PH climbs travel sector competitiveness rankings

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines has climbed the ranks of the most tourist-friendly countries, going up eight notches to rank 74th of 141 economies assessed by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

According to the 2015 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, the Philippines’ performance was improving, specifically in the areas of government prioritization of the sector, in which the country ranked 27th; international openness, which considers visa openness and regional trade agreements in force (29th); and price competitiveness, which also includes ticket and airport taxes, hotel prices and purchasing power parity, among others (24th).

This biennial report, which placed the Philippines 82nd out of 140 countries in 2013, ranked countries across 14 separate dimensions, revealing how well countries could deliver sustainable economic and societal benefits through their travel and tourism sector.

The benchmarks for travel and tourism competitiveness comprised of four subindices, 14 pillars, and 90 individual indicators.

The 14 pillars of the WEF index are business environment; safety and security; health and hygiene; human resources and labor market; ICT readiness; prioritization of travel and tourism; international openness; price competitiveness; environmental sustainability; air transport infrastructure; ground and port infrastructure; tourist service infrastructure; natural resources; and cultural resources and business travel.

The Philippines, however, performed poorly in a number of these indicators, particularly in terms of safety and security, wherein the country ranked 18th; health and hygiene (91st); environmental sustainability (122nd); and ground and port infrastructure (93rd).

Globally, meanwhile, Spain was named by the WEF as the most tourist-friendly country, on the back of its cultural resources, infrastructure and adaptation to digital consumption habits.