Japan Leads Global Tourism Development as India Climbs to 31st in WEF 2026 Index

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In 2026, the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026 ranks Japan as the leading destination in its ranking, whereas India has improved its performance by rising nine spots to the rank of 31 among 110 countries. According to the latest ranking, the development of tourism continues to be a positive phenomenon in the majority of countries in the world, with emerging destinations developing more rapidly and catching up to their counterparts that have traditionally been popular among tourists. While the 2026 ranking was released by the World Economic Forum on 25 September, it should be noted that it is not 29 September, as it is often quoted.

Japan Leads as Tourism Infrastructure Strengthens

Japan moved up two places from the previous edition to take first position. The United States ranks second, followed by Spain, Australia and France, while Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Italy complete the top 10.

Japan’s position reflects the breadth of conditions measured by the TTDI rather than visitor numbers alone. The index examines the infrastructure, connectivity, resources, policy environment, services and sustainability conditions that enable tourism to develop over the longer term.

This distinction matters because the TTDI is not a direct ranking of international arrivals or tourism receipts. Instead, it assesses the conditions and policies that support sustainable and resilient travel and tourism development.

India Climbs Nine Places to 31st

India has recorded one of the most closely watched movements in the 2026 index, rising to 31st from 39th in the previous edition using the WEF’s recalculated historical figures.

The improvement has been associated with India’s cost-competitive travel environment, cultural resources, natural attractions and developing tourism infrastructure. India also remains among the economies with the largest collections of World Heritage cultural sites, alongside China and Mexico.

For international tourism, the result places India within a wider group of major emerging markets whose tourism systems are improving faster than those of many established destinations.

The country still faces gaps. The WEF identifies tourist services and infrastructure, workforce capabilities and environmental sustainability as areas where further progress is important for continued development.

Global Tourism Development Accelerates

The strongest message from the 2026 TTDI is the breadth of improvement.

Of the 110 economies measured, 101, or 92%, recorded a higher TTDI score between 2024 and 2026. The average score increased by 2.1%, marking the fastest pace of improvement since 2019.

The gains were supported by stronger cultural resources, tourism infrastructure and services, air connectivity and business travel capacity.

The report also shows that tourism has moved beyond its post-pandemic recovery phase. International tourist arrivals reached about 1.5 billion in 2025, around 4.4% above the 2019 level, while the economic contribution of travel and tourism reached a record $11.6 trillion.

Emerging Markets Close Parts of the Gap

The changing balance becomes clearer when the WEF examines the 10 largest non-high-income travel and tourism economies.

China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam, the Philippines, Türkiye, Mexico and Brazil have collectively improved their TTDI scores more quickly than the top 20 economies since 2019. Their average score increased by 4.7% over that period, compared with 2.9% for the overall index and 1.9% for the top 20.

These economies also hold substantial tourism assets. Brazil, China, India and Mexico together account for more than 17% of UNESCO World Heritage natural sites among economies covered by the index.

Their strengths extend into cultural tourism, with China, India and Mexico among the top 10 economies for the number of World Heritage cultural sites. Competitive travel costs and natural resources add further advantages.

Mexico and Brazil Reflect the Emerging Tourism Shift

Mexico and Brazil are particularly relevant to the broader development story because both combine large tourism markets with substantial natural and cultural resources.

The WEF places them within the 10 major emerging tourism economies that are gaining ground against established markets. Their progress illustrates a wider shift in global tourism, where destinations with strong resources are increasingly investing in the infrastructure and services needed to convert those assets into more resilient visitor economies.

However, the development gap has not disappeared.

Tourist services and infrastructure remain the largest area separating major emerging tourism economies from the top 20. Workforce capabilities, business conditions and environmental sustainability also remain important challenges.

Asia-Pacific Becomes a Major Growth Engine

Asia-Pacific stands out in the regional results.

The region recorded a 3.6% increase in its average TTDI score between 2024 and 2026, the strongest regional improvement. Gains were linked to cultural resources, air transport infrastructure and non-leisure resources, reflecting stronger connectivity and growing capacity for both leisure and business travel.

Seven of the 10 fastest-improving economies are from Asia-Pacific, reinforcing the region’s growing importance in the global tourism development landscape.

Tourism Growth Now Comes With New Pressures

However, even the well-developed tourism systems of 2026 did not solve the problems caused by the fast growth. Competitiveness in pricing fell in about three-quarters of the economies during the period from 2024 to 2026. Moreover, investment in tourism has been failing to catch up with the demand, and there are potential problems connected with workforce shortages and skill mismatches that might influence the quality of service and adaptation to technological changes, especially concerning digitalisation and AI technologies. Thus, the WEF considers the next step of the process as managing growth rather than a simple increase in the number of visitors. As for Japan, the top rank is explained by the high level of developed systems in the sphere of tourism. Moving to 31st place for India shows the positive results achieved and proves that further development of the tourism infrastructure is possible for India. In the case of emerging countries, including Mexico and Brazil, the new index becomes a symbol of the global trend in the field: tourism development is not confined to the traditional leaders.