DUSHANBE, March 11, 2013, Asia-Plus – The 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness report, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), has ranked Tajikistan 114th among 139 countries in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness.
According to the report, Tajikistan moved up eight positions to 114th.
Meanwhile, Russia has been ranked 59th and Kyrgyzstan has been ranked 109th.
The 2013 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) reveals that Switzerland, Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness, with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore completing the top 10.
The biennial report, published under the theme,
Reducing Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation
, sees considerable movement in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index’s top 10 countries. France fell four places from third in 2011 to seventh, while Spain climbed to fourth from eighth. Also showing strong improvement were the United Kingdom – up two places to fifth – and Canada, up one place to eighth.
Alongside Switzerland and Germany, the United States and Singapore maintained their positions, in sixth and 10th places, respectively. Sweden, the only other country in the top 10 to fall, dropped from fifth to ninth.
Among developed economies, New Zealand and Japan improved strongly; the former climbing to12th from 19th and the latter moving up eight positions to 14th. Emerging market economies reported mixed levels of progress, with Brazil and India being the only BRIC nations to move up in the rankings. In this category, rising stars include Panama, climbing from 56th to 37th, and the Philippines, which climbed from 94th to 82nd on the back of policy improvements supporting the industry.
The World Economic Forum published the first
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
in 2007. The 2007 report covered 124 major and emerging economies. The 2008 report covered 130 countries, the 2009 report expanded to 133 countries, and the 2011 report to 139 countries. The index is a measurement of the factors that make it attractive to develop business in the travel and tourism industry of individual countries, rather than a measure of a country attractiveness as a tourist destination. The report ranks selected nations according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which scores from 1 to 6 the performance of a given country in each specific subindex. The overall index is made of three main subindexes: (1) regulatory framework; (2) business environment and infrastructure; and (3) human, cultural, and natural resources. The Report also includes a specific Country Profile for each of the nations evaluated, with each of the scores received to estimate its TTCI, and complementary information regarding key economic indicators from the World Bank, and country indicators from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Tourism competitiveness is an important economic indicator. It is a major element in economic stimulation packages. Tourism is among the largest employers in most countries and also a fast-lane vehicle into the workforce for young people and women. Encouraging travel boosts consumer and business confidence, it strengthens two-way trade and promotes export income.
According to data of Tajikistan’s Committee fro Youth, Sports and Tourism Affairs, 344,000 foreigners visited Tajikistan in 2012; 245,000 of them visited the country for the purpose of tourism, which was 62,000 people more than in 2011.
