Dawit Habtemariam and Sean O’Neill, Skift

May 21st, 2024

Skift Take

Albania, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt, and El Salvador have been named the most-improved emerging economies for enabling travel and tourism development since 2019. Here are some insights.

 Dawit Habtemariam and Sean O’Neil

The world’s most developed countries continue to dominate tourism but we’ve just gotten a good snapshot of which emerging markets are enjoying gains.

Every two years the World Economic Forum analyzes the travel and tourism competitiveness of economies worldwide, and it just released its 2024 report.

What caught Skift’s eye was how a handful of emerging-market countries had upped their tourism game. The World Economic Forum ranked Albania, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt, and El Salvador as being among the most improved developing nations for enabling travel and tourism development since 2019.

Here are some quick takeaways on each standout tourism performer for 2023.

1 Albania

• WEF’s take: Albania rose 12 spots to 66th place in the organization’s Travel and Tourism Development Index. For context, that means its tourism development is nearly on par with the average of all countries now that it is better marketing its white-sand beaches and dramatic mountains.
• The top line: The country had 10 million visitors last year, 56% more than in 2019. Looking ahead, Albania’s capital, Tirana, was the third-most trending destination for bookings through August — following Munich and Tokyo — according to a Mastercard travel trends report.
• Leadership: The country’s leaders have worked with airlines and airports to increase airlift. Albania has had a 141% increase in daily flight traffic since 2019. Mirela Kumbaro, minister of tourism and environment since 2021, has also aimed to boost the Balkan nation’s appeal.
• Signature move: About a third of Albania is rural mountains, rivers, and forests. Last year, Kumbaro led the effort to spotlight these gems more effectively by granting the Vjosa River a national park designation and making it Europe’s first protected wild river. Visits by musician Dua Lipa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Jared Kushner (who’s building a resort there) added to the country’s social media cred.

2 Indonesia

• WEF’s take: Indonesia leaped 14 notches to 22nd place in the organization’s Travel and Tourism Development Index.
• The top line: By September 2023, international visitor arrivals had reached 11.7 million, roughly 20% higher than 2019’s level. It aims to hit a record 14 million visitors this year. The island of Bali has become a hotspot for international tourists.
• Leadership: Government officials boosted domestic tourism last year by creating the Karisma Event Nusantara program, which gave financial support to more than 170 festivals, sports, music, and cultural events nationwide involving approximately 143,200 artists and event organizers​. Officials have also sought outside investment to help build hotels, golf courses, and especially hospitals to support medical tourism. It wants to make Lombok Island an eco-tourism magnet.
• Signature move: In November, Hilton debuted Umana Bali, LXR Hotels & Resorts, marking the brand’s first resort in Indonesia.

3 Egypt

• WEF’s take: Egypt rose 5 places to 61st in the organization’s Travel and Tourism Development Index.
• The top line: Last year, Egypt hit a tourism record of 14.9 million visitors. The country’s tourism ministry intends to double that figure by 2028.
• Leadership: In 2023, Egypt added 14,000 hotel rooms to reach a capacity of 220,000. In 2024, the country is going to another 25,000 rooms.
• Signature moves: Egypt has $35 billion development project with UAE to transform Ras El Hekma into an international tourist destination. The Grand Egyptian Museum will open later this year just outside of Cairo. The $1.1 billion project will draw many visitors to see Tutankhamun’s treasures in a modern presentation.

4 Tanzania

• WEF’s take: Tanzania jumped 7 spots to 81st in its rankings.
• The top line: Last year, Tanzania’s travel sector set a new record, with tourism arrivals reaching 1.8 million.
• Leadership: Travel and tourism revenue is a major funding source for conserving the country’s landscapes and wildlife, reaching $3.37 billion last year. Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan participated in “The Royal Tour” documentary to promote the country for tourism investment by outside companies. She guided viewers around Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and through the Serengeti.
• Signature move: This year investment firm Albwardy said it would create Four Seasons Resort Zanzibar, with 60 villas on the white sand beaches and turquoise waters of Pongwe.

5 El Salvador

• WEF’s take: El Salvador was the fastest-growing performer in the Americas in the organization’s Travel and Tourism Development Index. El Salvador rose four rungs on the global rankings to 97th place.
• The top line: Last year, this Latin American country was buoyed by a robust tourism industry that saw a 43% increase in foreign visitors, contributing $3.79 billion in foreign exchange, according to Fitch Ratings.
• Leadership: Ecuador has also benefited from an effective crackdown on crime by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, named the “world’s coolest dictator” by some. A safer reputation has bolstered the country’s tourism profile.
• Signature move: Earlier this year, the capital city of San Salvadoropened its first HyattCentric. The move signaled the confidence of a major hotel group in the country’s future as it opened an upscale hotel there.

Need for tourism strategy

To keep these gains going, the World Economic Forum warns that tourism leaders need to get strategic.

It recommends big-picture thinking and collaboration as today’s hottest destinations deal with shortages of skilled labor, extreme weather caused by climate change, and other headwinds.

“Far more investment will need to be made in areas such as developing favorable business, health and labor conditions, international openness, information and communications tech, transport and tourist infrastructure, and the promotion and development of natural and cultural resources if these economies wish to increase their share of the travel and tourism market and improve their readiness for future risks and opportunities,” say the report’s authors.

Source : Skift

May 2024