travel and tourism development index 2023

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

share this content

• Share this article on facebook
• Share this article on twitter
• Share this article on linkedin

Tourism on Track for Full Recovery as New Data Shows Strong Start to 2023

• All Regions

International tourism is well on its way to returning to pre-pandemic levels, with twice as many people travelling during the first quarter of 2023 than in the same period of 2022.

New Data from UNWTO: What We've Learned

The second UNWTO World Tourism Barometer of the year shows that the sector's swift recovery has continued into 2023. It shows that:

• Overall, international arrivals reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023
• An estimated 235 million tourists travelled internationally in the first three months, more than double the same period of 2022.
• Tourism has continued to show its resilience. Revised data for 2022 shows over 960 million tourists travelling internationally last year, meaning two-thirds (66%) of pre-pandemic numbers were recovered.

Recovery by Region in Q1 2023:

• The Middle East saw the strongest performance as the only region exceeding 2019 arrivals (+15%) and the first to recover pre-pandemic numbers in a full quarter.
• Europe reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels, driven by strong intra-regional demand.
• Africa reached 88% and the Americas about 85% of 2019 levels
• Asia and the Pacific accelerated its recovery with  54% of pre-pandemic levels, but this upward trend is set to accelerate now that most destinations, particularly China , have re-opened.

In many places, we are close to or even above pre-pandemic levels of arrivals

The UNWTO data also analyses recovery by sub-region and by destination: Southern Mediterranean Europe and North Africa have also recovered pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2023, while Western Europe, Northern Europe, Central America and the Caribbean all came close to reaching those levels.

What it Means:

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: "The start of the year has shown again tourism's unique ability to bounce back. In many places, we are close to or even above pre-pandemic levels of arrivals. However, we must remain alert to challenges ranging from geopolitical insecurity, staffing shortages, and the potential impact of the cost-of-living crisis on tourism, and we must ensure tourism's return delivers on its responsibilities as a solution to the climate emergency and as a driver of inclusive development."

International tourism receipts grew back to hit the USD1 trillion mark in 2022, growing 50% in real terms compared to 2021, driven by the important rebound in international travel. International visitor spending reached 64% of pre-pandemic levels (-36% compared to 2019, measured in real terms). By regions, Europe enjoyed the best results in 2022 with nearly USD 550 billion in tourism receipts (EUR 520 billion), or 87% of pre-pandemic levels. Africa recovered 75% of its pre-pandemic receipts, the Middle East 70% and the Americas 68%. Due to prolonged border shutdowns, Asian destinations earned about 28%.

International tourism receipts: Percentage of 2019 levels recovered in 2022(%) *

International tourist arrivals: percentage of 2019 levels recovered in q1 2023 (%)*, looking ahead: what's in store.

The Q1 2023 results are in line with UNWTO's forward-looking scenarios for the year which project international arrivals to recover 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels. UNWTO's Panel of Experts expressed their confidence in a strong peak season (May-August) in the Northern Hemisphere, reflected in the latest UNWTO Confidence Index which indicates performance for the period is on track to be even better than 2022.

However, tourism's recovery also faces some challenges .  According to the UNWTO Panel of Experts, the economic situation remains the main factor weighing on the effective recovery of international tourism in 2023, with high inflation and rising oil prices translating into higher transport and accommodations costs.  As a result, tourists are expected to increasingly seek value for money and travel closer to home. Uncertainty derived from the Russian aggression against Ukraine and other mounting geopolitical tensions, also continue to represent downside risks.

International Tourist Arrivals, World and Regions

Related links.

• Download the News Release in PDF
• UNWTO World Tourism Barometer - EXCERPT Volume 21 • Issue 2 • May 2023
• World Tourism Barometer (PPT version)
• The UNWTO Tourism Data Dashboard
• UNWTO World Tourism Barometer

Category tags

Related content.

International Tourism to Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2024

International Tourism to End 2023 Close to 90% of Pre-P...

Tourism’s Importance for Growth Highlighted in World Ec...

International Tourism Swiftly Overcoming Pandemic Downturn

• Press Releases
• Press Enquiries
• Travel Hub / Blog
• Brand Resources
• Newsletter Sign Up
• Global Summit
• Hosting a Summit
• Upcoming Events
• Previous Events
• Event Photography
• Event Enquiries
• Our Members
• Our Associates Community
• Membership Benefits
• Enquire About Membership
• Sponsors & Partners
• Insights & Publications
• WTTC Research Hub
• Economic Impact
• Knowledge Partners
• Data Enquiries
• Hotel Sustainability Basics
• Community Conscious Travel
• SafeTravels Stamp Application
• SafeTravels: Global Protocols & Stamp
• Security & Travel Facilitation
• Sustainable Growth
• Women Empowerment
• Destination Spotlight - SLO CAL
• Vision For Nature Positive Travel and Tourism
• Governments
• Consumer Travel Blog
• ONEin330Million Campaign
• Reunite Campaign

Global Travel & Tourism Catapults Into 2023 Says WTTC

GDP contribution 5% off 2019 peak by the end of 2023 

Almost 22 million more Travel & Tourism jobs last year 

International visitor spend up more than 80%  

  New York, U.S.:  The World Travel & Tourism Council’s ( WTTC ) 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) today shows the Travel & Tourism sector is closing in on its 2019 peak, recovering by more than 95%. 

In 2023, the sector is forecast to reach $9.5TN, just 5% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels when travel was at its highest. 34 countries have already exceeded 2019 levels. 

According to the research conducted by WTTC in collaboration with Oxford Economics, the global tourism body also forecasts that the sector will recover to 95% of the 2019 job level.  

A look back on last year 

Last year, despite the economic and geopolitical difficulties, the Travel & Tourism sector’s recovery continued at pace, growing 22% year-on-year to reach $7.7TN.  

This recovery represented 7.6% of the global economy in 2022, the highest sector contribution since 2019, although its global GDP is still 22.9% behind its 2019 peak. 

In 2021 the global sector grew 24.7% year-on-year, and last year it grew a further 22% to reach a GDP contribution of $7.7TN. 

The research shows that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and prolonged travel restrictions imposed by a number of countries such as China had a significant impact on the global recovery. 

But the recent decision by the Chinese government to reopen its borders from January will propel the sector and see it recover to pre-pandemic levels next year. 

From a pre-pandemic high of more than 334MN, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged employment in the sector which saw losses of more than 70MN to bring the total number employed in 2020 to just 264MN. 

Following the recovery of 11MN jobs in 2021, the sector created 21.6MN new jobs in 2022 to reach more than 295MN globally – one in 11 jobs worldwide. 

Spending from overseas visitors grew by a record 82% to reach $1.1TN in 2022, showing that international travel is firmly back on track.  

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The Travel & Tourism sector continues to recover at pace, demonstrating the resilience of the sector and the enduring desire to travel. 

“By the end of the year, the sector’s contribution will be within touching distance of the 2019 peak. We expect 2024 to exceed 2019. Travel & Tourism will be a growth sector over the next ten years. 

“The recovery will speed up this year as Chinese travellers re-enter the market. 

“Travel & Tourism provides 300 million jobs worldwide.” 

What does the next decade look like? 

The global tourism body is forecasting that the sector will grow its GDP contribution to $15.5TN by 2033 representing 11.6% of the global economy and will employ 430MN people around the world, with almost 12% of the working population employed in the sector.  

The latest EIR also reveals that 34 of the 185 countries analysed in the EIR have now recovered to pre-pandemic levels in terms of GDP contribution.  

WTTC forecasts that by the end of 2023, nearly half of the 185 countries will have either fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels or be within 95% of full recovery.   

Download the Press Release  

Editors Notes 

The research was carried out in partnership with Oxford Economics with information sourced from UNWTO, Oxford Economics and national sources. All values are in constant 2022 prices and exchange rates, as reported in March 2023. 

Colombia registrara un incremento del 24% en turistas internaciones en el primer semestre del año WTTC

Julia Simpson, World Travel & Tourism Council President & CEO Addresses guests at ITB Opening Ceremony in Berlin

Colombia registrará un incremento del 24% en turistas internacionales en el primer semestre del año

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). A paid subscription is required for full access.

Leading countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021

The economic contribution of travel and tourism, impact of covid-19 on international tourism arrivals worldwide, leading countries and territories in the travel & tourism development index (ttdi) in 2021.

• Immediate access to 1m+ statistics
• Incl. source references
• Download as PNG, PDF, XLS, PPT

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

The Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) is an evolution of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The source specifies that it "measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country". The index covers 117 countries and is made up of five sub-indexes: Enabling Environment, Travel and Tourism Policy and Enabling Conditions, Infrastructure, Travel and Tourism Demand Drivers, and Travel and Tourism Sustainability. The index scores range from one to seven, with one being the worst rating and seven the best rating.

Other statistics on the topic Travel and tourism in Malta

Leisure Travel

• Best-rated countries in the Gay Travel Index 2023
• Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2001-2023
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in Malta 2019-2022

Accommodation

• Number of hotel rooms in Malta 2013-2022

To download this statistic in XLS format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PNG format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PDF format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PPT format you need a Statista Account

As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic.

As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail.

… to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time.

You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature.

• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

You only have access to basic statistics. This statistic is not included in your account.

• Instant access  to 1m statistics
• Download  in XLS, PDF & PNG format
• Detailed  references

Business Solutions including all features.

Statistics on " Travel and tourism in Malta "

• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Travel and tourism revenue in Malta 2019-2028, by segment
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in Malta 2019-2022
• Leading countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021
• Key data on travel agencies in Malta 2024
• Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2010-2023, by travel mode
• Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2019-2023, by age group
• Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2019-2023, by number of nights
• Inbound tourist expenditure in Malta 2010-2023
• Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2019-2023, by tourist expenditure
• Contribution of inbound visitor spending to Maltese exports 2010-2021
• Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2023, by Google travel demand growth
• Number of outbound tourists from Malta 2010-2023
• Number of nights spent by outbound tourists from Malta 2019-2023, by country
• Spending of outbound tourists from Malta 2010-2023
• Expenditure of outbound tourists from Malta 2019-2023, by destination
• Leading outbound travel markets in Malta 2023, by Google travel demand growth
• Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2016-2022
• Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2022, by age
• Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2015-2022, by destination
• Domestic tourism spending in Malta 2016-2022
• Cruise passenger movements in Mediterranean ports 2019-2022, by country
• Number of cruise passengers arriving in Malta 2011-2023
• Number of cruise passengers arriving in Malta 2019-2023, by age
• Cruise calls at Mediterranean ports 2019-2022, by country
• Number of cruise liner calls in Malta 2008-2023
• Number of tourist accommodation establishments in Malta 2022, by type
• Key data on the hotel industry in Malta 2022
• Number of hotels and similar accommodation in Malta 2013-2022
• Hotel bedroom occupancy rate in Malta 2013-2022

Other statistics that may interest you Travel and tourism in Malta

• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in Malta 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Premium Statistic Travel and tourism revenue in Malta 2019-2028, by segment
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in Malta 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Leading countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021
• Basic Statistic Best-rated countries in the Gay Travel Index 2023
• Premium Statistic Key data on travel agencies in Malta 2024

Inbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2001-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2010-2023, by travel mode
• Premium Statistic Number of inbound tourists in Malta 2019-2023, by age group
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2019-2023, by number of nights
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourist expenditure in Malta 2010-2023
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2019-2023, by tourist expenditure
• Premium Statistic Contribution of inbound visitor spending to Maltese exports 2010-2021
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in Malta 2023, by Google travel demand growth

Outbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of outbound tourists from Malta 2010-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of nights spent by outbound tourists from Malta 2019-2023, by country
• Premium Statistic Spending of outbound tourists from Malta 2010-2023
• Basic Statistic Expenditure of outbound tourists from Malta 2019-2023, by destination
• Premium Statistic Leading outbound travel markets in Malta 2023, by Google travel demand growth

Domestic tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2016-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2022, by age
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic tourists in Malta 2015-2022, by destination
• Premium Statistic Domestic tourism spending in Malta 2016-2022

Cruise tourism

• Premium Statistic Cruise passenger movements in Mediterranean ports 2019-2022, by country
• Premium Statistic Number of cruise passengers arriving in Malta 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of cruise passengers arriving in Malta 2019-2023, by age
• Premium Statistic Cruise calls at Mediterranean ports 2019-2022, by country
• Premium Statistic Number of cruise liner calls in Malta 2008-2023
• Basic Statistic Number of tourist accommodation establishments in Malta 2022, by type
• Premium Statistic Key data on the hotel industry in Malta 2022
• Premium Statistic Number of hotels and similar accommodation in Malta 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel rooms in Malta 2013-2022
• Premium Statistic Hotel bedroom occupancy rate in Malta 2013-2022

Further related statistics

• Premium Statistic Leading European countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021
• Premium Statistic Leading countries in the MEA in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2018
• Premium Statistic Sub-Saharan African countries in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourism of visitors from India to the Netherlands 2012-2017
• Basic Statistic Forecast: economic contribution of travel and tourism to GDP worldwide 2020-2029
• Basic Statistic Global travel and tourism expenditure 2019-2022, by type
• Premium Statistic Travel and tourism competitiveness index score APAC 2019 by segment
• Premium Statistic Overnight guests from Canada in the Netherlands 2018, by city
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourism of visitors from Denmark to the Netherlands 2013-2019
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel bed-places in Saudi Arabia 2008-2022
• Premium Statistic Tourism establishments Saudi Arabia 2007-2020
• Premium Statistic Average length of hotel stay Saudi Arabia 2004-2022
• Basic Statistic Flyer usage before travel and tourism shopping in Canada 2014
• Basic Statistic Opinions on EU Digital COVID certificates aiding travel planning in Europe 2021

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Leading European countries in the Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021
• Leading countries in the MEA in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2018
• Sub-Saharan African countries in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019
• Inbound tourism of visitors from India to the Netherlands 2012-2017
• Forecast: economic contribution of travel and tourism to GDP worldwide 2020-2029
• Global travel and tourism expenditure 2019-2022, by type
• Travel and tourism competitiveness index score APAC 2019 by segment
• Overnight guests from Canada in the Netherlands 2018, by city
• Inbound tourism of visitors from Denmark to the Netherlands 2013-2019
• Number of hotel bed-places in Saudi Arabia 2008-2022
• Tourism establishments Saudi Arabia 2007-2020
• Average length of hotel stay Saudi Arabia 2004-2022
• Flyer usage before travel and tourism shopping in Canada 2014
• Opinions on EU Digital COVID certificates aiding travel planning in Europe 2021

• Place Branding
• Placemaking
• Digital Identity
• Experts Opinion
• Keynotes & Presentations
• Publications
• Day at Work

• About Bloom Consulting
• Portuguese (Portugal)

Nation Branding vs. Nation Marketing: What’s the Difference?  

What is nation branding, branding a place and a nation: challenges of defining the central idea, three branding initiatives to close the perception-reality gap of a country or place brand, placemaking and the quality of “public places”, what is placemaking, cities and the new zeitgeist: understanding the dematerialized world, key elements to successful placemaking in the new decade, swedish case study: what search data reveals about the impact of the pandemic on tourism, who’s managing the digital identity of nations and places, d2-digital demand©, results may surprise you., here’s why tourism destinations can’t afford to ignore search-engine results, what constitutes people’s perceptions of global cities, what constitutes perceptions about countries, highlights of the country brand ranking 2022 | 2023 trade edition, finland – playing the long game, how a place brand strategy revived one of london’s historic areas, australia: a new approach to nation branding, brand south africa: converting a complicated legacy into an advantage, first ai-driven nation branding strategy, a masters degree in place branding: a transformative academic partnership, the bloom place academy, interview with philippe, tourism development global director at bloom consulting, interview with filipe, nation and place branding director at bloom consulting, interview with philippe and jose on attract and bloom consulting merger, fundamentals of managing nation and place brands during times of crisis, how the digital identity of nations and places reflects on place brands, highlights of the country brand ranking 2022 | 2023 tourism edition, poland, where the power lies with the people, future risks for place branding, day at work with jolanta, cmo, nation and place branding consultant at bloom consulting.

WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) launched in Davos

The findings of the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) which measures 117 economies on a range of tourism and travel-related indicators and policies, has been published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) today. The WEF describes this addition as an “evolution” to the previous Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index .

Every two years, the WEF publishes in-depth analysis as well as an index that gives countries a score and overall ranking and serves as a critical benchmarking tool for the T&T sector. Japan topped the ranking this year, with the United States coming in second; Spain third, and the United Kingdom in eighth position.

Bloom Consulting , a member of an advisory group and data partner for the report, believes the outcomes will be highly anticipated by the industry because tourism and travel has changed in unprecedented ways since the publication of the TTDI’s predecessor, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2019.

“The climate crisis, the pandemic and now the outbreak of war in Europe continues to disrupt and impact the recovery of the industry. What made an economy competitive in the past, isn’t necessarily what will make it competitive and sustainable for the future. As such, policies and strategies need to evolve and this report provides much-needed direction,” said Jose Torres, CEO of Bloom Consulting.

See which countries scored in the top 10 of the WEF TTDI.

New criteria for a new era

Economies are measured using five subindexes and 112 individual indicators which covers a range of criteria that takes into account “business, safety and health conditions, infrastructure and natural resources as well as, environmental, socioeconomic and demand pressures”.

This year, criteria used to measure the long-term development drivers of tourism and travel in economies has been updated to reflect the changing market conditions and include a greater focus on sustainability and resilience. SOCIOECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND CONDICTIONS, NON-LEISURE RESOURCES AND T&T DEMAND PRESSURE & IMPACT pillars are all new to the 2021 edition of the TTDI.

“The need for T&T development has never been greater as it plays a critical role in helping the global economic recovery by supporting the livelihoods of some of the populations hardest hit by the pandemic.” WEF

Key outcomes, uneven t&t recovery.

With the accessibility of vaccines in Western countries, strong government spending and an easing of travel restrictions amongst many Western countries, the T&T industry in the developed world is on the road to recovery.

Whilst international arrivals were still 67 per cent below pre-pandemic levels according to the latest outlook from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourist arrivals increased by 4.0 percent in 2021 and numbers in January 2022 rose even further.

While momentum is gathering pace with tourists eager to travel once again, experts say that international arrivals may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024 at the earliest. Countries, for instance, like Australia and New Zealand announced only recently that borders were reopening to international travellers. Further, the unprecedented war in Ukraine has led to increased uncertainty and a rise in the cost of living which may lead to less demand for the travel sector. 

On a global perspective the recovery of the T&T sector “remains slow, uneven and fragile” due to many factors including the limited access to vaccines in emerging and developing economies and an inclination by some tourists to be more sensitive to health and safety conditions, sticking with destinations with widespread vaccination rates and better healthcare services. In many parts of the world, many Covid-related travel restrictions and mask mandates are still in place.

The World Bank predicts that emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) will not return to pre-pandemic tourism activity until after 2023, and 80 percent of tourism reliant EMDEs were below their 2019 economic output at the end of 2021.

Tourism reliant EMDEs face a significant and urgent need to close this gap because their entire economy depends on it. “Investing in T&T could not only mitigate the impact of the pandemic but also improve socioeconomic progress and resilience,” the report said.

Going forward, the T&T sector must work to improve “ the distribution and promotion of natural, cultural and non-leisure assets and activities; the availability of quality transport and tourist service infrastructure; the degree of international openness; and favourable factors such as (increasingly important) ICT readiness and health and hygiene,” the report stressed.

As a result of changing market conditions and increased uncertainty, the public and private sectors are “continuously reviewing their tourism strategies and policies to bolster recovery” whilst the industry overall remains “vulnerable to socioeconomic conditions and global risks”.

Sustainability and resilience:

Climate and other environmental issues are a growing risk for many T&T economies with the report warning the sector is “increasingly tied to their ability to manage and operate under ever greater ecological and environmental threats.” Further, results captured from The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022 survey confirmed environmental risks represent half of the top 10 global risks.

Even before the pandemic, sustainability issues such as overcrowding, environmental degradation caused by mass tourism, and the liveability for residents in highly visited cities like Amsterdam or Barcelona were mounting. 

Whilst the initial lockdowns in 2020 forced a complete stop to the actions causing environmental pressures, new smarter ways of approaching sustainable growth are needed as the global industry works to recover.

“Economies that have sustainable tourism strategies such as the protection of natural assets, longer stays for tourists and the promotion of less populated areas will have long-term competitive advantages because the whole world is moving, slowly but surely, into more sustainable, less carbon intensive ways of operating. Some of the trends we saw during the pandemic, like the shift to nature trips over cities, we think will stay for the long-term,” Torres said.

Changing dynamics of tourism

The pandemic has created new opportunities and shifted consumer preferences – many  economies will notice and adapt accordingly. According to the UNWTO Panel of Experts, the major trends driving the T&T recovery include “domestic tourism, travel close to home, open-air activities, nature-based products and rural tourism”.

Over the last two years, nature-related segments saw a 20.8 percent average growth in Digital Demand as people flocked to nature destinations, such as parks and mountains, that were safer and more accessible during the pandemic. In fact, some countries in nature-based and rural tourism markets have been able to grow beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Influenced by the restrictions and travel policies during the pandemic domestic travel rose which saw an average spending increase from 50.8 per cent in 2019 to 62.6 per cent in 2020 among economies ranked in the TTDI. Conversely, the business travel segment declined as people moved to zoom and remote work.

“Reading this report demonstrates that the world has changed and what consumers wanted in the past, will not be what they want in the future. It has been a hugely unsettling time but the industry can also look to the opportunities and the new sources of growth that are starting to take shape as outlined in this report. Nation Brands need to focus on these opportunities whilst realising that uncertainty right now is the norm,” Torres said. 

To read the full report visit www.weforum.org . 

POPULAR POSTS

Key Benefits of Nation and Place Branding Strategies

Stockholm: the Smart City Brand of Scandinavia

Costa Rica, how a small Country can have a great vision

Popular category.

• Highlights 97
• Our Work 28
• Research 28
• Experts Opinion 24
• Place Branding 16
• Interesting Facts 15
• Behind the Scenes 15

• Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)
• Member States in Asia and the Pacific
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM OBSERVATORIES (INSTO)

Travel demand continued to show remarkable resilience and sustained recovery, amid economic and geopolitical challenges. An estimated 700 million tourists travelled internationally from January to July 2023, 43% higher than in 2022 although 16% less compared to 2019.

International tourism is experiencing a rapid recovery in Asia and the Pacific where arrivals climbed to 61% of pre-pandemic levels this period after the reopening of many destinations and source markets earlier this year. The reopening of China and other Asian markets is expected to continue boosting travel in the region and to other parts of the world.

According to the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker , both international air capacity and passenger demand recovered about 84% of pre-pandemic levels through June 2023. However, the extreme weather-related events that occurred over recent months as well as the critical challenges of managing increasing tourism flows underline the need to build a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient sector.

Read more on the UNWTO Tourism Barometer (September 2023 excerpt) here .

About the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer

The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer is a publication of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) that monitors short-term tourism trends regularly to provide global tourism stakeholders with up-to-date analysis of international tourism. The information is updated several times a year and includes an analysis of the latest data on tourism destinations (inbound tourism) and source markets (outbound tourism). The Barometer also includes three times a year Confidence Index based on the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts survey, which provides an evaluation of recent performance and short-term prospects for international tourism.

Source: UNWTO Press Release Barometer September 19th, 2023 (Madrid)

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Regional Support Office in Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)

Rsoap a to z.

• Sustainable Tourism Observatories(INSTO)

UNWTO A to Z

• About UNWTO
• Affiliate Members
• Member States
• Tourism in the 2030 Agenda
• World Tourism Day
• Technical Cooperation
• ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
• MIDDLE EAST
• RESOURCES/SERVICES
• Sustainable Development of Tourism
• Ethics, Culture and Social Responsibility
• Market Intelligence
• Tourism Data Dashboard
• Publications
• UNWTO Academy

Partners links

© UNWTO Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific (RSOAP)

• Southeast Asia
• North America
• Central & South America
• Middle-East
• Australia & South Pacific
• Luxury Awards
• Family Travel
• Solo Travel
• Beaches & Islands
• Zodiac Travels
• Wellness & Spas
• Accessories
• Points and Miles
• #TheGreenEdit
• T+L Tastemakers
• Sustainable Travel
• T+L Experiences

Sustainable Travel Index 2023: Europe Grabs 19 Of Top 20 Spots

Planning an international trip but want to make it greener the sustainable travel index 2023 is here to help. read on to know more..

By: Anushka Goel Published: Aug 21, 2023 06:22 PM UTC

With vacationers realising the impact of their getaways on the environment, more and more travellers are switching to the sustainable route. While travellers want to keep their wanderlust satisfied, going greener is on priority and the Sustainable Travel Index 2023 is here to help. 

The index is based on findings by Euromonitor International with 56 indicators across seven pillars. These are environmental, social, economic, risk, demand, transport and lodgings, which determine the “comparative performance of sustainable travel and tourism for 99 countries through scores and weightings to produce an overall ranking,” says Caroline Bremner, Head of Travel at Euromonitor International. Of the top 20 nations, 19 belong to Europe, while one is from South America. Sweden tops the list followed by Finland and Austria at the second and third positions respectively.

The methodology behind the Sustainable Travel Index 2023

Talking about the survey, Bremner says, “There are three main types of indicators. The health of a destination relating to happiness, equality and social justice, then the specific impacts of tourism on the local environment such as hotel energy use, followed by the general state of tourism such as quality of infrastructure or dependency on international demand.”

She adds, “Looking to the future, the Sustainable Travel Index highlights green technology and digitalising the traveller journey as two sure-fire ways to help achieve the road to net zero.”

Related Stories

Got A Valid US, UK Or Schengen Visa? You Can Now Get An Instant Saudi E-Visa Too!

This Country Was Just Named The Best Place To Retire In Europe, According To A Study

The survey states these destinations as the most sustainable.

European countries have been adopting green practices for a while in an attempt to reduce the effect of tourism on the environment. Recently, Iceland started a campaign to encourage fewer people to go on longer trips, while Italy is looking to launch new tourist trains to boost eco-friendly activities.

With respect to the top 20 most sustainable countries, Uruguay has shown tremendous improvement by jumping 15 spots up from last year, states the report. The full list is as follows:

• Switzerland
• Czech Republic

The Sustainable Travel Index 2023 also highlights the most sustainable cities, which has Australia’s Melbourne on the top followed by Spain ‘s Madrid and Seville. Melbourne’s transition to renewable energy, hosting carbon-neutral events and retrofitting of buildings are some instances of its eco-friendly practices.

The top 10 green cities are:

• Palma de Mallorca

Additionally, regarding demand for sustainable tourism, Australia, Iceland and New Zealand are the top three destinations, adds the report.

Hero and featured image credit: Inès d’Anselme/Unsplash

Related:  Green Horizons: How the Maldives is Ensuring a Future that’s Sustainable and Stunning

• sustainable
• Sustainable travel
• sustainable travel index
• travel news

Anushka Goel

Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument. Read Less

Now Fly Direct From Tokyo To Doha With Japan Airlines’ Non-stop Flight Services

By Pyusha Chatterjee

The Fee For Global Entry Is Increasing — Here's How Much It'll Cost

By Alison Fox

Olympics 2024: Skip Paris Crowds & Explore The Hidden Gems Of Nearby Seine-Saint-Denis

By Travel + Leisure

These Are The Most Popular Summer Travel Destinations, According To Google

Safari World: Oman’s Largest Zoo Opens To Travellers After Eid al-Fitr

Greece Grants Limited-Access Visa To Turkish Citizens

By Esha Dasgupta

The Total Solar Eclipse Month Is Here — Along With A Meteor Shower & Much More

By Stephanie Vermillion

Air Travel Disruptions Predicted Due To Total Solar Eclipse 2024

Japan Shall Welcome 820,000 Foreigners Under Its Newly Expanded Work Visa

By Priyaja Bakshi

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest on travel, stay & dining.

You’re all set

Thank you for your subscription.

Abu Dhabi’s $10 Billion Plan For Tourism

Josh Corder , Skift

April 5th, 2024 at 8:17 AM EDT

The capital of the UAE wants to supercharge its tourism sector.

Josh Corder

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has unveiled a new grand plan for tourism, with $10 billion worth of investment into the sector, almost 200,000 new jobs, and the promise of new streamlined visa processes.

Abu Dhabi serves as the administrative center of the UAE and holds most of the nation’s oil reserves. Nearby emirate Dubai is much better known for its tourism sector and brought in more than 17 million international visitors last year.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Strategy 2030 has the following goals by the end of the decade:

• Create 178,000 new tourism-related jobs.
• Double international overnight visitors from 3.8 million in 2023 to 7.2 million.
• Increase the number of hotel rooms from hotel room 34,000 in 2023 to 52,000.
• Increase countrywide GDP contribution from $13.3 billion in 2023 to $24.5 billion.

How Will Abu Dhabi Achieve This?

As is the way in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is throwing money at the situation. DCT – Abu Dhabi chairman Mohamed Al Mubarak estimates the capital will spend $10 billion between now and 2030 on new tourism infrastructure.

He told local newspaper The National : “[When it comes to] infrastructure, in terms of museums, theme parks and hospitality, [with] the private sector playing a significant role, we are hovering at over $10 billion of investment from now to 2030.”

The chairman said another $1 billion is to go to marketing efforts between now and 2030.

Beyond the massive investment, the department hasn’t laid out timelines for its 2030 plan. Rather, it shared 26 “key initiatives” it needs to focus on. These initiatives aren’t named but are grouped into four pillars:

Offerings and City Activation

Promotion and marketing, infrastructure and mobility, visa, licensing, and regulations.

The first pillar surrounds the building of additional cultural sites, theme parks, retails offerings and new hotel chains.

DCT – Abu Dhabi will also more than double its promotion and marketing efforts, expanding its international reach from 11 to 26 markets. It will also establish global partnerships with media outlets and well-known brands for collaborations.

The strategy’s infrastructure and mobility pillar will increase hotel room availability, including accessible and luxury options, glamping, and farm stays. This pillar also stipulates boosting airlift and the aviation sector.

In November 2023, Abu Dhabi’s new Terminal A opened.

Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Terminal A  brings a major increase in capacity for the emirate’s commercial aviation sector, more than doubling the current passenger capacity, with the new facilities being able to process up to 45 million travelers annually. 

At triple the size of the previous terminals, Terminal A will handle 79 planes simultaneously and 11,000 passengers per hour.

Lastly, both visitor experience and tourism business operations will be enhanced with new visa, licensing and regulation processes.

What Does Abu Dhabi Currently Have?

Abu Dhabi has built itself up as a cultural alternative to Dubai, investing heavily in museums and religious sites. It is home to its own Louvre museum (affiliated with the famed Paris institution); Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; and is building its own Guggenheim Museum as well.

The city is also big on sporting events, similar to Saudi Arabia’s recent focus on boxing, football and wrestling. Abu Dhabi has its own Formula 1 track which wraps around a five-star hotel operated by Marriott. It also has a Ferrari-themed amusement park and continuously hosts UFC events on Yas Island.

Middle East Travel Roundup

Get the latest news from the Middle East in one easy-to-digest newsletter.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: abu dhabi , Tourism news , travel news , uae

Photo credit: The lobby at Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island, a luxury, All-inclusive resort on the Arabian Gulf in Abu Dhabi. Source: Ennismore.

The low-carbon city initiative and urban inbound tourism economy: a spatial difference-in-differences analysis

• Published: 05 April 2024

Cite this article

• Jiafeng Gu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5904-0897 1  

Although tourism is often treated as one of the crucial industries for the construction of low-carbon cities (LCCs), there is no systematic evidence on whether there is a causal relationship. This research aims to explore and empirically test the causal link between LCC initiatives and inbound tourism of cities using a spatial difference-in-differences approach with balanced panel data of 59 Chinese major tourism cities from 2000 to 2017. The results show that urban tourism by foreign tourists exhibits significant spatial spillover effects. Compared to non-LCCs, the number of foreign tourists on LCCs increased by 4.7 percentage points and the average length of stay of foreign tourists increased by 3.6 percentage points. The direct impact of the LCC initiative on foreign tourists was significant, while the indirect impact was insignificant. The findings of the study not only deepen the research on sustainable tourism behavior of inbound tourists, but also provide valuable references for cities to participate in the competition in the international tourism market through low-carbon development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Adeola, O., & Evans, O. (2020). ICT, infrastructure, and tourism development in Africa. Tourism Economics, 26 (1), 97–114.

Article   Google Scholar  

Aguiló, E., Rosselló, J., & Vila, M. (2017). Length of stay and daily tourist expenditure: A joint analysis. Tourism Management Perspectives, 21 , 10–17.

Akinboade, O. A., & Braimoh, L. A. (2010). International tourism and economic development in South Africa: A Granger causality test. International Journal of Tourism Research, 12 (2), 149–163.

Anselin, L. (1995). Local indicators of spatial association—LISA. Geographical Analysis, 27 (2), 93–115.

Baeumler, A., Ijjasz-Vasquez, E., & Mehndiratta, S. (2012). Sustainable low-carbon cities in China: Why it matters and what can be done. In Sustainable low-carbon cities in China . The World Bank Group.

Baker, D. A., & Crompton, J. L. (2000). Quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Annals of Tourism Research, 27 (3), 785–804.

Benger & Simon, N. (2014). Towards low carbon city planning in a medium sized low density city. Energy Procedia , 61 , 838–841.

Butts, K. (2021). Difference-in-differences estimation with spatial spillovers. 1–41. https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.03737v1

Carrera, E. J. S., Risso, W. A., & Brida, J. G. (2008). Tourism’s impact on long-run Mexican economic growth. Economics Bulletin, 3 (21), 1–8.

Google Scholar  

Castellanos-Verdugo, M., Vega-Vazquez, M., Angeles Oviedo-Garcia, M., & Orgaz-Aguera, F. (2016). The relevance of psychological factors in the ecotourist experience satisfaction through ecotourist site perceived value. Journal of Cleaner Production, 124 , 226–235.

Chen, J., Gao, M., Cheng, S., Liu, X., & Fan, W. (2021a). China’s city-level carbon emissions during 1992–2017 based on the inter-calibration of nighttime light data. Scientific Reports, 11 (1), 3323.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Chen, X., Li, J., Han, W., & Liu, S. (2021b). Urban tourism destination image perception based on LDA integrating social network and emotion analysis: The example of Wuhan. Sustainability, 14 (1), 12.

Chiu, C. N. (2021). Tourism expansion and economic development: Evidence from the United States and China. Journal of China Tourism Research, 17 (1), 120–141.

Chiu, Y., Zhang, W., & Ding, K. (2021). Does Globalization influence inbound tourism? Evidence from a dynamic panel threshold analysis. Journal of Travel Research, 60 (5), 1074–1084.

Cho, Y.-J., Wang, Y., & Hsu, L.L.-I. (2016). Constructing Taiwan’s low-carbon tourism development suitability evaluation indicators. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 21 (6), 658–677.

Clausen, C. (2012). Odense’s visionary traffic and mobility plan will generate a third more public transport trips by 2025. Public Transport International, 61 (1), 28–29.

Cooper, J. A., & Mccullough, B. P. (2021). Bracketing sustainability: Carbon footprinting March Madness to rethink sustainable tourism approaches and measurements. Journal of Cleaner Production, 318 (6), 128475.

Crampon, L. J., & Tan, K. T. (2013). A model of tourism flow into the Pacific. Tourism Review, 28 (3), 98–104.

Deng, F., Fang, Y., Xu, L., & Li, Z. (2020). Tourism, transportation and low-carbon city system coupling coordination degree: A case study in Chongqing municipality, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (3), 792.

Dong, L., Fujita, T., Zhang, H., Dai, M., Fujii, M., Ohnishi, S., Geng, Y., & Liu, D. Z. (2013). Promoting low-carbon city through industrial symbiosis: A case in China by applying HPIMO model - ScienceDirect. Energy Policy, 61 (61), 864–873.

Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P., Madden, J., & Spurr, R. (2000). Economic impacts of inbound tourism under different assumptions regarding the macroeconomy. Current Issues in Tourism, 3 (4), 325–363.

Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P., Spurr, R., & Hoque, S. (2013). Economic impacts of a carbon tax on the Australian tourism industry. Journal of Travel Research, 52 (2), 143–155.

Edwards, D., Griffin, T., & Hayllar, B. (2008). Urban tourism research: Developing an Agenda. Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (4), 1032–1052.

Falk, M., & Hagsten, E. (2019). Ways of the green tourist in Europe. Journal of Cleaner Production, 225 , 1033–1043.

Feizi, S., Heydari, R., & Rostaei, S. (2021). Investigating the impact of destination branding on the development of urban tourism (case study of Tabriz Metropolis). Journal of Applied Researches in Geographical Sciences, 20 (59), 229–252.

Fmls, R. R. S., Oden, N. L., & Thomson, B. A. (2010). Local spatial autocorrelation in biological variables. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 65 (1), 41–62.

Gao, X. (2012). The life cycle routes for the green residential buildings in china’s low-carbon city background. Advanced Materials Research, 347–353 , 1387–1390.

Ghosh, S. (2021). Modelling inbound international tourism demand in Australia: Lessons from the pandemics. International Journal of Tourism Research, 24 (1), 71–81.

Ghosh, S. (2022). Geopolitical risk, economic growth, economic uncertainty and international inbound tourism: An Indian Illustration. Review of Economics & Political Science, 7 (1), 2–21.

Gil-Pareja, S., Llorca-Vivero, R., Antonio, J., & Martínez-Serrano. (2007). The impact of embassies and consulates on tourism. Tourism Management , 28 (2), 355–360.

Gössling, S. (2013). National emissions from tourism: An overlooked policy challenge? Energy Policy, 59 (8), 433–442.

Gössling, S., Scottc, D., & Halld, M. (2015). Inter-market variability in CO 2 emission-intensities in tourism: Implications for destination marketing and carbon management. Tourism Management, 46 , 203–212.

Gu, J. (2021a). Determinants of biopharmaceutical R&D expenditures in China: The impact of spatiotemporal context. Scientometrics, 06 , 1–21.

Gu, J. (2021b). Effects of patent policy on outputs and commercialization of academic patents in China: A spatial difference-in-differences analysis. Sustainability, 13 (23), 13459. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313459

Gu, J. (2021c). Spatiotemporal context and firm performance: The mediating effect of strategic interaction. Growth & Change, 52 (1), 371–391.

Gu, J. (2022). Sharing economy, technological innovation and carbon emissions: Evidence from Chinese cities. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7 (2), 100228.

Gu, J. (2023a). Do neighbours shape the tourism spending of rural households? Evidence from China. Current Issues in Tourism, 26 (3), 2217–2221.

Gu, J. (2023b). High-speed rails and city innovation system: Empirical evidence from China. Systems, 11 (1), 24.

Gu, J. (2023c). The impacts of the low-carbon city policy on urban air pollution in China. Energy & Environment . https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X231151680

Gu, J. (2024). The impact of national tourism day festivals on inbound tourism: A spatial difference-in-differences approach. Tourism Economics, 30 (2), 417–441.

Guo, J., Wu, X., Guo, Y., Tang, Y., & Dzandu, M. (2021). Spatiotemporal impact of major events on air quality based on spatial differences-in-differences model: Big data analysis from China. Natural Hazards, 107 , 2583–2604.

Happonen, M., Rasmusson, L., Elofsson, A., & Kamb, A. (2023). Aviation’s climate impact allocated to inbound tourism: Decision-making insights for “climate-ambitious” destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31 (8), 1885–1901.

Heckert, M. (2015). A spatial difference-in-differences approach to studying the effect of greening vacant land on property values. Cityscape, 17 (1), 51–60.

Hou, X. L., Wang, J., & Xiao, C. J. (2012). Development strategies of low-carbon tourism attractions based on tourists’ low-carbon cognition. Advanced Materials Research, 524–527 , 2517–2521.

Hsiao, T.-Y., Sung, P.-L., & Lu, C.-Y. (2017). International tourists purchase intention towards low-carbon tour packages. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, 9 (3), 1–13.

Huang, X., Han, Y., Gong, X., & Liu, X. (2020). Does the belt and road initiative stimulate China’s inbound tourist market? An empirical study using the gravity model with a DID method. Tourism Economics, 26 (2), 299–323.

Hughes, G. (1991). Tourism and the geographical imagination. Leisure Studies, 11 (1), 31–42.

Hussain, M. N. (2023). Evaluating the impact of air transportation, railway transportation, and trade openness on inbound and outbound tourism in BRI countries. Journal of Air Transport Management, 106 , 102307.

Iacuone, S., & Zarrilli, L. (2018). Business tourism in China. The case of Guangzhou. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites , 23 (3), 656–667.

Khadaroo, J., & Seetanah, B. (2008). The role of transport infrastructure in international tourism development: A gravity model approach. Tourism Management, 29 (5), 831–840.

Kim, Y. R., M.Williams, A., Park, S., & Chen, J. L. (2021). Spatial spillovers of agglomeration economies and productivity in the tourism industry: The case of the UK. Tourism Management , 82 , 104201.

Kosfeld, R., Mitze, T., Rode, J., & Wlde, K. (2021). The Covid-19 containment effects of public health measures A spatial difference-in-differences approach. Journal of Regional Science, 61 (4), 799–825.

Kume, A., Charles, K., Berehane, Y., Anders, E., & Ali, A. (2011). Magnitude and variation of traffic air pollution as measured by CO in the City of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, 24 (3), 156–166.

Law, C. C. H., Zhang, Y., Gow, J., & Vu, X.-B. (2022). Dynamic relationship between air transport, economic growth and inbound tourism in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Journal of Air Transport Management, 98 , 102161.

Lee, H. Y., Bonn, M. A., Reid, E. L., & Kim, W. G. (2017). Differences in tourist ethical judgment and responsible tourism intention: An ethical scenario approach. Tourism Management, 60 , 298–307.

Lee, T. H., & Jan, F. H. (2019). The low-carbon tourism experience: A multidimensional scale development. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 43 (6), 890–918.

Lee, U.-K. (2021). The effect of confirmation of nation brand image in international tourism advertisement on travel intention of foreign tourists: The case of Korean ITA for Chinese tourists. SAGE Open, 11 (1), 1–15.

Li, S., & Lv, Z. (2021). Do spatial spillovers matter? Estimating the impact of tourism development on CO 2 emissions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28 , 32777–32794.

Liang, C. M., Lee, C., Lin, Y. H., Yu, Z., & Yeh, W. C. (2020). The impact of luxury housing on neighborhood housing prices: An application of the spatial difference-in-differences method. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 24 (6), 456–473.

Liu, Y. M., Dong, Y. D., & Wu, J. (2014). Relationship between number of tourists and environment of scenic. Advanced Materials Research, 955–959 , 1565–1568.

Liu, Z., Wang, J., & Thomas, C. W. (2021). What motivates local sustainability policy action in China? The case of low-carbon city pilot program. Urban Affairs Review (1), 107808742199524.

Ma, J., Hu, Q., Shen, W., & Wei, X. (2021). Does the low-carbon city pilot policy promote green technology innovation? Based on green patent data of chinese a-share listed companies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (7), 3695.

Morrison, A. M., & Maxim, C. (2021). World Tourism cities: A systematic approach to urban tourism . Routledge.

Moufakkir, O. (2007). Heritage attractions and the case of the Dutch windmills. Tourism Analysis, 12 (5–6), 493–497.

Musavengane, R., Leonard, L., & Siakwah, P. (2020). Navigating urban tourism amidst environmental, political and social risks. In L. Leonard, R. Musavengane, & P. Siakwah (Eds.), Sustainable urban tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa . Routledge.

Pan, W., Liu, Y., & Deng, L. (2017). The spatial evolution pattern of inbound tourism in China and its impact factors. Journal of Discrete Mathematical Sciences & Cryptography, 20 (6–7), 1291–1295.

Petrova, P., & Hristov, D. (2014). Collaborative management and planning of urban heritage tourism: public sector perspective. International Journal of Tourism Research, 18 (1), 1–19.

Phdungsilp, A. (2010). Integrated energy and carbon modeling with a decision support system: Policy scenarios for low-carbon city development in Bangkok. Energy Policy, 38 (9), 4808–4817.

Pieri, S. P., Stamos, A., & Tzouvadakis, I. (2014). Reducing tourist carbon footprint through strategic mapping of the existing hotel stock—Attica. International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 35 (8), 734–745.

Pongthanaisawan, J., Wangjiraniran, W., Chuenwong, K., & Pimonsree, L. (2018). Scenario planning for low carbon tourism city: A case study of nan. Energy Procedia, 152 , 715–724.

Qureshi, M. I., Elashkar, E. E., Shoukry, A. M., Aamir, A., Mahmood, N. H. N., Rasli, A. M., & Zaman, K. (2019). Measuring the ecological footprint of inbound and outbound tourists: Evidence from a panel of 35 countries. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 21 (10), 1949–1967.

Qureshi, M. I., Hassan, M. A., Hishan, S. S., Rasli, A. M., & Zaman, K. (2017). Dynamic linkages between sustainable tourism, energy, health and wealth: Evidence from top 80 international tourist destination cities in 37 countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 158 , 143–155.

Ruocco, G. D., Iglesias, L. P., Blandón, B., & Melella, R. (2020). Low-carbon tourism—technical, economic and management project of a greenway, for enhancing inner areas of the Cilento National Park, Italy. Sustainability, 12 (23), 10012.

Schänzel, H. A., & McIntosh, A. J. (2010). An insight into the personal and emotive context of wildlife viewing at the penguin place, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 8 (1), 36–52.

Seok, H., Barnett, G. A., & Nam, Y. (2020). A social network analysis of international tourism flow. Quality & Quantity, 55 , 419–439.

Shi, T., Zhang, W., Zhou, Q., & Wang, K. (2020). Industrial structure, urban governance and haze pollution: Spatiotemporal evidence from China. Science of the Total Environment, 742 , 139228.

Shmuel, I., & Cohen, N. (2020). The Geographical imagination of Israeli tourists to Turkey. International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research, 14 (3), 385–399.

Shoeb-Ur-Rahman, M., & Shahid, R. B. (2012). A growing dilemma of tourism diffusion and suitability: Wow and woes for Bangladesh Eco-tourism. Utms Journal of Economics, 3 (1), 57–69.

Sperling, J. B., & Ramaswami, A. (2013). Exploring health outcomes as a motivator for low-carbon city development: Implications for infrastructure interventions in Asian cities. Habitat International, 37 (1), 113–123.

Stanchev, H., Stancheva, M., & Young, R. (2015). Implications of population and tourism development growth for Bulgarian coastal zone. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 19 (1), 59–72.

Su, M., Li, R., Lu, W., Chen, C., Chen, B., & Yang, Z. (2013). Evaluation of a low-carbon city: method and application. Entropy, 15 (4), 1171–1185.

Suharyono, S., & Digdowiseiso, K. (2020). The effects of environmental quality on Indonesia’s inbound tourism. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 11 (1), 9–14.

Sun, G., Liu, Y., Qian, Q., He, Y., Shi, Y., & Zhu, Y. (2023). Environmental regulation and tourism industry development: Evidence from China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 30 (34), 81531–81549.

Sung, P. L., Hsiao, T. Y., Huang, L., & Morrison, A. M. (2021). The influence of green trust on travel agency intentions to promote low-carbon tours for the purpose of sustainable development. Corporate Social-Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28 (4), 1185–1199.

Suresh, K. G., & Tiwari, A. K. (2018). Does international tourism affect international trade and economic growth? The Indian Experience. Empirical Economics, 54 (3), 945–957.

Tan, S., Yang, J., Yan, J., Lee, C., Hashim, H., & Chen, B. (2017). A holistic low carbon city indicator framework for sustainable development. Applied Energy , 185 (pt.2), 1919–1930.

Tang, C., Zhong, L., & Ng, P. (2017). Factors that influence the tourism industry’s carbon emissions: A tourism area life cycle model perspective. Energy Policy, 109 , 704–718.

Trauer, B., & Ryan, C. (2005). Destination image, romance and place experience: An application of intimacy theory in tourism. Tourism Management, 26 (4), 481–491.

Türedi, S., Şit, M., Karadağ, H., & Lee, C. G. (2023). Does healthcare sector development affect inbound tourism? Evidence from ASEAN Countries. Tourism Economics, 29 (6), 1662–1670.

Verma, T., Rebelo, L., & Araújo, N. (2019). Impact of perceived distances on international tourism. PLoS ONE, 14 (12), e0225315.

Wang, C., Lim, M. K., Zhang, X., Zhao, L., & Lee, T. W. (2020). Railway and road infrastructure in the Belt and Road Initiative countries: Estimating the impact of transport infrastructure on economic growth. Transportation Research Part a: Policy and Practice, 134 , 288–307.

Wang, C. M., & Wu, T. P. (2021). Does tourism promote or reduce environmental pollution? Evidence from major tourist arrival countries. Environment Development and Sustainability, 24 , 3334–3355.

Wang, Q., Mao, Z., Xian, L., & Liang, Z. (2019). A study on the coupling coordination between tourism and the low-carbon city. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 24 (6), 550–562.

Weber-Sabil, J., Lalicic, L., Buijtenweg, T. P., Hutchinson, K., Santos, C., Melissen, F., & Mayer, K. K. (2021). Managing competing values in sustainable urban tourism: A simulation-gaming approach. In M. Wardaszko, S. Meijer, H. Lukosch, H. Kanegae, W. C. Kriz, & M. Grzybowska-Brzezińska (Eds.), Simulation gaming through times and disciplines (pp. 221–234). Springer.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

WEF. (2009). Towards a low carbon travel and tourism sector .

Williams, J. (2016). Can low carbon city experiments transform the development regime? Futures, 77 , 80–96.

Wu, C.-W. (2015). Foreign tourists’ intentions in visiting leisure farms. Journal of Business Research, 68 (4), 757–762.

Xing-Zhu, Y., & Qun, W. (2014). Exploratory space–time analysis of inbound tourism flows to China cities. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16 (3), 303–312.

Xiong, Y., Bingham, D., Braun, W. J., & Hu, X. J. (2019). Moran’s I statistic-based nonparametric test with spatio-temporal observations. Journal of Nonparametric Statistics, 31 (1–2), 244–267.

Xu, J., Yao, L., & Mo, L. (2011). Simulation of low-carbon tourism in world natural and cultural heritage areas: An application to Shizhong District of Leshan City in China. Energy Policy, 39 (7), 4298–4307.

Xu, W., Sun, J., Liu, Y., Xiao, Y., Tian, Y., Zhao, B., & Zhang, X. (2019). Spatiotemporal variation and socioeconomic drivers of air pollution in China during 2005–2016. Journal of Environmental Management, 245 , 66–75.

Yang, S., Jahanger, A., & Hossain, M. R. (2023). How effective has the low-carbon city pilot policy been as an environmental intervention in curbing pollution? Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises. Energy Economics, 118 , 106523.

Yang, Y., & Wong, K. K. F. (2012). A spatial econometric approach to model spillover effects in tourism flows. Journal of Travel Research, 51 (6), 768–778.

Yao, Y., & Shen, X. (2021). Environmental protection and economic efficiency of low-carbon pilot cities in China. Environment Development and Sustainability, 23 , 18143–18166.

Yuan, Y.-H.E., & Wu, C. K. (2008). Relationship among experiential marketing, experiential value, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 32 (3), 387–410.

Zhang, H., Feng, C., & Zhou, X. (2022). Going carbon-neutral in China: Does the low-carbon city pilot policy improve carbon emission efficiency? Sustainable Production and Consumption, 33 , 312–329.

Zhang, J., Zhang, L., Qin, Y., Wang, X., & Zheng, Z. (2020). Influence of the built environment on urban residential low-carbon cognition in zhengzhou, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 271 (2), 122429.

Zhang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Carbon tax, tourism CO 2 emissions and economic welfare. Annals of Tourism Research, 69 , 18–30.

Zhang, X., & Yu, J. (2018). Spatial weights matrix selection and model averaging for spatial autoregressive models. Journal of Econometrics , S0304407617302245.

Zhao, C., & Wang, B. (2021). Does China’s low-carbon pilot policy promote foreign direct investment? An empirical study based on city-level panel data of China. Sustainability, 13 (19), 10848.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Social Science Foundation of China (17BSH122) for the support of this research.

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China (17BSH122).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Institute of Social Science Survey, Peking University, Room 445, Science Building 5, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, 100871, China

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiafeng Gu .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Access to data

Jiafeng Gu had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Ethical statement

This research is funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China (17BSH122). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Because the data in this research is not collected from human subjects and is not involving Human Participants and/or Animals, EA is no needed in this research.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Gu, J. The low-carbon city initiative and urban inbound tourism economy: a spatial difference-in-differences analysis. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04815-y

Download citation

Received : 25 August 2023

Accepted : 16 March 2024

Published : 05 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04815-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Urban tourism
• Foreign tourists
• Low-carbon city
• Spatial spillover
• Spatial difference-in-differences
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

People spent thousands of dollars to watch the eclipse in Texas. It might be too cloudy for them to see anything

Weather patterns don’t care about eclipses.

While Texas is expecting an unprecedented surge in tourism for the April 8 total eclipse , a good number of those people may end up being disappointed with their choice. The current forecast for the area of the path of totality across the entire state is calling for cloud cover of between 50% and 100%.

Areas stretching from Cleveland to Syracuse, N.Y., are also expected to have potentially dense clouds.

It’s worth noting these are early forecasts and things could change. Typically, these sorts of predictions are much more accurate in the days directly leading up to the forecast date. But for people headed to the Lone Star State, it’s likely worrying. And there are millions of people on their way to Texas. Some cities in the central part of the state have preemptively declared a local state of disaster ahead of the tourist influx. Kaufman County, which is adjacent to Dallas County, expects as many as 200,000 people to flood in for the eclipse, doubling the population, which could greatly impact public services agencies.

South and Central Texas have the current highest risk of cloud cover. The Niagara Falls area also has a higher risk of cloud cover.

There are some regions along the path of totality, however, that forecasters say can expect clear skies. Caribou, Maine, should be especially good for eclipse chasers, and Indianapolis will have light coverage as well.

The cloud cover should be less of a factor for people who shelled out substantially to catch a ride on one of the specialty flights that will follow the path of totality. Delta Air Lines has two planned path-of-totality flights , one emanating from Dallas, the other from Austin. And Southwest Airlines has a pair of flights from the same cities that are anticipated to be in the direct path of the eclipse.

United Airlines , meanwhile, says inbound bookings to San Antonio are up 127%, and outbound flights are up 288%.

Latest in Lifestyle

• 0 minutes ago

How to watch the Final Four for free—and without cable

How to safari without the Jeep

Never apologize for double-packing and always buy a scarf and a pot of honey – 8 travel hacks from historian Bettany Hughes

$30 million cash caper in LA sparks cascade of speculation—’For that kind of money, you don’t just walk in and walk out with it,’ security expert says

How to watch the Women’s Final Four for free—and without cable

This Gen Zer applied to 1,700 jobs but only received one offer—and he says hiring managers didn’t contact him until he cussed them out on TikTok

Most popular.

California’s new $20-an-hour fast food minimum wage is so good that schools are worried they can’t compete for cafeteria workers

Nearly a quarter of baby boomer and late Gen X men are ‘unretiring’ or planning to because they can’t afford to kick up their feet in the current climate

MacKenzie Scott’s game-changing philanthropy still mystifies nonprofits: ‘Her gifts are super generous, but unfortunately, they don’t provide long term sustainability’

Rebel Wilson says her agency ‘liked her fat’ after seeing her paycheck jump from $3,500 for ‘Bridesmaids’ to $10 million

Sam Bankman-Fried’s mom tried to explain her son to the judge: ‘He has never felt happiness or pleasure in his life and does not think he is capable of feeling it’

Musk steps in to stem Tesla’s stock bleeding on report that it’s shuttering a long-planned $25,000 EV

Elektrostal Tourism

• Things To Do in Elektrostal
• Elektrostal Itineraries
• Elektrostal Hotels

Elektrostal Trip Planner

Plan your customized day by day trip plan for Elektrostal. Choose from various experinces categories as adventure, romantic and family and kids friendly for your trip using using Elektrostal trip planner.

• THINGS TO DO
• HOW TO REACH
• TOP RESTAURANTS
• Moscow Trip Planner
• Yaroslavl Oblast Trip Planner

Global Innovation Index 2023: Switzerland, Sweden and the U.S. lead the Global Innovation Ranking; Innovation Robust but Startup Funding Increasingly Uncertain

Geneva, September 27, 2023 PR/2023/908

Watch the launch event

• Global rankings
• Global leaders
• About the GII

Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore are the world’s most innovative economies in 2023, according to WIPO’s Global Innovation Index (GII), as a group of middle-income economies have emerged over the past decade as the fastest climbers of the ranking.

Video: Press conference Watch on YouTube

Resources for journalists

The GII 2023 uses 80 indicators to track global innovation trends in 130-plus economies, guiding policy makers and business leaders in stimulating human ingenuity. This year, the report’s findings are unveiled against a background of slow economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, high interest rates and geopolitical conflict.

The 2023 edition identifies an increasingly uncertain outlook for the venture capital (VC) that helps transform human ingenuity into new products and services, with the global value of VC funding marking a significant plunge last year.

In the annual ranking, China – the only middle-income economy in the GII top 30 – ranks 12 th followed by Japan in the 13 th position. Israel (14 th ) is back among the GII top 15, gaining two steps. Finland (6th) is on an upward trend along with Denmark (9 th ), Sweden (2nd) and the Baltic economies (Estonia 16 th , Lithuania 34 th and Latvia 37 th ).

In the past 10 years, Indonesia (61 st ) joins China, Türkiye (39 th ), India (40 th ), Viet Nam (46 th ), the Philippines (56 th ), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (62 nd ) in the group of middle-income economies to have climbed the GII rankings fastest. In the last four years, and since the pandemic started, Mauritius (57th), Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Pakistan have risen the most in rank (in order of rank progression).

A total of 21 economies outperformed on innovation as expected relative to their level of development, the majority located in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania. India, the Republic of Moldova and Viet Nam are each innovation overperformers for 13 years in a row. Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan maintain their overperformer status for a second year and Brazil for a third consecutive year.

A group of emerging economies are consistently climbing the GII ranks, showing how a focus on the innovation ecosystem can make a difference. Globally, despite a downturn in venture capital funding, the GII 2023 should reassure us that innovative activity currently continues to run strong but that innovative activity should continue to shift from quantity to quality. With the GII, policymakers across the world continue to have a rich and trusted source of data and information to craft pro-innovation policies to unleash the innovative potential of their people. WIPO Director General Daren Tang

Download the full report

Among the GII’s key findings:

• Scientific publications, research and development (R&D), the number of venture capital (VC) deals (but not their value) and patents continued to increase to higher than ever levels. However, growth rates were lower than the exceptional increases seen in 2021.
• In 2022, spending by corporations representing the largest investors in R&D reached USD 1.1 trillion in 2022 – a historic high. They increased their R&D spend by around 7.4 percent in 2022, down from 15 percent growth in 2021.
• Mirroring the recent surge of artificial intelligence, the ICT hardware sectors saw graphic card and chipmakers in the lead with the most notable R&D growth in 2022. Other sectors which cut back R&D spending during the pandemic, such as automobiles and travel and leisure, invested strongly again in 2022.
• According to preliminary data, global government R&D budgets are estimated to have increased in real terms in 2022. Significant increases took place in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and smaller ones in Germany, making up for cuts in other economies.
• Reflecting a deteriorating climate for risk finance, the total value of VC investments declined sharply by close to 40 percent in 2022, albeit from unusually high levels in 2021. Africa was the only region not to see a decline in 2022.
• The VC outlook for 2023 and 2024 is uncertain, with high interest rates likely to continue to impact the financing of innovation.
• Overall, technology adoption is developing positively even though penetration for some technologies, such as electric vehicles and cancer treatment, remains low.

Global rankings All 2023 rankings

• Switzerland (Number 1 in 2022)
• United States of America (2)
• United Kingdom (4)
• Singapore (7)
• Finland (9)
• Netherlands (5)
• Germany (8)
• Denmark (10)
• Republic of Korea (6)
• France (12)
• Israel (16)
• Canada (15)
• Estonia (18)
• Hong Kong, China (14)
• Austria (17)
• Norway (22)
• Iceland (20)

GII Co-Editors on Innovation

“We are witnessing exponential progress in digital technologies and many fields of deep science. This is providing a boost to innovation across sectors and holds the hope of providing solutions to some of our world’s complex problems in climate, food, health and related challenges.”

“While many governments still struggle with the massive amounts of public debt accumulated during COVID, the business sector has continued to increase its levels of innovation. However, this trend may hide growing disparities, as some sectors have attracted significant funding (typically artificial intelligence) while gaps have started to appear in the financing chain, especially venture capital for small and new businesses. Against the background of growing trade tensions and lower levels of international cooperation, such trends could hamper the ability of innovative firms to fully contribute to the resumption of sustainable growth.”

Global leaders in innovation in 2023 – Regional Breakdown

Northern america.

The United States (3 rd ) scores the best in the world in 13 of the 80 GII 2023 innovation indicators. It holds the number one spot globally in various critical indicators, including global corporate R&D investors, VC received, university quality, combined valuation of unicorn companies and the value of corporate intangible asset intensity.

Canada (15 th ) remains firmly positioned among the top 15 global innovators. The country leads in indicators including VC recipients (at first place), impact of its scientific publications (H-Index, 4) and software spending (5).

Europe hosts the greatest number of innovation leaders among the top 25 – 16 in total, one more than in 2022. Out of 39 European economies covered, 19 move up the rankings this year (seven more than last year), namely Sweden (2 nd ), Finland (6 th ), Denmark (9 th ), France (11 th ), Estonia (16 th ), Norway (19 th ), Ireland (22 nd ), Belgium (23 rd ), Italy (26 th ), Portugal (30 th ), Lithuania (34 th ), Latvia (37 th ), Greece (42 nd ), Slovakia (45 th ), Romania (47 th ), Serbia (53 rd ), North Macedonia (54 th ), Ukraine (55 th ) and Albania (83 rd ). 

Among economies improving their performance, France excels in intangible assets (at third place), global brands (4), industrial designs (8) and global corporate R&D investors (9). Belgium performs well in R&D expenditure (6), researchers (8) and university-industry R&D collaboration (9).

Serbia approaches the top 50 with a strong performance in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows (11) and labor productivity growth (14).

South East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania

Six South East Asia, East Asia and Oceania (SEAO) economies are world innovation leaders, namely Singapore (5 th ), the Republic of Korea (10 th ), China (12 th ), Japan (13 th ), Hong Kong, China (17 th ) and Australia (24 th ).

Eight economies within the SEAO region improve their rankings this year, with Indonesia (61 st , up from 75 th ) making the greatest advance. Indonesia excels in ICT-related indicators and ranks among the top 10 globally for university-industry R&D collaboration (5), state of cluster development (5), entrepreneurship policies and culture (5) and finance for startups and scaleups (8). Indonesia has made marked improvements in innovation outputs, notably in knowledge creation and online creativity.

Mongolia (68 th ), Brunei Darussalam (87 th ) and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (110 th ) also move up the rankings. 

Central and Southern Asia

In Central and Southern Asia, India (40 th ) is the best-ranked innovation economy in this region. The Islamic Republic of Iran (62 nd ), Kazakhstan (81 st , and a newcomer in the regional top three), and Uzbekistan (82 nd ) get close to the top 80.

India maintains its 40 th position overall and takes the helm in the lower middle-income group. It holds the record for overperforming on innovation for the 13 th consecutive year. India holds top rankings in key indicators including ICT services exports (at place 5), VC received (6), graduates in science and engineering (11) and global corporate R&D investors (13).

The Islamic Republic of Iran secures the 2 nd position within the region. It claims the top spot globally in trademarks (at first place), performs well in intangible assets (13), and is in the top 15 worldwide in graduates in science and engineering (3), market capitalization (5) and industrial designs (11).

Kazakhstan emerges as a newcomer in the regional top three and is one of only two economies that go up the rankings in the region, together with Nepal (108 th ). Pakistan and Uzbekistan overperform on innovation for the second consecutive year, while Pakistan also positions itself among the economies that have shown the most significant ascent in the GII over the past four years.

Northern Africa and Western Asia

Israel (14 th ), Cyprus (28 th ), the United Arab Emirates (32 nd ) and Türkiye lead in the innovation rankings for this region.

Israel gained two ranks. It leads the world in nine innovation indicators, including R&D expenditure, university-industry R&D collaboration, the cumulative value of its unicorn companies, WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications and ICT services exports.

The United Arab Emirates stabilizes close to the top 30 and ranks in the top five for its entrepreneurship policies and culture, policies for doing business, the number of researchers in businesses, and R&D financed by the private sector. Türkiye remains firmly placed among the group of middle-income economies within the GII top 65, and has climbed fastest in the ranks over the last decade. It ranks in the top five for its industry diversification, and excels notably in intangible assets, industrial designs and trademark filings.  

Joining the top 50 ranks are Saudi Arabia (48 th ) and Qatar (50 th ). Saudi Arabia performs well in ICT access (7), ICT use (10) and policies for doing business (16). Additionally, it excels in global corporate R&D investors (16) and global brand value (18).

The economies of Bahrain (67 th ), Oman (69 th ), Jordan (71 st ) and Egypt (86 th ) also experience significant improvements in their innovation rankings. Bahrain and Oman both enter the top 70, while Oman secures a spot among the top 10 worldwide in graduates in science and engineering (2) and government funding per pupil (9).

Georgia (65 th ) and Armenia (72 nd ) also make notable improvements. 

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil breaks into the top 50 economies in 2023. Following a steady ascent in recent years, it surpasses Chile (52 nd ) for the first time, securing its position as the most innovative economy in the region. Mexico (58 th ) follows, holding the third regional position.

Brazil climbs up five ranks this year, firmly establishing itself among the group of economies that have shown the most remarkable improvement in the GII over the past four years. Brazil excels in indicators including government’s online service (at place 14) and e-participation (11), both in the top 15 worldwide; the valuation of its 16 unicorn companies (22), representing 1.9 percent of its GDP in 2023; and intangible assets (31), ranking well worldwide for its trademarks (13), and its global brands value (39).

Jamaica (78 th ) also overperforms on innovation for its level of development.

In addition to Brazil , Uruguay (63 rd ) and El Salvador (95 th ) are the only other countries in the region that have improved their positions this year. Uruguay takes the lead in the top 10 for policies for doing business (4), ICT services imports (5), exports (7), and operational stability for businesses (10). El Salvador stands out with notable rankings in firms offering formal training (15) and trademarks (20).

Sub-Saharan Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritius (57 th ) leads the region, followed by South Africa (59 th ) making a stride by entering the top 60. Botswana (85 th ), Cabo Verde (91 st ) and Senegal (93 rd ) follow. Nine economies in the region improve their innovation rankings. South Africa , Senegal , Rwanda (103 rd , and leading the low-income group), Nigeria (109 th ), Togo (114 th ) and Mauritania (127 th ) are among the economies that have shown notable progress.

Mauritius leads worldwide in amount of relative VC invested (at place 1) and secures a spot among the top five in VC received (5). South Africa leads the region in knowledge and technology outputs, thanks to its good performance in software spending (28), patents by origin (34), PCT patent applications (40) and valuation of its unicorn companies (37). Botswana leads in business sophistication and performs well in loans from microfinance institutions (12).

Senegal takes the lead for the valuation of its unicorns and it performs well in gross capital formation (8), loans from microfinance institutions (10), FDI inflows (13) and VC received (19).

Rwanda , Madagascar (107 th ), South Africa , Senegal and Burundi (130 th ) stand out for overperforming on innovation relative to their level of economic development, with Rwanda excelling for 11 years.

About the Global Innovation Index

The Global Innovation Index 2023 (GII), in its 16 th edition this year, is published by WIPO in partnership with the Portulans Institute , which is supported by its Corporate and Academic Network partners. The GII Advisory Board provides important guidance .

Since its inception in 2007, the GII has shaped the innovation measurement agenda and become a cornerstone of economic policymaking, with an increasing number of governments systematically analyzing their annual GII results and designing policy responses to improve their performance.

Published annually, the core of the GII provides performance measures and ranks some 130-plus economies on their innovation ecosystems. The Index is built on a rich dataset – the collection of 80 indicators from international public and private sources – going beyond the traditional measures of innovation since the definition of innovation has broadened.

The GII 2023 is calculated as the average of two sub-indices. The Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the economy that enable and facilitate innovative activities and is grouped into five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication (see Framework). The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures the actual result of innovative activities within the economy and is divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

For each economy, an innovation brief is available, in which that economy’s performance on all indicators is recorded. The briefs – now available in an interactive fashion online as well – highlights an economy’s relative innovation strengths and weaknesses.

The index is submitted to an independent statistical audit by the Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards (COIN) from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.

Related Links

• Photos on Flickr

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency that serves the world’s innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere.

We do so by providing services that enable creators, innovators and entrepreneurs to protect and promote their intellectual property (IP) across borders and acting as a forum for addressing cutting-edge IP issues. Our IP data and information guide decisionmakers the world over. And our impact-driven projects and technical assistance ensure IP benefits everyone, everywhere.

• Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 / 338 72 24

Sights of Elektrostal, Moscow region

Table of contents:, history of the city, park of culture and leisure, historical and art museum, october cultural center, kristall ice palace, memorial complex, museum and exhibition complex.

2024 Author : Harold Hamphrey | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

In the Moscow region there is a small cozy town Elektrostal. Its sights for the most part have no historical value due to the fact that the city has a relatively small history. But for a visiting tourist or city dweller, they will be of interest. There is something to see, where to go to have an exciting leisure time.

Today the population of the city is 158 thousand people. Until the beginning of the 20th century there were several small workers' settlements here. After the opening of the electrometallurgical and equipment factories, the place began to be called the natural boundary of Calm. The construction of the railway made this settlement accessible, and workers and families flocked here to earn money. In 1925, the station was named Elektrostal, and the rapid increase in population allowed the village to receive the status of a city.

The founder of the city is a prominent Russian industrialist Nikolai Vtorov. It was he who opened the plant here, creating, in fact, a city-forming enterprise that is still operating. In Soviet times, it was a closed facility, and it was not easy to get to work here.

Today Elektrostal is a promising industrial city with a great future and a heroic past. It bears the proud name "City of Military and Labor Glory".

You can learn about the sights of Elektrostal with descriptions and photos here. There are places for walking, outdoor activities and cultural development.

Those who come to the city by train are met by a monument to the metallurgist. It was installed in November 2017 for the 100th anniversary of the Elektrostal plant. The attraction is made in the style of constructivism. The monument quickly won the love of the townspeople, because this city is supported by ordinary workers.

Elektrost altsy and the founding father of the plant, Nikolai Vtorov, are honored. In 2002, a monument was opened in honor of him, which became a landmark of the city of Elektrostal. The bronze sculpture is installed on the site where once stood a monument to the leader of the world proletariat, V. I. Lenin. Times change, characters change. Today, the plant, founded a century ago, is the largest in Russia. Vtorov himself, whose fortune was estimated at 60 million rubles in gold, according to Forbes magazine, was the owner of the largest capital at the beginning of the century. He was a banker, an industrialist, an entrepreneur, a man of action.

The monument was erected byinitiative of the townspeople who wished to perpetuate the monument to the great man.

One of the popular places for spending weekends and evenings among citizens and guests of the city is the Park of Culture and Leisure. Here you can ride attractions for children and adults, play slot machines, rollerblade or bike. The park is divided into two zones. Fans of unhurried walks in the fresh air make a promenade on the Quiet Alley, and those who prefer outdoor activities flock to the Entertainment Alley. The park has a summer stage, where concerts and cafes are regularly held.

Until 1999, there was no central museum among the attractions of Elektrostal in the Moscow Region. The expositions were exhibited in schools, the house of culture, in factory museums. The city was closed, so there was no large influx of tourists and visitors. The appearance of the historical and art museum made it possible for residents and guests of the city to learn a lot of useful information about their native land, the formation of the production process, and the difficult years of the war. The exposition consists of paintings by local artists, historical artifacts, household items, documents, books and much more. The collection is updated regularly. It also hosts outdoor exhibitions, which are always popular with the townspeople.

One of the main attractions of Elektrostal, the photo of which is available to almost every resident or visitor, is the Main Alley. On herpassers-by like to stroll along shady paths, townspeople rest by the fountain after a hard shift at the plant. Flower beds are the decoration of the alley. In 2006, a flower festival was held here for the first time, which has become traditional. Each enterprise of the city and private individuals give residents a real composition of fresh flowers, which pleases with bright colors all summer long. A riot of colors, aromas and a flight of fantasy reigns here. Walking through the park, you can see Snow White with a basket, a bright well, a multi-tiered cake made from fresh flowers, hearts of lovers or a fabulous house. It is almost impossible not to take a photo against the background of these compositions.

There is a cultural center in the city. It hosts performances by local creative teams and visiting stars, performances and circus performances.

In 1971, the ice palace "Crystal" was opened in the city. Almost immediately, a children's and youth hockey team was organized, which gained sports fame. This is the home sports arena for the Elektrostal hockey team. Matches of different levels are held on the ice.

There are sections for children who go in for hockey or figure skating. Citizens come here with their families to cheer for their favorite team or go ice skating.

Elektrostal is a city with a heroic past. During the war years, more than 12 thousand citizens came to the recruiting station and went to the front to defend their homeland. Almost 4 thousand of them did not return from the battle. To these heroesdedicated to the memorial complex with the inextinguishable Eternal Flame, opened in 1968

But the electricians took part in the war in Afghanistan and Chechnya. By decision of the city authorities, their memory is also immortalized in the memorial complex.

It has become a good tradition for newlyweds to lay flowers at this monument.

In 1999, a museum and exhibition complex was opened in the city, where, in addition to the exhibition hall, there are numerous circles for children, classes for young people, and a creative workshop. Various festivals, exhibitions, city holidays and other events are held within the walls and on the territory of the complex, which attract many spectators.

Listing the sights of Elektrostal, it is impossible not to mention the temples. There are several of them in the city: the church of St. John of Kronstadt, St. Andrew's Church, the hospital church of St. Panteleimon. Another new church is being built. In appearance, the temples look ancient, monumental, in the Novgorod style. But they were all built at the end of the 20th century.

Let there be no ancient artifacts among the sights of Elektrostal. But on the other hand, all of them are connected with the history of the city, with everyday work and military exploits of ordinary residents.

Recommended:

The best boarding houses (moscow region): review, description, names. boarding houses of the moscow region "all inclusive": an overview.

Recreation centers and boarding houses of the Moscow region allow you to comfortably spend weekends, vacations, celebrate an anniversary or holidays. Constantly busy Muscovites take the opportunity to escape from the embrace of the capital to recuperate, improve their he alth, think or just be with family and friends. Each district of the Moscow region has its own tourist places

Cities of the Moscow region. City of Moscow, Moscow Region: photo. City of Dzerzhinsky, Moscow region

Moscow region is the most populous subject of the Russian Federation. There are 77 cities on its territory, of which 19 have more than 100 thousand inhabitants, there are many industrial enterprises and cultural and educational institutions, and there is also a huge potential for the development of domestic tourism

Chekhov, Moscow region. Russia, Moscow region, Chekhov

This article will tell you about the amazing village. He literally from the first visit manages to fall in love with almost every traveler

Pushchino, Moscow region. Pushchino on the map. Sanatorium "Pushchino", Moscow region

In the south of the Moscow region, about 80 km from the capital, on the banks of the Oka River (at the confluence of the Lyubozhikha River) is one of the scientific centers of Russia - the Science City of Pushchino. Its population is just over 20,000 people

The most interesting sights of Pushkin Leningrad region. City of Pushkino, Moscow Region

Pushkin is the nearest suburb of St. Petersburg, mentioned in many works of art and official documents as Tsarskoye Selo (renamed in 1937)

Popular for the day

Where to go in Lyubertsy: the most interesting sights and entertainment

Tourism in India: general information, tips

The best amusement parks in Germany: a list with photos, reviews of tourists

Shanghai Zoo: description, photo, features, address

Where to rent a hotel in St. Petersburg inexpensively for two

Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort - luxury hotel in prestigious Nusa Dua

Members save 10% or more on over 100,000 hotels worldwide when you’re signed in

Elektrostal, visit elektrostal, check elektrostal hotel availability, popular places to visit.

• Electrostal History and Art Museum

You can spend time exploring the galleries in Electrostal History and Art Museum in Elektrostal. Take in the museums while you're in the area.

• Cities near Elektrostal

• Places of interest

Explore Drezna

Plan Your Trip to Drezna: Best of Drezna Tourism

Essential drezna.

• Publications
• Key Findings
• Interactive Data and Economy Profiles
• Full report

1. Download TTDI 2021 Dataset here →

2. predecessor travel & tourism competitive index archive pdf.

• Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2019
• Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2017
• Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2015
• Travel & Tourism Competitive Index 2013

3. Archive Dataset

4. archive report readers.