Viet Nam ranks 63^rd among 140 countries and territories in the recently released Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2019, jumping four places compared to the latest 2017 ranking.

Foreign tourists at Trang An tourist site in Ninh Binh (Photo: VNA)

Released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) every two years since 2007, the TTCI 2019 analysed 140 economies and scored each according to their performance on the following six pillars – Air transport infrastructure, ICT readiness, Price competitiveness, International openness, Travel & tourism prioritisation, and Safety and Security.

When it comes to price competitiveness, Viet Nam ranks 22^nd, rising 13 places while in terms of air transport infrastructure, the country has improved by 11 places, growing to 50^th from 61^st.

Spain holds the top spot in the ranking, followed by France, Germany and Japan. In Southeast Asia, Singapore was ranked as the most competitive travel and tourism economy while Vietnam was placed 5th.

In 2019, Viet Nam's tourism industry aims to welcome 103 million visitors, including 18 million international visitors and 85 million domestic tourists.

According to the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism Administration (VNAT), in the first eight months of this year, the number of foreign visitors to the country rose by 8.7% year on year to 11.3 million, with highest growth rate seen in visitors from Asian countries and territories, especially the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.

(Source: VNA)