PRETORIA, South Africa - South Africa has been ranked first in
Sub-Saharan Africa on the biennial World Economic Forum Travel’s global
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2015 released in Geneva,
Switzerland on Wednesday.
Snatching the zenith from Seychelles in the Sub-Saharan Africa
category, South Africa was ranked at number 48 globally, while the
archipelago of islands was second in the region and followed at a
somewhat distant 54 on the world stage.
Seychelles topped the regional rankings in the 2013 report and was at 38 globally, when South Africa held positions 3 and 64.
Mauritius was placed third in the region this year, followed by
Namibia, Kenya, Cape Verde, Botswana, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia
respectively as the Sub-Saharan top ten of 2015.
On the global front, Spain was ranked at the apex, followed by France and then Germany.
Other traditional travel and tourism destinations – the United
States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and
Canada – made up the rest of the global top ten.
Compared with other Brics countries, South Africa (at 48 globally)
was rated better only than New Delhi. Brazil was ranked 28, Russia 45,
India 52 and China was at an enviable 17 on the global front.
“The diversity in the top 30 shows that a country does not have to be
wealthy to have a flourishing tourism sector,” said Roberto Crotti, an
Economist at the World Economic Forum. “But many countries should still
do more to tackle travel and tourism challenges, including visa
policies, better promotion of cultural heritage, environmental
protection and ICT readiness. This, in turn, would drive economic growth
and the creation of jobs.”
The report contains detailed country profiles, benchmarking for the
141 economies featured in the study. It includes a comprehensive summary
of their overall positions in the index and a guide to the most
prominent travel and tourism advantages and disadvantages of each. Also
included is an extensive selection of tables that cover each indicator
used in the index’s computation.
The report’s executive summary states that many countries in the
Sub-Saharan region “are working on their openness and visa policies,
though the longstanding challenges of infrastructure and health and
hygiene standards need to be tackled to unleash the potential of the
T&T (travel and tourism) sector as a catalyst for development”.
Published under the theme “Growing through Shocks”, the full edition
of the 2015 report features three additional chapters authored by
leading experts and practitioners in the hospitality and tourism sector.
Among other key findings, the 2015 edition shows that the tourism and
travel industry continues to grow more quickly than the global economy
as a whole. As proof of its resilience, the analysis shows that the
sector’s growth – whether in terms of global air passenger traffic,
occupancy rates or international arrivals – tends to return to trend
quickly after a shock.
The report ranks the 141 countries across 14 separate dimensions,
revealing how well countries could deliver sustainable economic and
societal benefits through their travel and tourism sector. Spain’s
leadership position is attributed to a world class ranking in cultural
resources (number 1 globally); its ability to support online searches
for entertainment (4th), a measure of how well the country has adapted
to consumption habits brought on by the digital revolution; as well as
excellent infrastructure (4th).
The World Economic Forum produced the report in collaboration with
Strategy & Bloom consulting, Deloitte, the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and the
World Travel & Tourism Council.
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