Sri Lanka Ranks Among World’s 10 Fastest-Improving Tourism Economies in WEF Index 📈

• Global Ranking: Sri Lanka secured 10th place globally for score improvement in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, recording a +4.3% gain between 2024 and 2026. • Regional Context: The island is among 7 Asia-Pacific nations in the top 10 fastest improvers. Albania led the list with a +7.0% gain, followed by Vietnam (+6.3%) and Laos (+6.1%). Asia-Pacific as a region grew by +3.6%, beating the global average increase of +2.1%. • National Context: The index improvement aligns with Sri Lanka's strong post-crisis rebound, featuring record arrivals of 2.36 million and earnings of approximately US$ 3.2 Bn in 2025, highlighting the critical role of travel & tourism in foreign exchange generation. • Growth Drivers: Globally, the strongest pillar improvements occurred in cultural resources (+9.6%), tourism infrastructure, and air connectivity. Emerging tourism economies expanded over twice as fast as the top 20 ranked countries due to competitive pricing and rich natural assets. • Global Outlook: International arrivals hit a record 1.5 Bn in 2025, contributing an all-time high of US$ 11.6 Tn to global GDP and supporting 366 million jobs. WEF emphasized shifting focus from generating demand to managing long-term growth sustainably.