBINDEXESespecially by a rise in the number of available hotelrooms.Japan is ranked 4th regionally and 14th out of allthe economies in the TTCI, up eight places since the lastassessment. This achievement is especially impressiveagainst the backdrop of the 2011 tsunami and relatednuclear disaster. Japans T&T sector resilience can beascribed to its rich cultural resources (ranked 11th),with its 32 World Heritage cultural sites, the manyinternational fairs and exhibitions hosted by the country,and its rich creative industries. Its ground transportinfrastructure is among the best in the world (ranked7th), especially its railroads, and Japan continues tolead in the area of education and training (ranked 13th).Moreover, it has continued to develop its already strongICT infrastructure and now ranks 7th in this area. Inaddition, Japans extremely customer oriented culture(1st) is an important strength for the T&T industry. On theother hand, the country continues to be an expensivedestination, ranking 130th in the price competitivenesspillar.Hong Kong SAR is ranked 15th. Its transportinfrastructure is among the most developed in theworld, with the best ground transport infrastructureand air transport infrastructure that ranks 6th. Further,the economys ICT infrastructure ranks 2nd worldwide,demonstrating an important support for an industry thatRegional OverallCountry/Economy rank rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank ScoreSingapore 1 10 5.23 6 5.74 4 5.31 25 4.64Australia 2 11 5.17 23 5.32 25 4.81 4 5.39New Zealand 3 12 5.17 4 5.75 12 5.06 22 4.69Japan 4 14 5.13 24 5.31 24 4.86 10 5.22Hong Kong SAR 5 15 5.11 19 5.43 3 5.32 29 4.59Korea, Rep. 6 25 4.91 38 5.02 17 4.98 20 4.74Taiwan, China 7 33 4.71 29 5.19 34 4.63 44 4.29Malaysia 8 34 4.70 55 4.82 41 4.36 17 4.93Thailand 9 43 4.47 76 4.47 44 4.25 23 4.68China 10 45 4.45 71 4.50 63 3.77 13 5.09India 11 65 4.11 110 3.92 67 3.69 21 4.72Indonesia 12 70 4.03 95 4.18 84 3.36 31 4.56Brunei Darussalam 13 72 4.01 94 4.18 57 3.94 67 3.91Sri Lanka 14 74 3.99 61 4.68 86 3.35 66 3.93Azerbaijan 15 78 3.97 46 4.94 87 3.34 96 3.63Vietnam 16 80 3.95 88 4.30 94 3.26 43 4.30Philippines 17 82 3.93 70 4.51 89 3.33 64 3.95Kazakhstan 18 88 3.82 62 4.66 79 3.48 119 3.30Mongolia 19 99 3.63 91 4.25 107 2.96 90 3.69Cambodia 20 106 3.56 105 4.06 112 2.86 78 3.77Kyrgyz Republic 21 111 3.45 93 4.23 131 2.61 103 3.51Nepal 22 112 3.42 100 4.14 128 2.64 105 3.48Tajikistan 23 114 3.41 90 4.28 123 2.69 122 3.26Pakistan 24 122 3.25 131 3.38 104 2.99 116 3.38Bangladesh 25 123 3.24 124 3.56 109 2.91 124 3.24 2013 World Economic Forum 24. Executive SummaryThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xxiiidepends so much on ICTs. Additionally, Hong Kongbenefits from strong safety and security (3rd) as wellas a conducive business environment, coming in 3rdin the policy rules and regulations pillar. It also receivesrelatively good marks for cultural resources, with manyinternational fairs and exhibitions and strong creativeindustries. However, Hong Kong trails other advancedeconomies in the region for its lack of emphasis onenvironmental sustainability, where it ranks a low 118th.Korea, Rep. is ranked 25th, just ahead of Taiwanand Malaysia in the regional rankings and improving byseven places. Koreas strengths lie in its excellent groundtransport and ICT infrastructure (ranked 16th and 1st,respectively) and its rich cultural resources (ranked 10th).Its rise in the overall rankings is driven by improvementsin almost all the pillars, with a measurable increase inthe prioritization and affinity for Travel & Tourism, thanksto increased marketing and branding efforts, and ahigh degree of customer orientation (9th). On a lesspositive note, Korea remains a relative costly destination(ranked 96th for price competitiveness) and, despitemuch discussion in public discourse, the tourism sectoris not being developed in a sufficiently sustainable way(69th), although there are improvements since the lastassessment.Malaysia is ranked 8th regionally and 34th overall,up one position since the 2011 Report. Malaysiabenefits from its rich natural resources (ranked 18th) andits cultural resources (ranked 31st). The country alsobenefits from excellent price competitiveness (ranked5th), with comparatively low fuel prices, low ticket taxesand airport charges, competitive hotel prices, and afavorable tax regime. Malaysias policy environment isassessed as very conducive to the development of thesector (ranked 9th), an area that has improved since thelast assessment, and the country is characterized by astrong affinity for Travel & Tourism more generally (ranked16th). However, health and hygiene indicators trail thoseof many other countries in the region, with, in particular,a low physician density and few hospital beds available.Further, environmental sustainability remains an areafor improvement, with high emission levels and severalthreatened species, although business leaders feel thatefforts are being made in this area.Thailand is ranked 9th in the region and 43rdoverall. The country declines by only two places sincethe last edition, demonstrating some resilience to thenatural disasters and political unrest with which thecountry has been grappling. Thailand is endowed withrich natural resources and a strong affinity for Travel &Tourism (ranked and 23rd and 18th, respectively), witha very friendly attitude of the population toward tourists(ranked 13th). This is buttressed by the governmentsstrong prioritization of the sector, with good destination-marketingcampaigns (11th) and relative pricecompetitiveness (25th). However, some weaknessesremain: despite the prioritization of the sector bythe government, some aspects of the regulatoryenvironmentsuch as the protection of property rightsand the long time required for starting a businessarenot particularly conducive to developing the sector(ranked 77th). In addition, given the importance ofthe natural environment for the countrys tourism,environmental sustainability should be a greater priority(ranked 99th on this indicator).China is ranked 10th regionally, losing six placesand falling to 45th overall this year. China continues tobuild on some clear strengths: it comes in 5th for itsnatural resources, with many World Heritage naturalsites and fauna that are among the richest in theworld. It places 15th for its cultural resources, withseveral World Heritage cultural sites, many internationalfairs and exhibitions, and creative industries that areunsurpassed. Moreover, the country continues todevelop its infrastructure, with improvements in airtransport (35th) and ground transport (51st). However,some weaknesses pull the countrys ranking down.Chinas policy environment is not highly conducive to theT&T sectors development (ranked 86th). Furthermore,there are increasing concerns related to the sustainabledevelopment of the sector (109th). Chinas tourisminfrastructure remains underdeveloped (ranked 101th),with few international-quality standard hotel roomsavailable and few ATMs, and the country receives a poorassessment for its general affinity for Travel & Tourism,where it ranks 129th. Finally, although the countrycontinues to benefit from relative price competitiveness(ranked 37th), this advantage has started to weakenunder the weight of increasing inflation in several areas,as demonstrated by higher hotel prices and weakeningpurchasing power.India is ranked 11th in the region and 65th overall,gaining three places since the last edition. As with China,India is well assessed for its natural resources (ranked9th) and cultural resources (24th), with many natural andcultural World Heritage sites, rich fauna, many fairs andexhibitions, and strong creative industries. India also hasquite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly giventhe countrys stage of development, and reasonableground transport infrastructure (ranked 42nd), althoughthe quality of roads (85th) and of ports (79th) requirefurther improvement. In addition, India remains arelatively price competitive destination (20th), even inthe regional context. However, some aspects of itstourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped(ranked 95th), with very few hotel rooms per capita byinternational comparison and low ATM penetration. ICTinfrastructure also remains somewhat underdevelopedand underexploited (111th). Another area of concern isthe policy environment, which is ranked 125th becauseof the long time and high cost required to start abusiness, a restrictive visa policy (132nd), and low level 2013 World Economic Forum 25. Executive Summaryof commitment in GATS agreements for tourism services(114th). Other areas requiring attention are health andhygiene standards (109th) and the countrys humanresources base (96th).Indonesia is ranked 12th in the region, right behindIndia the regional rankings and 70th overall, up fourplaces since the last edition. In terms of strengths,Indonesia places 6th for its excellent natural resources,with several World Heritage natural sites and therichness of its fauna as measured by the known speciesin the country. Indonesia also has rich cultural resources(ranked 38th), with 10 World Heritage cultural sites, anumber of international fairs and exhibitions held in thecountry, and strong creative industries. Further, thecountry is ranked 9th overall on price competitiveness inthe T&T industry because of its competitive hotel prices(ranked 21st), low ticket taxes and airport charges, andfavorable fuel prices. In addition, it is ranked 19th forits national prioritization of Travel & Tourism. However,these strengths are held back by underdevelopedinfrastructure in the country, especially groundtransport (87th), tourism infrastructure (113th), and ICTinfrastructure (87th); together these represent significantinvestment opportunities in the country. There are alsosome concerns related to safety and security, particularlythe business costs of crime and potential terrorism. Inaddition, Indonesia is not ensuring the environmentallysustainable development of the tourism sector (ranked125th), an area of particular concern given the sectorsdependence on the quality of the natural environment.The Philippines is the most improved country inthe region, ranking 16th regionally and 82nd overall, up12 places since the last edition. Among the countryscomparative strengths are its natural resources (44th),its price competitiveness (24th), and a very strongandimprovingprioritization of the Travel & Tourism industry(this indicator ranks 15th, as government spending onthe sector as a percentage of GDP is now 1st in theworld, and tourism marketing and branding campaignsare seen to be increasingly effective). In addition, thecountry has been ensuring that several aspects of itspolicy rules and regulations regime are conducive to thedevelopment of the T&T sector. Among these are betterprotection of property rights, more openness towardforeign investments, and few visa requirements forforeign visitors (ranked 7th). However, other areassuchas the difficulty of starting a business in the country, inboth cost and length of the process (ranked 94th and117th, respectively)remain a challenge. Moreover,safety and security concerns (ranked 103rd); inadequatehealth and hygiene (94th); and underdevelopedground transport, tourism, and ICT infrastructure areall holding back the potential of the economys T&Tcompetitiveness.xxiv | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013The Middle East and North AfricaTable 5 shows the regional rankings for the Middle Eastand North Africa region. As the table shows, the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE) continues to lead the region at28th overall, up two places since the last assessment.Although the UAE is not endowed with rich naturalresources, it has built a cultural resource base, attractingboth leisure and business travelers, with severaland growing international fairs and exhibitions andincreasingly diverse creative industries. In addition, thecountry is characterized by a strong affinity for Travel &Tourism (24th). Perhaps the most important competitiveadvantage of UAE T&T competitiveness relates to itsworld-class international hubs for global air travel.Further, the country has carried out effective marketingand branding campaigns (1st) and has embracedpolicy rules and regulations that are conducive to thedevelopment of the sector (13th). In particular, thecountry is open to foreign investments (14th) and has aliberal visa regime (33rd). Environmental sustainability,although improving somewhat compared with pastyears, continues to be an area of some concern(ranked 91st). Hotel prices are also somewhat high byinternational standards (101st).Qatar is ranked 2nd in the region and 41st overall,up one place since the last assessment. Qatar benefitsfrom a safe and secure environment (ranked 21st),good ICT and tourism infrastructures (32nd and 37th,respectively), and excellent air transport infrastructure(23rd), in line with its role as an air transportationhub. The ease of hiring foreign labor (4th), increasingenrollment rates, and the quality of its education drivethe ability of the country to find high-quality humanresources (ranked 7th) inside and outside the country.Qatar also has a high degree of customer orientation(5th). In order to further enhance the countrys T&Tcompetitiveness, Qatar should continue to improve itsfocus on environmental sustainability (59th) and ensurethat it does not lose sight of the importance of the sectorfor its developmentat a rank of 80 in this edition, theprioritization of the sector is somewhat lower than in pastyears.Israel is ranked 3rd in the region, dropping sevenplaces to 53rd overall. Israel benefits from its culturalattributes, including a number of World Heritagecultural sites. The countrys human resources base isalso well evaluated (31st), providing healthy and well-trainedpeople to work in the T&T sector. Further, itsICT infrastructure is quite well developed (27th), while itshealth and hygiene gets a good mark (26th), especiallyin a regional context. On a less positive note, someaspects of safety and security continue to erode atthe countrys T&T competitiveness: these are primarilyrelated to concerns about terrorism (Israel ranks 124thon this indicator, somewhat lower than in the lastedition). However, the decline in rank since the last 2013 World Economic Forum 26. Executive SummaryTable 5: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: The Middle East and North AfricaSUBINDEXEST&T regulatory Business environment T&T human, cultural,OVERALL INDEX framework and infrastructure and natural resourcesThe Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | xxvassessment can also be attributed to diminished pricecompetitiveness (ranked 133rd), the result of increasingfuel prices, hotel prices, ticket taxes, and airport chargesand the perception that general taxation has becomemore distortionary.Bahrain is ranked 4th in the region and 55thoverall, down 15 positions since the last assessment.The country maintains a number of clear strengths:good transport infrastructure, particularly groundtransport infrastructure (ranked 11th); high-qualityhuman resources in the country (26th); and strong pricecompetitiveness (7th). However, Bahrain is seeing aweakening in the assessment of its tourism infrastructure(66th), while health and hygiene standards (89th) andICT infrastructure (47th) struggle to keep up with rapidpopulation growth. Also its limited natural resources(129th) and environmental sustainability (103rd) do nothelp the country to attract tourists.Sub-Saharan AfricaTable 6 shows the results for the sub-Saharan regionwhich sees the Seychelles entering the rankingsfor the first time at the top of the region, and 38thoverall. The importance of Travel & Tourism for thecountrys economy is reflected in its top ranking for theprioritization of the industry, with the 2nd highest T&Texpenditureto-GDP ratio in the world and effectivemarketing and branding campaigns. These effortsare reinforced by a strong national affinity for Travel &Tourism (5th); good tourism infrastructure, especiallyin terms of available hotel rooms (6th); and goodground and air transport infrastructures, particularly byregional standards (31st and 27th, respectively). Thesepositive attributes somewhat make up for its relativelack of price competitiveness (120th). Although thenatural environment is now assessed as being in goodcondition, efforts to develop the industry in a sustainableway could be reinforced, for example by increasingmarine and terrestrial protection, which would help toprotect the many threatened species in the country(132nd).Mauritius loses its number one spot in the regionalrankings, overtaken by the entry of the Seychelles thisyear, and is ranked 58th overall. The prioritization ofthe industry remains high (3rd), together with a strongnational affinity for Travel & Tourism (6th). The countrystourism and ground infrastructure are well developedby regional standards (48th and 37th, respectively), andits policy environment is supportive of the developmentof the sector (ranked 28th). Mauritius also benefits fromhigh marks for safety and security (36th). However,the country has seen its price competitiveness declinesignificantly (ranked 75th, down from 18th in the lastassessment)primarily the result of increasing hotel andfuel prices and high ticket taxes and airport charges.Additionally, in terms of challenges, the countrysenvironmental sustainability has received a weakenedassessment, of particular concern given the importanceof the natural environment for the countrys leisuretourism.South Africa is ranked 3rd in the region and64th overall, gaining two places since the last edition.South Africa comes in high at 17th place for its naturalresources and 58th for its cultural resources, basedon its many World Heritage sites, its rich fauna, itscreative industries, and the many international fairs andexhibitions held in the country. Infrastructure in SouthAfrica is also well developed for the region, with airtransport infrastructure ranked 43rd and a particularlygood assessment of railroad quality (46th) and roadRegional OverallCountry/Economy rank rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank ScoreUnited Arab Emirates 1 28 4.86 45 4.95 9 5.14 35 4.51Qatar 2 41 4.49 48 4.93 31 4.70 75 3.85Israel 3 53 4.34 36 5.07 51 4.08 71 3.86Bahrain 4 55 4.30 77 4.46 32 4.69 83 3.74Oman 5 57 4.29 56 4.81 47 4.20 76 3.84Jordan 6 60 4.18 37 5.05 69 3.63 72 3.86Saudi Arabia 7 62 4.17 87 4.32 38 4.43 80 3.76Lebanon 8 69 4.04 73 4.50 65 3.74 70 3.87Morocco 9 71 4.03 68 4.59 73 3.60 68 3.89Egypt 10 85 3.88 86 4.35 77 3.56 84 3.74Iran, Islamic Rep. 11 98 3.64 112 3.90 96 3.18 74 3.85Kuwait 12 101 3.61 114 3.81 62 3.89 131 3.14Algeria 13 132 3.07 134 3.30 126 2.66 123 3.25Yemen 14 133 2.96 140 2.82 110 2.89 128 3.18Mauritania 15 134 2.91 137 3.07 133 2.60 132 3.07 2013 World Economic Forum 27. Executive SummaryTable 6: The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2013: Sub-Saharan AfricaT&T regulatory Business environment T&T human, cultural,OVERALL INDEX framework and infrastructure and natural resourcesquality (42nd). Overall, policy rules and regulations areconducive to the sectors development (ranked 29th); thisis an area where the country has improved steadily overthe past few assessments, with well-protected propertyrights and few visa requirements for visitors. Indeed,tourism continues to be one of the five priority sectorsin the countrys growth plan, and the government hasreviewed tourism legislation in an effort to streamline itfurther. However, there are also some areas of weaknessthat have brought down the countrys overall ranking.Safety and security remains quite worrisome (ranked117th), as does the level of health and hygiene (87th)the result of low physician density and concerns aboutaccess to improved sanitation. Related to this, humanresources are also negatively affected by the poor healthof much of the workforce, with a low life expectancy(129th, at 52 years) driven by high rates of communicablediseases such as HIV (137th). Improving the health of theworkforce is of urgent concern for the future of the T&Tsector, as well as for all other sectors in the economy.Additionally, this year South Africa has experiencedan increase in fuel prices (77th) and ticket taxes andxxvi | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013SUBINDEXESairport charges (105th), which have diminished its pricecompetitiveness.Namibia reac