WEB DESK: In a recent ranking by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistan has been placed at 101 out of 119 countries in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI). This low ranking places Pakistan in the lower-middle-income economy category within the Asia-Pacific regional group.
Overview of TTDI rankings
The TTDI top 30 countries accounted for over 75 per cent of the travel and tourism industry GDP in 2022 and 70 per cent of GDP growth between 2020 and 2022. The lower half of the list primarily consisted of African countries.
South Asia rankings
Within South-East Asia, Pakistan’s ranking is slightly above Nepal (105) and Bangladesh (109) but significantly below India (39) and Sri Lanka (76).
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Middle Eastern rankings
In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates leads at 18, followed by Saudi Arabia (41), Qatar (53), and Bahrain (18). Globally, the United States topped the list, with Spain, Japan, and France following. The top ten also included Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Italy, and Switzerland.
Challenges & future predictions
The WEF report highlights several challenges faced by the industry, including global inflation, conflicts, and environmental issues like wildfires in tourist destinations. Despite these pressures, the report predicts the travel and tourism industry will continue to face geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainty, and challenges brought by artificial intelligence in the coming years.
Pakistan’s position
While developing economies like Pakistan have shown improvements in their TTDI scores, the report emphasises the need for more investment in enabling tourism conditions to further boost the industry.
