The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has achieved a significant milestone in the tourism industry, ranking 18th globally and 1st in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI).
The UAE’s score improved by 4.4% in the 2024 index, climbing seven places from its 25th global ranking in the previous report issued in 2021. This remarkable achievement is attributed to the country’s efforts in enhancing its travel and tourism infrastructure, policy, and resources.
The TTDI is a strategic benchmarking tool that assesses 119 economies based on five key sub-indices: enabling environment, travel and tourism policy and infrastructure, infrastructure and services, travel and tourism resources, and sustainability of the travel and tourism sector.
The UAE’s success is reflected in its rise in the global ranking, surpassing other countries in the MENA region. The United States topped the index, followed by Spain and Japan, with the top three countries maintaining their ranking as in the previous report.
Notably, among high-income economies, only the UAE and Saudi Arabia were ranked among the top ten that showed the most improvement in their performance between 2019 and 2024.
The Middle East witnessed the highest recovery rates in international tourist arrivals, 20% above 2019 levels, while Europe, Africa, and the Americas showed a strong rebound, regaining 90% of 2023 movement compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The report anticipates that the global tourism industry will recover from its COVID-19 lows and surpass pre-crisis levels, driven by a surge in demand worldwide, coinciding with more available air travel, improved international openness, and increased interest and investment in natural and cultural attractions.
Complete Ranking
| Rank | Economy | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 5.24 |
| 2 | Spain | 5.18 |
| 3 | Japan | 5.10 |
| 4 | France | 5.07 |
| 5 | Australia | 5.00 |
| 6 | Germany | 5.00 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 4.96 |
| 8 | China | 4.94 |
| 9 | Italy | 4.90 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 4.81 |
| 11 | Canada | 4.81 |
| 12 | Portugal | 4.78 |
| 13 | Singapore | 4.76 |
| 14 | Korea, Rep. | 4.74 |
| 15 | Austria | 4.65 |
| 16 | Netherlands | 4.64 |
| 17 | Denmark | 4.63 |
| 18 | United Arab Emirates | 4.62 |
| 19 | Sweden | 4.57 |
| 20 | Finland | 4.52 |
| 21 | Greece | 4.52 |
| 22 | Indonesia | 4.51 |
| 23 | Belgium | 4.45 |
| 24 | Ireland | 4.44 |
| 25 | New Zealand | 4.41 |
| 26 | Brazil | 4.41 |
| 27 | Poland | 4.40 |
| 28 | Luxembourg | 4.40 |
| 29 | Türkiye | 4.39 |
| 30 | Cyprus | 4.37 |
| 31 | Chile | 4.33 |
| 32 | Iceland | 4.32 |
| 33 | Czech Republic | 4.31 |
| 34 | Malta | 4.30 |
| 35 | Malaysia | 4.28 |
| 36 | Estonia | 4.28 |
| 37 | Hungary | 4.27 |
| 38 | Mexico | 4.25 |
| 39 | India | 4.25 |
| 40 | Bulgaria | 4.25 |
| 41 | Saudi Arabia | 4.23 |
| 42 | Slovenia | 4.22 |
| 43 | Romania | 4.19 |
| 44 | Lithuania | 4.17 |
| 45 | Georgia | 4.14 |
| 46 | Croatia | 4.13 |
| 47 | Thailand | 4.12 |
| 48 | Israel | 4.10 |
| 49 | Argentina | 4.10 |
| 50 | Colombia | 4.08 |
| 51 | Costa Rica | 4.08 |
| 52 | Kazakhstan | 4.07 |
| 53 | Qatar | 4.02 |
| 54 | Slovak Republic | 4.00 |
| 55 | South Africa | 3.99 |
| 56 | Azerbaijan | 3.98 |
| 57 | Mauritius | 3.98 |
| 58 | Bahrain | 3.96 |
| 59 | Viet Nam | 3.96 |
| 60 | Montenegro | 3.96 |
| 61 | Egypt | 3.96 |
| 62 | Peru | 3.90 |
| 63 | Panama | 3.90 |
| 64 | Dominican Republic | 3.88 |
| 65 | Latvia | 3.88 |
| 66 | Albania | 3.87 |
| 67 | Oman | 3.87 |
| 68 | Serbia | 3.86 |
| 69 | Philippines | 3.84 |
| 70 | Jordan | 3.81 |
| 71 | Uruguay | 3.79 |
| 72 | Armenia | 3.73 |
| 73 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 3.72 |
| 74 | Barbados | 3.71 |
| 75 | Botswana | 3.71 |
| 76 | Sri Lanka | 3.69 |
| 77 | Kenya | 3.68 |
| 78 | Uzbekistan | 3.68 |
| 79 | Lebanon | 3.66 |
| 80 | Ecuador | 3.66 |
| 81 | Tanzania | 3.65 |
| 82 | Morocco | 3.64 |
| 83 | Tunisia | 3.61 |
| 84 | Jamaica | 3.59 |
| 85 | Mongolia | 3.57 |
| 86 | Cambodia | 3.57 |
| 87 | North Macedonia | 3.53 |
| 88 | Moldova | 3.53 |
| 89 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3.52 |
| 90 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.51 |
| 91 | Lao PDR | 3.48 |
| 92 | Paraguay | 3.47 |
| 93 | Rwanda | 3.45 |
| 94 | Bolivia | 3.45 |
| 95 | Namibia | 3.45 |
| 96 | Kuwait | 3.44 |
| 97 | El Salvador | 3.42 |
| 98 | Algeria | 3.42 |
| 99 | Tajikistan | 3.42 |
| 100 | Guatemala | 3.38 |
| 101 | Pakistan | 3.41 |
| 102 | Kyrgyz Republic | 3.38 |
| 103 | Venezuela | 3.34 |
| 104 | Zambia | 3.24 |
| 105 | Nepal | 3.24 |
| 106 | Ghana | 3.28 |
| 107 | Senegal | 3.24 |
| 108 | Nicaragua | 3.22 |
| 109 | Bangladesh | 3.19 |
| 110 | Zimbabwe | 3.19 |
| 111 | Honduras | 3.19 |
| 112 | Nigeria | 3.18 |
| 113 | Benin | 3.16 |
| 114 | Côte d’Ivoire | 3.12 |
| 115 | Malawi | 3.05 |
| 116 | Angola | 3.00 |
| 117 | Cameroon | 2.99 |
| 118 | Sierra Leone | 2.95 |
| 119 | Mali | 2.78 |
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