Japan named world's best travel destination in TTDI 2026

Japan has been named the world's best travel destination in the Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) for 2026, taking the top spot in a ranking that measures more than just visitor numbers.

How the index ranks destinations

The TTDI evaluates the policies and conditions that support sustainable and resilient tourism. Criteria include air connectivity, price competitiveness, safety, public transport, visa regimes, hotel prices, the number of UNESCO-protected sites and the evenness of tourist flows across regions—factors intended to reflect long-term readiness rather than short-term arrivals.

Japan leads the list for 2026, while six European countries appear among the top ten: Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Italy. The presence of multiple European nations highlights the region's broad recovery and infrastructure strengths.

The World Economic Forum reports that conditions for travel and tourism development worldwide are the best since the post-pandemic period. According to the Forum, 92 percent of the economies analyzed showed improvement relative to 2024, signalling widespread progress in rebuilding and upgrading tourism systems.

Experts say the TTDI’s emphasis on structural factors — such as transport links, regulatory frameworks and site protection — makes the index a tool for policymakers as well as for travelers and industry planners. Countries that score highly tend to combine visitor appeal with policies that distribute benefits and reduce vulnerabilities.

For destinations, the 2026 ranking underlines a shift from simply attracting large numbers of tourists to managing tourism in ways that are affordable, safe and sustainable over the long term.

Photo: press material from the event