THE Philippines is among the countries that made the fastest improvement in travel and tourism, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In the 10th edition of the WEF’s Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, the Philippines’s overall score grew by 5.5 percent from 2024 to 4.08 index points, or an increase by 9.6 percent since prepandemic 2019. This placed the country in seventh place among the fastest improvers in the TTDI.
Albania led the pack of fastest improvers, with a 7-percent increase to 4.14 points since 2024, followed by Vietnam +6.3 percent to 4.15, Laos +6.1 percent to 3.69, Qatar +6 percent to 4.23, Malaysia +5.8 percent to 4.5, and Thailand +5.6 percent to 4.35.
Overall scores range from 1 to 7, where 1 is the worst and 7 is the best.
The TTDI measures the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism. 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.
These underlying conditions, or pillars, include: Business Environment, Safety and Security; Health and Hygiene; Human Resources and Labor Market; Information and Communication Readiness; Prioritization of Travel and Tourism (TandT); Openness to TandT; Price Competitiveness; Air Transport Infrastructure; Ground and Port Infrastructure; Tourist services and infrastructure; Natural resources; Cultural resources; Non-leisure resources; Environmental sustainability; TandT economic impact; and TandT demand sustainability.
Japan tops index
This year’s report showed that 101 of 110 economies have improved their TTDI score between 2024 and 2026, with the average rising by 2.1 percent, which is the fastest pace recorded since 2019.
Japan took the top position, with an overall score of 5.27, followed by the United States (5.23), Spain (5.22), Australia (5.18), and France (5.17), with gains driven by ‘increased cultural resources, tourism infrastructure and services, and air connectivity and business travel,’ said the report.
In a news statement, WEF Head of Experience Economy and Cities Ramya Krishnaswamy said, ‘The latest [TTDI] shows that the enabling conditions for travel and tourism are at their strongest since the pandemic, with 92 percent of economies improving since 2024.’
She added: ‘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.’
Challenges remain
The Index showed travel and tourism facing growing challenges. 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 labor shortages threatened further growth, said WEF.
‘Benefits for local communities also weakened during this period, highlighting that more visitors do not automatically translate into better livelihoods or higher quality jobs, particularly in destinations where tourism is highly seasonal,’ the organization added.
Despite these pressures, emerging tourism economies are gaining ground, said the WEF. Since 2019, the largest emerging economies have improved their TTDI scores more than twice as fast as the Top 20, with Asia-Pacific economies, including the Philippines, accounting for seven of the 10 fastest-improving performers.
‘Overall, these findings suggest that the next stage of convergence will depend less on attracting visitors and more on supporting them and travel and tourism businesses. Many major emerging tourism economies already possess the assets associated with tourism success. What separates them from the leaders is the depth of the infrastructure, services and enabling conditions needed to support tourism,’ said the report.
This year’s TTDI report was produced in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group and informed by the Beyond Tourism Insights Council.