“Iran ranks 1st globally [in the category of Price Competitiveness], thanks to low ticket taxes and airport charges (7th), fuel prices (5th) and high purchasing power (5th),” according to WEF’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, which was released earlier this month.
The Forum also categorized the Islamic Republic in “The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)” region, saying “In fact, no MENA country scores above the global average for natural resources and only Egypt and Iran score above for cultural resources.”
“The MENA region improved its T&T [travel and tourism] competitiveness since the last edition of the TTCI [Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index]. With 12 of the 15 MENA economies covered by this year’s index increasing their score compared to 2017, the region was able to slightly outpace the global average in competitiveness growth. This is particularly important given that, in the aggregate, T&T accounts for a greater share of regional GDP than in any of the other four regions.”
Regarding tourism expenditure, the report says “MENA is also the only region where international visitor spending is greater than domestic visitor spending. Yet despite improved competitiveness and a strong reliance on T&T for overall economic growth, MENA continues to underperform the global TTCI score average.”
Spain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States are considered as the world’s most travel-ready nations, according to the latest travel and tourism ranking of the World Economic Forum.
“There’s little change since the last edition was released two years ago, with only one country altering its position: the United Kingdom has slid to sixth place, behind the United States.”
Source: Tehran Times
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