Morocco ranked 71st, and seventh regionally, in the “Tourism and Travel Development” index for the year 2021, issued by the World Economic Forum(WEF).
The Kingdom scored 3.8 points on the general index, while the United Arab Emirates ranked first regionally in the 25th globally, followed by Saudi Arabia 33, Qatar 43, Egypt 51, Bahrain 57, Jordan 64, respectively.
Japan, the United States, Spain, France and Germany are at the top of the list. India, with a score of 4.2, ranks 54th, eight lower than in 2019. Data shows that India is the top scorer in South Asia.
Other than the US, the top-10 scoring economies are high-income economies in Europe or Asia-Pacific. After top-ranking Japan, regional economies Australia and Singapore come in seventh and ninth, respectively. Italy joined the top 10 (up from 12th in 2019) in 2021, while Canada slid from 10th to 13th.
“COVID shutdowns have re-emphasized the important contribution travel and tourism makes to many economies around the world,” said Lauren Uppink, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism at the World Economic Forum. “As the world emerges from the pandemic, economies must invest in building a strong and resilient environment to deliver the travel and tourism experience and services for many decades to come.”
He added :“Government, business and civil society leaders can address barriers to recovery by looking at the different factors that can support the long-term development and resiliency of their respective travel and tourism economies”.
Lauren Uppink noted that this will require decision-makers to restore consumer confidence and international openness by prioritizing such things as enhanced health and security measures, encouraging inclusive labour practices, improving environmental sustainability and investing in digital technology.
The Index which comprises 117 countries, shows that despite the positive trends, the travel and tourism sector is still facing many hurdles with its recovery.
The index consists of five sub-indicators, which are the enabling environment in terms of the work environment, security, safety, health and the labor market, travel and tourism policies in terms of the extent of the country’s openness and price competitiveness in hotels and tourist places, airport infrastructure, transportation and infrastructure for tourism services, in addition to demand drivers for Travel and tourism, and the sustainability of the travel and tourism sectors in a country.
Elmahjoub Dasaa
