Greece ranks 31st in Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015

Greece ranked 31st in the world ranking of the Global Competitiveness Index in Tourism among 141 countries, by achieving an overall competitiveness score of 4.36 on the scale from 1 to 7.

The top-5 countries are Spain, France, Germany the US and the United Kingdom.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 features the latest iteration of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The TTCI measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.”

Published biennially, the TTCI benchmarks the T&T competitiveness of 141 economies.

The Report provides a platform and a strategic benchmarking tool for business and governments to develop the T&T sector. By allowing cross-country comparison and benchmarking countries’ progress on the drivers of T&T competitiveness, it informs policies and investment decisions related to T&T development.

RESULTS OVERVIEW

Spain tops the 2015 edition of the TTCI global rankings for the first time, followed by France (2nd), Germany (3rd), the United States (4th), the United Kingdom (5th), Switzerland (6th), Australia (7th), Italy (8th), Japan (9th) and Canada (10th). Regional Results Europe, with six economies in the top 10, continues to dominate the rankings thanks to its world-class tourism service infrastructure, excellent health and hygiene conditions, and—notably, thanks to the Schengen Area— high degree of international openness and integration.

However, there are still some significant divides across the region—not all European countries are making the most of their cultural resources, prioritizing the T&T sector to respond to new trends, or fostering a dynamic business environment by removing red tape.

In the Americas, the United States (4th) and Canada (10th) are followed by Brazil (28th), Mexico (30th) and Panama (34th). There are significantly different challenges in the region: in North America, travel facilitation, price competitiveness and continuous infrastructure upgrade are the main priorities in the T&T development agendas; in Central and South America, infrastructure gaps, safety and security and business environment issues are the main hurdles restraining further T&T development.

The top five performers in the Asia-Pacific are among the region’s more advanced economies: Australia (7th), Japan (9th), Singapore (11th), Hong Kong SAR (13th) and New Zealand (16th). However, the most significant growth in international arrivals is observed in South-East Asia, thanks in part to its region’s price competitiveness and the rapid expansion of its middle class. Developing regional cooperation on visa policies could further boost tourism, though investments are also needed in digital connectivity, infrastructure and protection of rich but depleting natural capital.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the United Arab Emirates (24th) leads the ranking, followed by Qatar (43rd), Bahrain (60th), Morocco (62nd) and Saudi Arabia (64th). Most of the economies in this region are price-competitive destinations and several have built significant T&T industries in recent years. However, concerns about security have limited international arrivals, even though secluded tourism resorts are far from the most dangerous areas. Improvement is also Executive Summary viii | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 needed in international openness and environmental sustainability.

Sub-Saharan Africa showcases South Africa (48th), the Seychelles (54th), Mauritius (56th), Namibia (70th) and Kenya (78th) as its five most T&T competitive economies. Many countries in the region are working on their openness and visa policies, though the longstanding challenges of infrastructure and health and hygiene standards need to be tackled to unleash the potential of the T&T sector as a catalyst for development. Improving the business environment and preventing depletion of natural resources are also priorities for many countries.

KEY FINDINGS

Published under the theme “Growing through Shocks”, the full edition of the Report (available online) features three additional chapters authored by leading experts and practitioners: “Adapting to Uncertainty—The Global Hotel Industry”, by Deloitte (chapter 1.2); “How to Re-Emerge as a Tourism Destination after a Period of Political Instability”, by Strategy& (chapter 1.3), and “Global Air Passenger Markets: Riding Out Periods of Turbulence”, by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) (chapter 1.4). These chapters showcase how the T&T sector has been resilient to various types of shock from different angles (occupancy rates, international arrivals and investments and air passengers). Four key findings emerge from the results of the 2015 TTCI in combination with other quantitative and qualitative analysis from data partners.

• First, the T&T industry continues to grow more quickly than the global economy as a whole. As proof of its resilience, the analysis shows that the sector’s growth—whether in terms of global air passenger traffic, occupancy rates or international arrivals—tends to return to trend quickly after a shock.

• Second, countries performing more strongly on the TTCI are those that are better prepared to capture the opportunities of new trends: growing demand from emerging and developing countries; the differing preferences of travellers from aging populations and a new generation of younger travellers; and the growing importance of online services and marketing, especially through mobile internet.

• Third, developing the T&T sector provides growth opportunities and social benefits for all countries, regardless of their wealth. Several developing and emerging economies are ranked among the 50 most T&T competitive economies. A strong T&T sector translates into job opportunities at all skill levels.

• Fourth, the development of the T&T industry is complex, requiring inter-ministerial coordination and often international and public-private partnerships to overcome financial, institutional and organizational bottlenecks.

DATA PRESENTATION

The Report contains an extensive data section, which features individual scorecards for each of the 141 economies covered by the TTCI. These provide a complete snapshot of a country’s performance in all the components of the TTCI, including the 90 individual indicators as well as additional key indicators, to offer a complete picture of a country’s T&T’s sector. In addition, the data tables reporting global rankings and scores for each of the 90 indicators provide an overview of the global situation of the most relevant T&T measures available. Visit www.weforum.org/ttcr for additional material, interactive scorecards and rankings, and to download data.

The world's 20 safest countries, according to the WEF

• Finland - rating: 6.7
• Qatar - 6.61
• UAE - 6.6
• Iceland - 6.5
• Austria - 6.47
• Luxembourg - 6.46
• New Zealand - 6.41
• Singapore - 6.4
• Oman - 6.38
• Portugal - 6.33
• Switzerland - 6.32
• Hong Kong - 6.31
• Australia - 6.24
• Slovenia - 6.2
• Ireland - 6.18
• Belgium - 6.18
• Netherlands - 6.16
• Norway - 6.1
• Sweden - 6.1
• Germany - 6.06

COUNTRY PROFILE FOR GREECE

INDICATOR                                                                    VALUE      RANK/141

International Openness........................................ 4.1............25

7.01 Visa requirements (0–100 best)* ........................ 23.0............72

7.02 Openness of bilateral ASA (0–38)*..................... 11.2............63

7.03 No. of regional trade agreements in force*......... 46.0..............1

Price Competitiveness......................................... 3.9.......... 113

8.01 Ticket taxes, airport charges (0–100 best)*........ 80.6............64

8.02 Hotel price index (US$)*................................... 141.1............59

8.03 Purchasing power parity*..................................... 0.9..........115

8.04 Fuel price levels (US$ cents/litre)*.................... 206.0..........130

Environmental Sustainability............................... 4.2............ 61

9.01 Stringency of environmental regulations† ............. 4.0............68

9.02 Enforcement of environmental regulations† .......... 3.5............93

9.03 Sustainability of T&T development†...................... 4.3............74

9.04 Particulate matter (2.5) concentration (µg/m3)*.... 11.6............94

9.05 No. of envtl. treaty ratifications (0–27 best)*.......... 23............11

9.06 Baseline water stress (0–5 worst)*....................... 3.3..........100

9.07 Threatened species (% total species)* ................. 5.7............83

9.08 Forest cover change (% average per year)* ....... –2.8............69

9.09 Wastewater treatment (%) * ............................... 87.3............15

9.10 Coastal shelf fishing pressure (tonnes per km2)*.... 0.1............58

Air Transport Infrastructure ................................. 4.2............27

10.01 Quality of air transport infrastructure†................... 5.2............40

10.02 Airline dom. seat kms per week (millions)* ......... 48.4............37

10.03 Airline int’l. seat kms per week (millions)*......... 575.2............33

10.04 Departures per 1,000 pop.*................................. 9.0............37

10.05 Airport density per million urban pop.*................. 4.6............19

10.06 No. of operating airlines*.................................. 104.0............14

Ground and Port Infrastructure............................ 4.0............ 51

11.01 Quality of roads ................................................... 4.3............55

11.02 Quality of railroad infrastructure ........................... 2.9............56

11.03 Quality of port infrastructure† ............................... 4.7............49

11.04 Quality of ground transport network† ................... 4.7............51

11.05 Railroad density (km/surface area)*...................... 1.9............38

11.06 Road density (km/surface area)*............................ ®............39

11.07 Paved road density (km/surface area)*................... ®............33

Tourist Service Infrastructure.............................. 6.1............12

12.01 Hotel rooms per 100 pop.*.................................. 3.6..............2

12.02 Extension of business trips recommended† ......... 5.6............48

12.03 Presence of major car rental companies† ............... 7..............1

12.04 ATMs accepting Visa cards per million pop.*... 669.3............47

Natural Resources ............................................... 3.5............ 46

13.01 No. of World Heritage natural sites*........................ 1............43

13.02 Total known species*.......................................... 474............81

13.03 Total protected areas (% total territorial area)*.... 21.5............35

13.04 Natural tourism digital demand (0–100 best)* ....... 45............32

13.05 Quality of the natural environment† ...................... 5.2............38

Cultural Resources and Business Travel ............. 2.8............ 32

14.01 No. of World Heritage cultural sites* ..................... 16............10

14.02 No. of oral and intangible cultural expressions* ...... 2............41

14.03 No. of large sports stadiums* ............................ 12.0............34

14.04 No. of international association meetings* ....... 125.3............35

14.05 Cult./entert. tourism digital demand (0–100 best)*.. 22............31

Business Environment......................................... 4.0.......... 104

1.01 Property rights†.................................................... 3.9............82

1.02 Impact of rules on FDI†........................................ 3.0..........131

1.03 Efficiency of legal framework settling disputes†.... 2.7..........125

1.04 Efficiency of legal framework challenging regs.† ... 2.7..........113

1.05 No. of days to deal with construction permits* ... 124............56

1.06 Construction permits cost (%)* ............................ 0.6............30

1.07 Extent of market dominance† .............................. 3.9............59

1.08 No. of days to start a business*............................ 13............73

1.09 Cost to start a business (% GNI/capita)*.............. 2.2............38

1.10 Effect of taxation on incentives to work† .............. 2.5..........135

1.11 Effect of taxation on incentives to invest†............. 2.4..........138

1.12 Total tax rate (% profit)*...................................... 49.9..........114

1.12a Labour and contributions tax rate (% profit)*...... 31.0..........124

1.12b Profit tax rate (% profit)*..................................... 18.2............76

1.12c Other taxes rate (% profit)*................................... 0.7............27

Safety and Security ............................................. 5.5............ 57

2.01 Business costs of crime and violence†................. 4.9............45

2.02 Reliability of police services† ................................ 4.4............58

2.03 Business costs of terrorism† ................................ 5.3............69

2.04 Index of terrorism incidence* ............................... 6.1..........121

2.05 Homicide rate*........................................................ 2............42

Health and Hygiene ............................................. 6.6..............9

3.01 Physician density per 1,000 pop.* ....................... 4.4..............3

3.02 Access to improved sanitation (% pop.)* ........... 99.0............38

3.03 Access to improved drinking water (% pop.)* .. 100.0..............1

3.04 Hospital beds per 10,000 pop........................... 48.0............31

3.05 HIV prevalence (% pop.)*..................................... 0.2..............1

3.06 Malaria incidence per 100,000 pop.*..................S.L............n/a

Human Resources and Labour Market................ 4.7............ 45

Qualification of the labour force ........................... 5.5............46

4.01 Primary education enrolment rate (%)*............... 99.5..............9

4.02 Secondary education enrolment rate (%)*........ 107.9............13

4.03 Extent of staff training†......................................... 3.6..........111

4.04 Treatment of customers† ..................................... 4.6............62

Labour market ..................................................... 4.0............78

4.05 Hiring and firing practices†................................... 3.6............91

4.06 Ease of finding skilled employees† ....................... 4.5............36

4.07 Ease of hiring foreign labour† ............................... 4.3............42

4.08 Pay and productivity†........................................... 3.3..........119

4.09 Female labour force participation (% to men)*...... 0.8............86

ICT Readiness...................................................... 4.7............ 49

5.01 ICT use for B2B transactions† ............................. 4.3..........101

5.02 Internet use for B2C transactions†....................... 4.3............80

5.03 Individuals using internet (%)* ............................ 59.9............54

5.04 Broadband internet subs. per 100 pop.* ........... 26.2............21

5.05 Mobile telephone subs. per 100 pop.*............. 116.8............59

5.06 Mobile broadband subs. per 100 pop.*............. 36.1............62

5.07 Mobile network coverage (% pop.)*................... 99.9............39

5.08 Quality of electricity supply .................................. 5.3............55

Prioritization of Travel & Tourism......................... 5.4............24

6.01 Government prioritization of T&T industry†........... 6.1............21

6.02 T&T gov’t expenditure (% gov’t budget)* ............. 8.0............18

6.03 Effectiveness of marketing to attract tourists† ...... 4.6............62

6.04 Comprehensiveness of T&T data (0–120 best)*... 72.0............52

6.05 Timeliness of T&T data (0–21 best)*................... 18.0............48

6.06 Country Brand Strategy rating (1–10 best)* ....... 65.5............7

Read the full report here.

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