Top 10 countries for travel and tourism: Japan knocks US off top spot in WEF tourism index

In 2026, Japan, the United States, and Spain lead the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index, highlighting the importance of tourism resilience over mere visitor numbers. Malaysia, among the 110 economies assessed, climbed to the 26th position, showcasing improvements in tourism foundations. The index, a collaboration between the WEF and Zurich Insurance Group, evaluates 17 key pillars, including enabling environments, tourism policies, and infrastructure.

A total of 92% of economies improved their scores from 2024 to 2026, with average scores rising by 2.1%, the fastest gain since 2019. Emerging destinations like Albania (7%), Viet Nam (6.3%), and Laos (6.1%) recorded the strongest gains. Asia-Pacific accounted for seven of the top 10 most-improved economies, with Southeast Asia experiencing the fastest growth among subregions.

However, the tourism sector faces several challenges, including managing growth amidst geopolitical tensions, climate events, economic volatility, and digital disruptions. Tourism contributed $11.6 trillion to the global economy in 2025 and supported 366 million jobs. Yet, destinations now grapple with rising costs, infrastructure pressures, and workforce shortages. Up to 75% of economies have become less affordable for travelers, and the sector could face a 43 million-worker shortfall by 2035.

Resilient destinations should focus on diversifying visitor demand, maintaining connectivity during disruptions, competing on value rather than price, ensuring local communities benefit from tourism, and investing in workforce skills and retention. Ramya Krishnaswamy of the WEF emphasized that recovery is no longer the central story, as the challenge now lies in ensuring tourism growth creates lasting value.