India was on Tuesday ranked at the 54th place in a global travel and tourism development index, down from 46th in 2019, but still remained on the top within South Asia.

Japan has topped the global charts, followed by the US, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austraila, UK, Singapore and Italy in the top ten.

The World Economic Forum's biennial travel and tourism study also showed a recovering sector following pandemic lows, though the recovery has been uneven and challenges remain.

The Travel and Tourism Development Index assesses 117 economies, identifying key factors in enabling the sustainable and resilient growth of travel and tourism economies.

"COVID-19 shutdowns have re-emphasised the important contribution travel and tourism makes to many economies around the world," Lauren Uppink, Head of Aviation, Travel and Tourism at the World Economic Forum, said.

"As the world emerges from the pandemic, economies must invest in building a strong and resilient environment to deliver the travel and tourism experience and services for many decades to come," Uppink added.

While overall international tourism and business travel is still below pre-pandemic levels, the sector recovery has been bolstered by greater vaccination rates, return to more open travel, and growing demand for domestic and nature-based tourism.

Many businesses and destinations have adapted to these shifting demand dynamics.

According to estimates, the difference in international tourist arrivals between January 2021 and January 2022 is greater than arrivals growth in all of 2021.

Other than the US, the top-10 scoring economies are high-income economies in Europe or Asia-Pacific.

The Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021 is a direct evolution of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, which has been published biennially for the past 15 years, WEF said.

PTI