Switzerland No 1 for tourism competitiveness

Switzerland has been ranked first for the second year running on the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness report.

“Switzerland is not only an attractive tourism destination but is also an important business travel hub, with many international fairs and exhibitions held in the country each year,” the WEF report said.

The report measured the competitiveness in the travel and tourism sector of 139 countries by examining indictors such as regulations and the business environment, human, cultural and natural resources, and safety and security.

Switzerland ranked in the top five for protection of property rights, transparency in government policy making, and stringency of environmental regulation and enforcement.

However the country was listed near the bottom for price competitiveness (127). Other categories where it is not in the top ten include the prevalence of foreign ownership (17), business impact of foreign ownership rules (26) and cost to business of terrorism (26).