The World Travel & Tourism Council has launched three indices to assess tourism beyond visitor numbers, measuring the sector’s economic scale, environmental efficiency and employment opportunities across 184 economies.
Developed with Oxford Economics, the Power, Efficiency and Opportunity indices were announced on November 4 at WTM London. The WTTC says they are intended to provide a broader view of tourism’s effects and support decisions on sustainable growth. The framework adds to traditional measures of visitor volume and economic contribution rather than replacing them.
Different measures produce different leaders
The Power Index ranks destinations by tourism’s scale, its employment footprint and investment in the sector. The top 10 are the United States, China, India, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Saudi Arabia.
The Efficiency Index compares environmental pressures with the economic activity tourism generates. Its measures include greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon energy use, water consumption, air pollution and materials use. Sweden ranks first among high-income economies, while Costa Rica leads the upper-middle-income group.
The Opportunity Index focuses on tourism’s contribution to social development, including employment, job growth and work for young people and women. Croatia leads the high-income group; the Maldives ranks first among upper-middle-income economies, El Salvador among lower-middle-income economies and The Gambia among low-income economies.
The WTTC has highlighted tourism’s role in supporting national employment in destinations including the Maldives, Grenada and Belize. Its president and chief executive, Gloria Guevara, said assessing economic contribution, environmental efficiency and employment together can help inform decisions as the sector grows.
The indices offer a way to compare tourism’s scale with its environmental footprint and employment outcomes, rather than relying on arrival totals alone. The full rankings cover 184 economies.
Clayton Ward