For the first time in history, Japan took first place in the Tourism and Travel Development Index 2021, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), ahead of the United States, Spain, France, and Germany. Only in June 2022 will the country begin to gradually ease restrictions and “test inbound tourism.”
It will be recalled that the WEF publishes the Tourism and Travel Development Index every two years. The 2019 report used a different methodology to rank the competitiveness of the tourism sector in different countries. Then Japan took fourth place, but would take second place by current standards, says Nikkei Asia.
The country has improved its position in terms of the development of the hotel chain, automobiles, railways, and other infrastructure. At the same time, the WEF believes that Japan has room for improvement in several areas, such as pricing and “environmental sustainability”.
The 2021 ranking examined the competitiveness of the tourism sector in 117 countries. The top 10 tourist destinations include most western countries. In second place – is the United States, but in third place in Spain. Fourth place in France, fifth in Germany, and sixth – in Switzerland. Great Britain took 8th place, and Italy – 10th.
Apart from Japan, only Australia (7th place) and Singapore (9th place) are in the top ten among the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. This time China was out of the TOP-10 and took only 12th place.