For the first time ever, a new and very important document has been produced by the World Economic Forum, similar to their famed World Investment Competitiveness Report. The new report, entitled Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report aims to explore the factors and policies driving travel and tourism competitiveness in nations worldwide.

A principal aim of this Report is to measure the competitiveness of individual economies’ T&T competitiveness, using the comprehensive vehicle that has been developed for this purpose, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The (TTCI), aims to measure the factors and policies that make it attractive to develop the T&T sector in different countries. The TTCI is composed of a number of “pillars” of T&T competitiveness, of which there are 13 in all. These are: Policy rules and regulations; Environmental regulation; Safety and security; Health and hygiene; Prioritization of Travel & Tourism; Air transport infrastructure; Ground transport infrastructure; Tourism infrastructure; ICT infrastructure; Price competitiveness in the T&T industry; Human resources; National tourism perception; Natural and cultural resources; Ground transport infrastructure; Tourism infrastructure; ICT infrastructure; Price competitiveness in the T&T industry; Human resources; National tourism perception; Natural and cultural resources.

 JTB Managing Director and the Marketing Director attended the official launch of the report at the sidelines of ITB Berlin. The first session witnessed a discussion with the WEF officials who worked on the document over the past several years while the second was a panel discussion with the tourism boards of the countries that lead the list. Switzerland, Austria and Germany came top three. Jordan came 46^th, preceded by only UAE, Tunis and Qatar from the Arab countries.

As this document looks at a wide spectrum of categories that are perceived as making a destination more competitive, the JTB is embarking on an in depth study based on the report that can be used as a strong base for negotiations with the government on certain imperative matters that could enhance the position of the country internationally. In addition, the officials who prepared this report will be visiting Jordan during the upcoming WEF conference in Jordan and the JTB is taking steps to hold a workshop for members and government about the report. The complete report can be downloaded from http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/TravelandTourismReport/index.htm Please keep in mind that this is the first release and much of the information and rankings are expected to change for next years report.