While Greece has climbed six places in the 2024 World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) compared to 2021, now ranking 21st among a total of 119 countries, it still lags behind several competing nations, according to a recent report from INSETE, the research body of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE).
Among these competing countries, Spain holds the best position at 2nd place, followed by France in 4th, Italy in 9th, and Portugal in 12th. Turkey ranks just below Greece at 29th, while Croatia is further behind at 46th.
Notably, Spain improved its ranking by one position since 2021, while France maintained its position. Italy also moved up one spot, Portugal climbed three places, and Turkey advanced five positions. Croatia gained one place compared to 2021.
In comparison to its competitors, Greece shows significant shortcomings in the Travel and Tourism Resources sub-indicator, which assesses factors contributing to the development and promotion of tourism — such as natural and cultural assets. Greece scored 3.1 in this category, while France and Spain scored 5.6 and 5.5, respectively. However, Greece has shown a slight improvement in this sub-indicator from its previous score of 3.0 in 2021.
Travel and Tourism Resources sub-indicator.
Greece also trails in the Price Competitiveness subcategory, with Spain and Croatia slightly outperforming Greece’s score of 3.6. Turkey leads this category with a score of 5.2. Greece’s score in this sub-category improved from 3.1 in 2021.
In the Prioritization of Travel & Tourism subcategory — which refers to the strategic importance attributed to the tourism sector — Greece scored 5.4, surpassing Croatia (4.8), France (4.9), Italy (5.2), and Portugal (5.1), although this marks a decline from its 2021 score.
Travel Tourism Development Index – Greece.
According to the INSETE study, Greece’s advancement in the Travel & Tourism Development Index can be further supported through the following actions:
– Training and upskilling: Implement training, retraining, and the adoption of new practices in the job market to enhance productivity in the hotel, hospitality, and transportation sectors.
– Digital transformation: Enhance the digitalization of services and train the workforce to facilitate the rapid application of new technologies.
– Strategic promotion: Strengthen the strategic promotion of Greece as a travel destination.
– Connectivity improvements: Increase connectivity with the international air transport network.
– Road network enhancement: Upgrade the road network beyond highways to include more and better roads with higher safety standards.
– Public transportation access: Improve access to public transportation.
– Natural and cultural heritage: Increase the number of registered natural monuments and cultural heritage sites in Greece, while protecting and promoting cultural heritage and traditional practices.
– Alternative tourism promotion: Focus efforts on highlighting and promoting alternative tourism markets.
– Sustainability initiatives: Limit emissions, ensure proper waste management, and protect and enhance the natural environment.
– Quality of life improvement: Enhance the quality of life in cities and urban centers, redirect tourists to less congested areas, expand the tourist season, and increase visitors’ overnight stays.
About the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024
The 2024 edition of the TTDI includes several improvements based on newly available data and recently developed indicators on the environmental and social impact of travel and tourism. The changes made to the 2024 Index limit its comparability to the previously published TTDI 2021. This year’s report includes recalculated 2019 and 2021 results, using new adjustments. TTDI 2024 reflects the latest available data at the time of collection – end of 2023.
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