If you were ever curious as to which is the friendliest nation towards tourists, there’s now a definitive answer.
The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2013 has gone to the trouble of rating 140 countries according to their attractiveness and ability to develop their travel and tourism industries.
Buried deep in the mammoth 500 page report, is a measurement of the ‘attitude of a population toward foreign visitors’.
Topping the list is Iceland, while our neighbours New Zealand came in at number two and Morocco third.
Australia was a long way down at 27, and Greece came in at 37. Surprisingly sitting at number four was FYROM, and this time Greece beat Cyprus, who came in at 48.
Interestingly, the top ten was not exclusive to one continent. Rather, every single continent made the top 10, showing that friendliness doesn’t discriminate.
The ‘unfriendliest’ to tourists; Bolivia, Venuzuela, Russia and Kuwait.
The TTCI also found that Australia and New Zealand rank 11th and 12th in the world in terms of global tourism competitiveness.
In terms of cultural resources, Greece ranked 25th and 3rd in tourism infrastructure. The report also noted that Greece’s economic and political woes did hinder the overall score of 32. It was down by three points since 2011.
Friendliest
1. Iceland
2. New Zealand
3. Morocco
4. FYROM
5. Austria
6. Senegal
7. Portugal
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina
9. Ireland
10. Burkina Faso
Unfriendliest
1. Bolivia
2. Venezuela
3. Russian Federation
4. Kuwait
5. Latvia
6. Iran
7. Pakistan
8. Slovak Republic
9. Bulgaria
10. Mongolia