Philippines jumps eight spots to 57th out of 110, ranks among world's fastest tourism improvers—WEF
Sep 25, 2026
The Philippines emerged as one of the world’s fastest-improving tourism markets, climbing eight places in a global ranking of conditions supporting travel and tourism (T&T) development, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In its Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026 Insight Report published on Friday, Sept. 25, the Geneva-based WEF ranked the Philippines 57th out of 110 economies, with an overall score of 4.08.
The country’s TTDI score improved by 5.5 percent between 2024 and 2026, making the Philippines tied with Morocco for seventh among the fastest-improving economies covered by the index.
Compared with the recalculated 2019 baseline, the Philippines climbed 12 places while improving its overall score by 9.6 percent.
The gains came as Asia-Pacific led the global improvement in tourism development conditions, with its average TTDI score rising by 3.6 percent between 2024 and 2026 as the region continued to recover from its delayed post-pandemic reopening.
Seven of the 10 fastest-improving economies were developing countries in Asia-Pacific, with the Philippines joining Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, and India among the region’s strongest improvers.
Albania recorded the largest improvement globally between 2024 and 2026, raising its score by seven percent.
WEF also classified the Philippines among the world’s 10 largest non-high-income T&T economies by direct T&T gross domestic product (GDP), alongside China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Türkiye, Mexico, and Brazil.
Together, these emerging tourism economies account for more than 28 percent of global direct T&T GDP, with their share projected to rise to 35 percent by 2035.
Their average TTDI score has improved faster than those of the world’s leading tourism destinations. Since 2019, the group’s average score increased by 4.7 percent, compared with 2.9 percent for all economies covered by the index and 1.9 percent for the top 20.
As a group, the 10 emerging tourism economies outperform the top 20 in price competitiveness, natural resources, T&T demand sustainability, and cultural resources, reflecting their combination of natural assets, cultural heritage, and competitive pricing.
However, WEF said significant development gaps remain between these emerging markets (EMs) and the world’s tourism leaders.
Tourist services and infrastructure showed the largest gap, pointing to the need for greater investment in accommodation, visitor services, and supporting infrastructure.
EMs also lagged in business environment and human resources (HR) and labor market, reflecting challenges such as access to financing, regulatory barriers, and workforce capabilities.
Environmental sustainability remains another challenge, potentially putting at risk the natural resources that help attract tourists to these economies.
WEF said narrowing these gaps would require stronger infrastructure and services as well as improvements in the conditions that allow tourism businesses to operate and expand.
Globally, tourism development conditions improved across 101, or 92 percent, of the 110 economies between 2024 and 2026, while the average TTDI score increased by 2.1 percent—the fastest pace of improvement since 2019.
Japan topped the 2026 index, followed by the United States (US), Spain, Australia, and France. Advanced economies occupied nine of the top 10 positions, with China the only exception.
TTDI measures the factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of travel and tourism rather than tourism performance itself, such as visitor arrivals, spending, or revenues. The 2026 index comprises 17 pillars and 102 indicators, with the latest available data collected as of May 2026. - with reporting from Danielle T. Bayani