The State of Global Tourism Competition in 6 Charts
Photo Credit: Destinations have made progress on sustainability and visas but more work lies ahead. Pictured are tourists on a river cruise on the Seine in Paris. Flickr / computix
Skift Take
Travel brands have an economic incentive to push policy makers and private sectors in their destinations on sustainability and leaner visa policies because tourists will reward them with higher spending and likely repeat visits.
While many travel industry brands have introduced more eco-friendly practices and made it easier for travelers to enter a destination, tourists around the world are increasingly concerned with their carbon footprints and destinations' level of openness as the U.S. travel ban weighs on minds of global travelers.
Tourists spend more in destinations when they perceive them to have sustainable or environmental-friendly practices in place, according to the World Economic Forum's 2017 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report.
"Although this relationship is complex, and there is no evidence of direct causality, the more pristine the natural environment of a country, the more tourists are inclined to travel there, and the more they are willing to pay to access well-preserved areas," the report states. "Consequently, as the natural capital depletes, destinations lose revenue."
But according to the Executive Opinion Survey, which is based on a survey of about 100 business executives
