The World Economic Forum, an international advocacy non-governmental organisation and think-thank, recently released its latest edition of the Travel & Tourism Development Index which didn’t make for good reading for Malaysians.
This is because our country dropped 7 places in the index compared to the previous edition and saw our neighbouring country Indonesia leapfrogging us to become the 2nd best Southeast Asia nation in the ranking.
The overall rankings in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024
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Measuring a set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the travel & tourism sector which contributes to the development of a country, the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 is meant to serve as a crucial benchmarking tool for stakeholders to gauge the progress of the sector in said country.
In the overall global rankings which evaluated 119 nations and regions, the United States topped the list with a 5.24 score, followed by Spain in 2nd place (5.18 score), Japan 3rd (5.09 score), France 4th (5.07 score) and Australia 5h (5.00 score).
Making up the top 10 nations are Germany (5.00 score), the United Kingdom (4.96 score), China (4.94 score), Italy (4.90 score) and Switzerland (4.81 score).
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Indonesia overtakes Malaysia as the 2nd best Southeast Asian country in the index
In the Southeast Asian region, Singapore remains top with a score of 4.14, despite dropping 2 places globally to 13th place.
Meanwhile, Indonesia now takes 2nd place in Southeast Asia after jumping an impressive 14 places in the global rankings to 22nd spot with a 4.46 score, making the Republic 1 of the most improved nations in the index.
Malaysia is now 3rd in Southeast Asia after dropping 7 places to 35th globally with a score of 4.28.
Based on the breakdown of Malaysia’s scores in the specific factors and policies, our country’s travel & tourism sector saw a decline in the index due to the low scores in these categories:
- Tourism services and infrastructure (2.79 score)
- Cultural resources (2.45 score)
- Travel & tourism socioeconomic impact (2.80)
Check out Southeast Asian nations’ performance in the index below:
So, what do you guys think of Malaysia’s placement in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: Kedah MB: Not Many Thai Tourists Visit Malaysia Because Thais are Not Proficient in English or BM
