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Australia has landed an enviable fourth place in the world for travel and tourism development, a result that should make governments, tourism authorities and the industry sit a little straighter, though preferably not so straight that anyone mistakes confidence for complacency.

The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, produced in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group, assesses 110 economies across 17 pillars covering five broad dimensions: the enabling environment, tourism policy, infrastructure and services, tourism resources, and sustainability.

Importantly, this is not another travel beauty contest.

It does not ask who has the prettiest beach, the liveliest bar, the grandest hotel lobby or the breakfast buffet most likely to require elastic-waisted trousers.

It is a readiness test.

The index examines whether an economy has the infrastructure, workforce, transport, digital systems, policies and resilience required to develop tourism successfully and, increasingly important, to keep the show on the road when something goes badly wrong.

That distinction matters because global tourism is operating at extraordinary scale again.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 1.52 billion international tourists travelled globally in 2025, while the World Travel & Tourism Council says the sector contributed a record US$11.6 trillion to the world economy and supported 366 million jobs, or approximately one in nine jobs worldwide.

Tourism, in other words, is no longer standing at the recovery counter waiting for its luggage.

It has arrived.

The much harder question is what destinations do with all those travellers now that they are back.

Japan takes the crown; Australia muscles into fourth

Japan leads the TTDI 2026 with a score of 5.27, followed by the United States on 5.23 and Spain on 5.22.

Then comes Australia.

Australia’s score of 5.18 places it fourth, narrowly ahead of France at 5.17. Germany ranks sixth, followed by the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Italy.

Rank	Economy	TTDI Score
1	Japan	5.27
2	United States	5.23
3	Spain	5.22
4	Australia	5.18
5	France	5.17
6	Germany	5.09
7	United Kingdom	5.08
8	China	5.00
9	Switzerland	4.97
10	Italy	4.93

For Australia, that is no small achievement.

Unlike European destinations where travellers can cross several borders before an Australian domestic flight has finished boarding, Australia carries a considerable geographical disadvantage.

It is far from many important source markets. Long-haul aviation is expensive. Domestic distances are enormous. Getting travellers beyond Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the established tourism gateways requires connectivity, capacity and considerable coordination.

Yet Australia remains among the world’s tourism leaders.

The World Economic Forum notes that Australia and Japan improved slightly faster than the index overall, with Asia-Pacific enjoying particularly strong progress as tourism capacity and connectivity continued their post-pandemic recovery.

That is where Australia should be paying close attention.

Asia-Pacific is coming quickly

Across the index, 101 of the 110 economies (92%) improved their scores between 2024 and 2026.

Asia-Pacific recorded the greatest regional improvement, with its average score rising 3.6%. The region includes seven of the world’s 10 fastest-improving economies.

Albania was the largest improver globally, lifting its TTDI score by 7.0%. Viet Nam followed with a 6.3% increase, while Lao PDR improved by 6.1%. Malaysia rose 5.8% and Thailand 5.6%.

For established tourism heavyweights, the message in those numbers is fairly simple.

Yesterday’s reputation will not pay tomorrow’s hotel bill.

Emerging destinations are improving infrastructure, aviation access, accommodation, digital capability and visitor services. As those gaps close, established markets must work harder to justify higher prices.

Australia’s fourth place is excellent.

It is not a permission slip to put the feet up.

The new tourism contest is resilience

For decades, destination marketing has understandably concentrated on attraction: beaches, restaurants, shopping, festivals, landmarks, wildlife and that apparently compulsory photograph of someone contemplating a sunset.

Those things still sell holidays.

But the TTDI 2026 argues that competitive tourism increasingly depends on what happens when the postcard is interrupted.

Geopolitical tension, economic shocks, heatwaves, wildfires, severe weather, cyber incidents, digital outages and aviation disruption can turn a perfectly respectable itinerary into an unscheduled adventure remarkably quickly.

The report highlights how disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa have affected a critical aviation corridor connecting Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, while climate-related events have placed additional strain on destinations elsewhere.

Airspace can close. Flights can be rerouted. Airports can become congested. Railways can stop. Mobile networks can fail.

And travellers suddenly discover just how important good information is when nobody appears to know where their aircraft has gone.

That is why resilience is becoming a competitive advantage.

Cara Morton, Chief Executive Officer, Global Businesses and Operations at Zurich Insurance Group, argues that destinations that prepare for disruption recover faster and retain travellers’ confidence.

As Morton put it:

“We see it across the industry: the places that plan for disruption recover faster and maintain travelers’ trust.”

Her broader point is important. Resilience is no longer merely an emergency-management or insurance consideration. It has become part of the tourism product itself.

For airlines, travel advisors, tour operators and corporate travel managers, a destination’s ability to respond effectively when circumstances deteriorate can affect what gets recommended and what does not.

More tourists do not automatically mean better tourism

Another uncomfortable lesson runs through the report.

Success can produce its own problems.

Visitor numbers and expenditure are rising, but crowding pressures remain above pre-pandemic levels. Housing, public transport, roads, water, waste systems, natural attractions and community goodwill can all come under pressure when tourism becomes heavily concentrated in particular cities, attractions or seasons.

And then there is price.

Zurich says 75% of economies became less price competitive, while the broader TTDI findings point to travel costs rising faster than inflation in many markets.

That is particularly relevant to Australia.

International visitors already face long-haul airfares before they buy their first flat white. Accommodation, domestic flights, restaurant prices, attractions and transport all contribute to the final holiday bill.

Australia neither needs nor wants to become the world’s bargain basement.

But it does need to demonstrate value.

That means giving travellers compelling reasons to spend: better service, distinctive experiences, regional tourism, food and wine, Indigenous tourism, nature, events and the less glamorous infrastructure without which the glamorous bits quickly stop working.

The 43-million-worker warning

Perhaps the biggest warning is the one the industry already understands painfully well.

People.

WTTC research forecasts that travel and tourism could face a global workforce shortfall of more than 43 million people by 2035, leaving labour supply around 16% below projected demand.

This is not simply a human-resources problem.

It is a growth problem.

A hotel cannot endlessly sell rooms it cannot service. An airline cannot expand without pilots, engineers, cabin crew, airport workers and ground staff. A restaurant cannot deliver five-star hospitality with three-star staffing levels and a roster held together by optimism and crossed fingers.

The sector therefore needs more than recruitment campaigns.

It requires investment in skills, productivity, retention, management, career pathways and training.

It also requires serious coordination between tourism businesses, governments and education providers.

The index is useful precisely because it treats tourism not as an isolated collection of holidays and hotel rooms but as an economic system.

And systems are often only as strong as the part everyone forgot about.

Five lessons for tourism’s next chapter

The report identifies five priorities for a more resilient visitor economy.

Demand should be spread across more source markets, traveller segments, destinations and seasons. Transport, information and digital systems need to remain dependable during disruption. Destinations should compete on value rather than price alone. Local communities need to see genuine economic and social benefits from tourism. The industry must also build sufficient workforce capacity through skills, retention, and productivity.

None works independently.

A destination cannot promise premium service without workers capable of delivering it.

It cannot disperse visitors without regional infrastructure.

It cannot ask communities to embrace tourism indefinitely if residents increasingly believe the costs are theirs and the benefits belong to somebody else.

That last point is especially important.

Tourism depends upon what policymakers often describe as a social licence.

Residents who believe visitors are driving housing pressure, congestion and overcrowding eventually become less enthusiastic hosts. Ignore that tension for long enough, and destinations risk damaging precisely the qualities visitors came to enjoy.

Australia’s fourth place deserves applause and attention

Australia’s fourth-place ranking deserves recognition.

It confirms that the country possesses many of the ingredients of a world-class visitor economy.

But rankings are snapshots, not guarantees.

Asia-Pacific competitors are improving quickly. Cost pressures are real. Labour shortages have not disappeared. Climate and infrastructure risks are increasing. Aviation remains exposed to geopolitical disruption.

And travellers have become remarkably good at comparing not merely destinations, but value.

Australia’s challenge is therefore not simply to celebrate fourth place.

It is to use it.

There is an opportunity to turn already-strong foundations into better regional dispersal, resilient infrastructure, stronger visitor experiences, better tourism careers and a clearer demonstration of the benefits tourism delivers to the communities hosting it.

The latest TTDI makes one point particularly well.

The future of international tourism will not belong merely to countries clever enough to attract travellers.

It will belong to destinations capable of handling their own success.

With more than 1.5 billion international travellers already moving around the planet each year, the world is hardly short of customers.

The real contest is over who is ready for them.