A global tourism report released at the sidelines of the just concluded World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting shows that India currently stands at 31st position in the ladder; a nine-place improvement over its 2024 performance.
The tourism index was launched on Friday, September 25, in Geneva during an event titled “Resilient Growth. Renewed Impact,” which brought together global representation from business, government and civil society. WEF produced the 2026 edition of the report in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group and the Beyond Tourism Insights Council.
Japan was found to be the biggest draw followed by US, while Albania is the fastest-growing tourist destination. “Gains were driven by increased cultural resources, tourism infrastructure and services, and air connectivity and business travel,” says a release from WEF.
Tourism turnaround since COVID
Tourism development conditions are at their strongest since 2019, after which COVID happened, improving on an average of 2.9% across economies, says the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Among 110 economies, 92% have improved their score in 2026 since 2024.
“The latest Travel & Tourism Development Index shows that the enabling conditions for travel and tourism are at their strongest since the pandemic, with 92% of economies improving since 2024,” said Ramya Krishnaswamy, head of Experience Economy and Cities, WEF.
One silver lining on top of layers of dark clouds. Despite everything – climate disasters, war, worsening economies – travel and tourism have improved across most countries, finds the global report.
The report adds, though, that destinations face an increasing challenge of having to turn the record demand from tourists into a more permanent situation even as experiencing rising costs, war, climate change-related events, lack of workforce and sharply escalating pressure on infrastructure and people. Nepal, a country highly dependent on tourism, has recently been devastated by flash floods; which, scientists feel, was triggered by climate change.
Developed countries top tourist destination list
The TTDI report points out that the developed world is way ahead of the developing world in terms of being chosen as a tourist destination.
The advanced economies occupy nine of the top 10 slots. However, the largest emerging tourism economies have grown faster, having improved their scores more than twice the speed as the top 20 since 2019. Asia-Pacific countries accounted for seven of the 10 fastest-improving performers.
In the top performers’ list, Japan, with a score of 5.27, is at the first position, followed by the US (5.23) and Spain (5.22). These countries are followed by Australia, France, Germany, the UK, China, Switzerland and Italy, in descending order.
The fastest growing travel economies are led by Albania, with a score of +7%, followed by Vietnam (+6.3%) and Laos (+6.1%) in the second and third positions respectively. Qatar, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Morocco, Nepal and Sri Lanka follow from the fourth position onwards in descending order.
India’s turnaround in tourism ladder
According to the report released, India occupied 31st spot with a score of 4.42 in a scale of 1 (worst) to 7 (best); a leap of nine positions over 2024 ranking which actually had plummeted four positions compared to 2019 scale.
The report pointed out that India is one of the 10 largest non-high-income Travel & Tourism (T&T) economies by direct T&T GDP.
“Their tourism appeal is underpinned by a strong combination of natural assets, cultural heritage and competitive pricing. For instance, Brazil, China, India and Mexico account for over 17% of UNESCO World Heritage natural sites among TTDI-ranked economies, while China, India and Mexico also rank among the top 10 for the number of World Heritage cultural sites, “ stated the report.
On Sunday, the World Tourism Day 2026, a release from the Indian government pointed out that the tourism sector contributes “5.22% to GDP and supporting 8.46 crore jobs in 2023-24”. It also claimed that the “ …Domestic Tourist Visits reached 428.55 crore in 2025, while Foreign Tourist Visits rose to 2.53 crore and foreign exchange earnings from tourism increased to ₹2,76,831 crore”.
Roadmap and challenges
WEF tourism expert underlines the next destination in tourism progress. “The next chapter is not simply about attracting more visitors, but it is going to be about creating greater value by investing in people, infrastructure and stronger public-private collaboration so tourism delivers lasting benefits for communities, businesses and destinations,” Krishnaswamy added.
The report highlights the challenges that tourism is facing as it is growing.
“Between 2024 and 2026, travel became less affordable in three out of four economies, while tourism investment failed to keep pace with rising demand and labour shortages threatened further growth,” says WEF.
The report also stresses the connection between tourism and the well-being of communities. “During this period, benefits for local communities also weakened, which was a clear indication of the fact that more tourism and visitors do not automatically translate into better livelihoods or better work for the local people. This was particularly true of destinations known for highly seasonal tourism,” pointed out the report.
Resilience and responsibility goes hand in hand
But tourism is gaining ground across countries despite the challenges. “Tourism is a major part of the global economy, and the TTDI makes clear that resilience is what keeps that value intact when conditions change,” said Cara Morton, CEO global businesses and operations, Zurich Insurance Group. “That kind of resilience requires business and governments to take responsibility together.”
“…the TTDI measures the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism,” says the WEF. “It does not measure tourism performance directly – such as arrivals, spending, or revenue – but the underlying conditions that enable destinations to attract, support and sustain tourism in ways that benefit economies and societies,” its release adds.