This ranking was determined by the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) published by Forbes at the World Economic Forum, which identified the best tourism economies for 2024. Although Türkiye ranks in the top 5 in terms of visitor numbers both in Europe and globally, it stands 29th in terms of the world's strongest travel and tourism economies.
According to a report from Gazete Oksijen, the index evaluates various factors such as airports, land transportation, ports, natural and cultural resources, safety and security, price competitiveness, and the openness of destinations to tourism. The report states, "The index measures a set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the sector, thereby contributing to a country's development."
Top travel and tourism economies of 2024
Thanks in part to its national parks, universities, and major metropolises, the United States currently holds the top position as the world's strongest travel and tourism economy. A category that contributes to the US's leading position is “non-leisure resources,” which includes global cities and the presence of major companies.
With 429 national park sites and over 12,000 miles of coastline, the US ranks third in natural resources, following Australia and Brazil. The country also ranks 6th in tourist services and infrastructure.
Türkiye ranks 29th
The United States falls short in areas such as price competitiveness (115th) and safety and security (77th). Malaysia leads in price competitiveness, while Singapore ranks first in safety and security.
Türkiye ranks 29th in the report. In the previous report in 2021, Japan was at the top of the list.
The top 10 countries with the best tourism economies are as follows:
United States
Spain
Japan
France
Australia
Germany
United Kingdom
China
Italy
Switzerland
Europe starts imposing tourism taxes
Meanwhile, of the 119 economies listed in the TTDI ranking, 71 increased their scores between 2019 and 2024, but the average index score is only 0.7% above pre-pandemic levels. The sustainability of travel demand is also an important issue, with an increasing number of European cities implementing or raising tourism taxes to curb over-tourism or at least help balance its effects. Some challenges highlighted in the report include labor shortages in tourism, flight routes not meeting demand, and inflation. The data for the World Economic Forum’s report was collected at the end of 2023.
