Sri Lanka has been ranked tenth among the world’s fastest-improving travel and tourism economies in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, after lifting its score 4.3% between 2024 and 2026.

The index, the 10th edition of the benchmark and produced with Zurich Insurance Group, was released in Geneva on Thursday 25 September at the Forum’s first Beyond Tourism Day — timed two days ahead of World Tourism Day, which falls today.

Where Sri Lanka sits

Sri Lanka finished last in the top ten risers, Newswire reported: Albania led on 7.0%, followed by Viet Nam (6.3%), Laos (6.1%), Qatar (6.0%), Malaysia (5.8%), Thailand (5.6%), the Philippines and Morocco (5.5% each), Nepal (5.1%) and Sri Lanka (4.3%).

Six of the nine economies ahead of Sri Lanka are regional competitors for the same long-haul and Asian source markets. Seven of the ten fastest improvers are Asia-Pacific economies, which matches the WEF’s own finding that the region dominated this edition’s gains.

Hiru News reported Sri Lanka’s overall placing as 69th globally on a score of 3.85, and said the island’s enabling conditions remain 4.7% below 2019 levels. Those two figures appear only in Hiru’s account; no other outlet reviewed carried them, and they are not in the WEF’s press material.

What the index measures — and what it warns

The TTDI scores the conditions that let tourism develop, not arrivals, spending or revenue. Newswire reports it covers 17 pillars, spanning infrastructure, air connectivity, cultural and natural resources, enabling conditions and sustainability.

Globally, 101 of 110 ranked economies improved between 2024 and 2026 — 92% — with the average up 2.1%, the fastest pace since 2019. Japan leads the index, followed by the United States, Spain, Australia and France; advanced economies hold nine of the top ten places.

The Forum paired that with a warning. Travel became less affordable in three of every four economies, investment failed to keep pace with demand, labour shortages bit, and benefits to local communities weakened.

“The next chapter is not simply about attracting more visitors, but it is going to be about creating greater value by investing in people, infrastructure and stronger public-private collaboration,” said Ramya Krishnaswamy, the Forum’s Head of Experience Economy and Cities.

More visitors “do not automatically translate into better livelihoods or higher quality jobs”, the report found — “particularly in destinations where tourism is highly seasonal.” Hiru reported the same constraints applying locally: inflation eroding price competitiveness, skills shortages, and infrastructure investment lagging visitor demand.

Not reported

Neither the WEF press material nor the local coverage gives Sri Lanka’s pillar-level scores, its 2024 rank for comparison, or any response from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority or the Ministry of Tourism.

Sources