Spain, the fifth country more attractive for the development of tourism industry
Spain is ranked number five in the list of countries with a more attractive environment for the development of the tourism industry and travel, according to the report on Travel & Tourism Competitiveness in 2008 by the World Economic Forum.
The report, in its second year of existence focuses on the theme of "balance economic development and environmental sustainability," puts Switzerland at number 1 on the list, followed by Austria, Germany and Australia.
The list of the top 10 is rounded, after the fifth Spanish, UK, USA, Sweden, Canada and France.
"The dependence on tourism in the quality of the natural environment leads to governments and the tourism industry to focus increasingly on environmental protection," said Thea Chiesa, head of Travel and Tourism of the World Economic Forum.
The index takes into account 14 factors and policies that make it attractive and competitive development of the tourism industry in a country. Among them are rules and regulations, environmental sustainability, security, health and hygiene, air and road infrastructure, tourism, prices, human capital or cultural resources.
The list includes 130 countries around the world and has been developed with a combination of data from international sources, experts in tourism and the results of a survey conducted by the WEF. "Our study is not a beauty contest on the attractiveness of each country. Rather, we want to measure the factors that make attractive develop the tourism and travel industry. Best performing countries demonstrate the importance of regulatory frameworks combined with tourist infrastructure," said Jennifer Blanke, an expert economist at the WEF.