WEF Report: India jumps to 34th rank on world travel and tourism competitiveness index

India has jumped six places to claim 34th spot on world Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report said on Wednesday.

In 2015, India had been ranked at 52nd and at 40th in 2017.

"India, which accounts for the majority of South Asia's travel and tourism (T & T) GDP, remains the subregion's most competitive T & T economy, moving up six places to rank 34th globally," the report says.

Taking to Twitter, Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel dedicated the achievement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

"In the WEF survey, India was ranked 65th in 2013, 52nd in 2015, 40th in 2017 and now 34th in 2019. These milestones are indicating that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is competent. Success is dedicated to him," he tweeted.

Spain tops the ranking index followed by France and Germany. Other countries in the top 10 include Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, and Switzerland.

According to the WEF report, over 1.5 crore international tourists arrived in India while the share of travel and tourism industry was 3.6 per cent and that of industry employment was 5.1 per cent.

"From a subregional perspective, the nation has better air (33rd) and ground and port infrastructure (28th), international openness (51st) and natural (14th) and cultural resources (8thCompared to global benchmarks, the country can also add price competitiveness (13th) to its roster of strengths," the report adds.

However, the report states that India still needs to enhance its enabling environment (98th), tourist service infrastructure (109th) and environmental sustainability (128th).