Jamaica climbs four places in WEF tourism development index, Gleaner reports

Jamaica has moved up four places in the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026, rising from 82nd to 78th among the 110 economies assessed, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. The Gleaner reported that the index was produced in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group.

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett welcomed the result during the Tourism Awareness Week AI Youth Forum at Sandals Dunn's River, the Gleaner said. According to the newspaper, Bartlett said the improved ranking reflected the country's continuing efforts to enhance the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of its tourism sector.

"Moving from 82nd to 78th is not just four places — it is validation," Bartlett said, according to the Gleaner. He added that the old index measured what was built, such as airports and hotel rooms, while the new "Beyond Tourism" index measures "what we survived — people, resilience, and retention." The Gleaner reported that Bartlett said Jamaica built that.

The Gleaner also reported that Bartlett traced the country's recent rankings, saying: "For 10 years, I have watched this Index: 76th in 2015, 69th in 2017 — our best — 76th in 2019, 82nd in 2024, now 78th in 2026." According to the newspaper, the 2026 position is two places higher than 2019 but remains below Jamaica's best showing of 69th in 2017, based on Bartlett's account.

The Gleaner reported that Jamaica recorded the largest improvement in ranking of any economy in the Americas and was the only country in the region to climb four places. Its score rose by 2.3 percent from the 2024 edition, leaving it two places higher than in 2019, according to the report.

The TTDI assesses the conditions that support sustainable and resilient tourism development, including infrastructure, connectivity, digital readiness, safety and security, and natural and cultural resources, the Gleaner reported. The index does not measure visitor arrivals or tourism earnings, according to the same report.

Bartlett said the movement in the global competitiveness rankings was an important indicator that Jamaica is moving in the right direction, the Gleaner reported. He said rising four places in a highly competitive global tourism environment demonstrated that investments in people, infrastructure, visitor experience, connectivity, resilience and destination development are producing measurable progress.

According to the Gleaner, Bartlett said Jamaica's tourism strategy is increasingly focused not merely on attracting more visitors, but on ensuring the destination remains competitive, resilient and relevant in a rapidly changing global marketplace. He said tourism competitiveness today is about more than sun, sea and sand, and involves the quality of human capital, the strength of infrastructure, the ability to innovate, digital readiness, sustainability, connectivity and the overall value proposition offered to visitors.

The improvement comes as Jamaica pursues a broader transformation of its tourism sector under the Tourism 3.0 framework, the Gleaner reported. That framework places greater emphasis on innovation, human-capital development, resilience, sustainability and stronger linkages between tourism and the wider economy, according to the newspaper.

The Ministry of Tourism and its agencies said they would continue to use international competitiveness indicators to inform policy, strengthen destination management and guide investment aimed at maintaining Jamaica's position in an increasingly competitive global tourism market, the Gleaner reported.

The Gleaner also reported that the Tourism Action Club's Youth Forum, part of Tourism Awareness Week, brought together 250 secondary-school students from across Jamaica. The students explored how artificial intelligence and digital technologies are reshaping tourism under the theme "AI and Digital Technologies: The Power of Curiosity."