| Kiva Allgood Managing Director, World Economic Forum

| Cara Morton Chief Executive Officer, Global Businesses and Operations, Zurich Insurance Group

Recent geopolitical conflict, heatwaves and wildfires around the world are stark reminders of how exposed travel and tourism (T&T) remains to forces beyond the sector’s control. Disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region closed a critical aviation corridor linking Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, disrupting schedules, capacity, fares and traveller confidence, while climate-driven disruption across Europe and North America exposed mounting operational strain.

But disruption is only part of the story. Travel activity and visitor spending have reached record highs, with an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists travelling globally in 2025, according to data from the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer.¹ In 2025, travel and tourism’s total contribution to the global economy reached $11.6 trillion, while domestic visitor spending reached $5.63 trillion and international visitor spending totalled $2.02 trillion.² The travel and tourism sector also supported a record 366 million jobs worldwide in 2025, representing about one in every nine jobs globally.³

Travel and tourism’s value extends well beyond visitor spending. It supports jobs and local businesses, connects people and places, and helps communities share their culture, heritage and identity with the world. But sustaining this contribution depends on ensuring that growth translates into broader socioeconomic benefits for the places that host T&T – through quality employment, stronger local supply chains, higher public revenue and investment that improves local infrastructure and services.

As visitor numbers rise, that task is becoming more difficult. Pressure on infrastructure, housing, natural assets and public services is increasing, while accommodation, transport and operating costs are eroding affordability. At the same time, investment in infrastructure has not kept pace. Without stronger investment and destination management, there is a risk that tourism growth will place greater strain on the very communities and assets on which its long-term success depends.

Growth is no longer the challenge. Managing it – without weakening the systems, communities and assets on which long-term tourism success depends – is the opportunity.

The Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026 highlights this shift from rebuilding to managing growth. Increasingly, the destinations performing best are those able to convert visitor activity into lasting value. Japan’s rise to the top of this year’s rankings reflects more than visitor appeal. It demonstrates how strong foundations and effective destination management can turn travel and tourism activity into long-term advantage.

The choices made by governments, industry and investors will determine whether the next phase of tourism growth is better balanced and better managed than the last. Five priorities stand out: diversifying to reduce concentration risk; protecting access, visibility and operational continuity; competing on value rather than price alone; managing growth to maintain social licence; and strengthening the workforce and delivery systems that allow tourism to function.

This edition of the TTDI reflects a collective effort. We are grateful to the members of the Beyond Tourism Insights Council, whose expertise helped shape the 2026 framework and findings: American Express Global Business Travel, the Asian Development Bank, Bloom Consulting, Cinnamon Hotels, Destinations International, the European Travel Commission, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the International Air Transport Association, the Inter- American Development Bank Group, the JLL Global Tourism and Destination Development Group, Kearney, Microsoft, MMGY TCI Research, New York University, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Sommet Education, Technogym, Trip.com Group, UN Tourism, the University of Surrey, Visa, the World Bank Group, the World Travel & Tourism Council and Zurich Cover-More.

The TTDI helps public- and private-sector decisionmakers to understand what underpins sustainable and resilient tourism development, identify strengths and gaps, and benchmark progress over time. We hope this report supports a more informed debate about the future of the sector and the choices needed to ensure that tourism continues to create benefits for people, businesses and communities.