The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013

More documents

Recommendations

Info

1.2: How to Succeed as a Tourism Destination in a Volatile World Figure 1: Travel & Tourism competitiveness enablers and change drivers Source: Booz & Company. Regional demand shifts Economic downturn (“double dip”) Natural disasters Terrorism Disruptive events Natural resources Policy rules and regulations Tourism infrastructure Safety and security to manage. Examples of such large projects that have proven unwieldy are recent European rail and airport projects such as the Berlin airport, which has had multiple problems and delays. Many destinations are still catering their touristic offerings to very few, mature source markets—and such destinations risk losing touch with tourists from emerging source regions such as Asia, Russia, or Latin America, whose needs differ significantly from those of the typical Western traveler. For example, introducing sophisticated methods of demand segmentation and profiling to attract the growing number of Chinese travelers will become increasingly important. All these challenges have affected Travel & Tourism (T&T) in recent years, but they have not stopped the overall dynamic in the sector, which is driven by desire to travel abroad, visit foreign places, or just relax. Travel & Tourism remains a strong engine of growth, representing nearly 10 percent of global economic activity if all adjacent services are taken into account. Instability is a new reality that carries opportunities as well as risk. This is why tourism destinations, policymakers, and 44 | The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 FACTORS OF TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS Price competitiveness in the Travel & Tourism industry Environmental sustainability TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS Ground transport infrastructure Air transport infrastructure EXTERNAL CHANGE/DRIVERS Accelerating trends Affinity for Travel & Tourism Human resources Cultural resources Prioritization of Travel & Tourism ICT infrastructure Health and hygiene Political instability Inflation/exchange rates Digitization/mobile devices Aging population private-sector stakeholders need to act decisively to develop the right capabilities to succeed going forward. SEPARATING DIFFERENTIATORS FROM ENABLERS The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) described in Chapter 1.1 measures a variety of criteria that enable the competitiveness of economies in driving inbound tourism growth—including natural scenery; proper, well-maintained infrastructure; and sound, open-market policies. Some factors qualify a country only to compete for tourists, while others create true differentiation among potential destinations to achieve long-term attractiveness for foreign visitors. The building blocks of any tourism destination are assets such as natural scenery and cultural heritage as well as properly functioning infrastructure that allows travelers to access a country and move comfortably within it. Without these building blocks, a country cannot compete in the global tourism market. However, these assets require significant investment in terms of conservation (in the case of natural treasures) and maintenance (in the case of physical infrastructure, © 2013 World Economic Forum
which tends to lose value over time). Policymakers need to develop long-term plans in order to best cater for inbound tourism flows. But these efforts alone do not generate true differentiation from other countries that are doing exactly the same thing. To build advantage over competing countries, policymakers and destination managers need to identify and leverage capabilities that make their destination distinctive. This chapter examines the connection between T&T competitiveness (as measured by the TTCI) and a score on how dynamic and stable inbound tourism has developed in a given country (Travel & Tourism Stable Growth Performance Score—see Box 1) over the past five years. An examination of the 20 highest- and lowestranked economies in the TTCI shows which pillars of tourism competitiveness have proven to be most effective in driving stable inbound tourism growth (Figure 2). For example, a high score in the TTCI indicator Affinity for Travel & Tourism also means a high score in stable growth performance of tourism development in recent years. These factors are true differentiators that create a strong stable growth record in the inbound tourism industry. The results reinforce the idea that policymakers have the means to steer their tourism destination toward resilience against short-term shocks and prepare for long-term stability by focusing on certain areas where leading countries stand out over their underperforming peers. Best-practice policies and sector-development strategies from highly competitive tourism destinations have proven successful in weathering the economic downturn and preparing for more volatility going forward. Each country should identify its specific key areas of tourism opportunities and align its policy focus around these core capabilities. These differentiators are diverse—reflecting a mixture of international travel needs and experiences—and range from reestablishing the trust of visitors after periods of instability and maintaining price competitiveness in uncertain market surroundings to making sustainability a winning factor and turning an affinity for tourism into successful destination development. We have identified the 5 (out of 14) pillars from the TTCI that are correlated most closely with our Stable Growth Performance Score (Figure 3); in the reminder of this section we describe them in greater detail. Building on their existing Affinity for Travel & Tourism, policymakers should aim to generate a positive climate for tourism and tie tourism businesses closely to the overall economy—apart from large-scale investments or infrastructure expansion. Going forward, fully supporting local communities, small businesses, and individual entrepreneurs will be key to converting openness to foreign visitors into developing touristic services that collectively make a destination distinctive. © 2013 World Economic Forum 1.2: How to Succeed as a Tourism Destination in a Volatile World Box 1: The Travel & Tourism Stable Growth Performance Score Booz & Company has calculated a Travel & Tourism Stable Growth Performance Score based on international tourist arrivals data from the World Tourism Organization in a sample group of 74 most-visited countries in 2011 as the foremost measure of inbound tourism performance. We define stable growth performance as the simple average of inbound tourism growth (the compound annual growth rate in the period of 2007–11) and the volatility of growth (the standard deviation of annual growth rates in the same period) per economy. Economies with high growth rates and low volatility rates score high, and vice versa. To differentiate competitiveness enablers for destinations with developed and developing tourism, we have focused on the 20 highest- and lowest-ranked economies in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) based on the 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2013 editions. For each of these two groups, we have calculated the correlation factor of their TTCI pillar scores with our Stable Growth Performance Score. In addition, encouraging tourists to return requires a holistic view of the traveler lifecycle rather than one-sizefits-all campaigning. Australia, for instance, connects young people to its country by offering “work & travel” opportunities through various local businesses; as these travelers mature and have more money to spend, they want to return. Policymakers need to strengthen their core area of competence—Policy rules and regulations—with a clear focus on long-term approaches to tourism development combined with agility in reacting to short-term changes. To realize the full potential of the tourism sector, it will be critical to lower existing entry barriers in terms of infrastructure or visa regulations, drive private-sector investment through further liberalization, and empower local communities to participate in the tourism value chain, as well as establish cross-border cooperation with other destinations. For instance, Ireland has launched a national program called “The Gathering Ireland” through which businesses, sport clubs, cultural establishments, and local authorities are asked to showcase ideas on how best to attract travelers to the country—with the ultimate goal of promoting an economic revival after the crisis with tourism as one of its cornerstones. Price competitiveness will certainly remain a key differentiator across a variety of dimensions. On the macro level, exchange rate fluctuations will continue to be a major and unpredictable factor that influences travel behavior. These fluctuations will have a particularly severe impact on destinations that focus on “budget travelers” who are less loyal to specific destinations than they are keen on finding inexpensive traveling opportunities. Today, tourists enjoy near-perfect The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 | 45
Page 1:
Insight Report The Travel & Tourism
Page 4 and 5:
The Travel & Tourism Competitivenes
Page 6 and 7:
© 2013 World Economic Forum
Page 8 and 9:
Partner Institutes Burundi Universi
Page 10 and 11:
Partner Institutes Kyrgyz Republic
Page 12 and 13:
Partner Institutes Slovenia Institu
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Preface aviation sector creates sus
Page 18 and 19:
Executive Summary Table 1: The Trav
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27: Executive Summary of commitment in
Page 28 and 29: Executive Summary Table 6: The Trav
Page 30 and 31: Executive Summary Dirk Glaesser and
Page 32 and 33: © 2013 World Economic Forum
Page 36 and 37: 1.1: The Travel & Tourism Competiti
Page 78 and 79: 1.2: How to Succeed as a Tourism De
Page 82 and 83: 1.3: Visa Facilitation certain cate
Page 84 and 85: 1.3: Visa Facilitation Table 2: Top
Page 86 and 87: 1.3: Visa Facilitation Table 3: For
Page 90 and 91: 1.4: The Economic Benefits of Aviat
Page 92 and 93: 1.4: The Economic Benefits of Aviat
Page 96 and 97: 1.5: Travel & Tourism as a Driver o
Page 104 and 105: 1.6: Competiveness, Jobs, and Green
Page 114: © 2013 World Economic Forum
Page 399 and 400:
2.2 Data Tables © 2013 World Econo
Page 402:
Page 428:
Page 484:
Page 502 and 503:
Page 504 and 505:
Technical Notes and Sources 1.09 GA
Page 506 and 507:
Technical Notes and Sources 6.02 Av
Page 508 and 509:
Technical Notes and Sources PILLAR
Page 510 and 511:
Page 512 and 513:
About the Authors John Kester John
Page 514 and 515:
Acknowledgments 482 | The Travel &
Page 516 and 517:
Acknowledgments 484 | The Travel &
show all

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?