WTTC's New PEO Indices Rank 184 Economies Beyond Visitor Counts

The top 20 travel and tourism economies accounted for 81% of the sector's global GDP in 2024 — a concentration at the heart of new benchmarking data released by the World Travel & Tourism Council at WTM London.

Developed with Oxford Economics and in collaboration with Oman's OMRAN Group, the inaugural Power, Efficiency & Opportunity (PEO) Indices cover 184 economies. The framework replaces the traditional focus on visitor numbers and headline economic contribution with three linked measures: economic power, environmental efficiency and employment opportunity.

What does the new framework measure?

• Power Index: economic scale through GDP, employment and investment.
• Environmental Efficiency Index: footprint relative to economic output, spanning greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon energy use, water consumption, air pollution and materials use.
• Opportunity Index: employment share, employment growth, youth employment and female employment.

The United States, China and India rank as the world's most powerful tourism economies, with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Saudi Arabia completing the top 10. The data also shows some destinations outperforming on investment or employment relative to their overall economic size — a signal of where future growth potential may sit.

Efficiency gains between 2019 and 2024

The sector's global Environmental Efficiency score rose 2.3 points between 2019 and 2024. The low-carbon energy component improved by 6.7 points, and greenhouse gas intensity by 3.9 points, indicating destinations are becoming less environmentally intensive even as tourism grows.

Sweden ranks first among high-income economies on efficiency; Costa Rica leads upper-middle-income destinations — evidence, WTTC argues, that environmental leadership can emerge at different development stages.

On opportunity, Croatia tops high-income economies, the Maldives leads the upper-middle-income group, and El Salvador and The Gambia rank first in the lower-middle-income and low-income categories. In the Maldives, Grenada and Belize, tourism supports a particularly large share of national employment.

Critically, the research finds economic scale alone does not determine broader performance: countries leading on power do not necessarily lead on efficiency or opportunity, and the indices are designed to be read together.

WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara said: "As the sector grows, we must focus on quality as well as quantity of growth. By assessing economic contribution, environmental efficiency and employment opportunities together, the Indices provide valuable insights to support sustainable growth and informed decision-making, while highlighting the sector's ability to create opportunities for women and young people around the world."

OMRAN Group CEO Eng. Ayad Al Balushi said: "The PEO Indices represent an important step forward in how we define and measure tourism success, looking beyond growth to the efficiency, opportunity and lasting value the sector creates."

Oman's numbers stand out

The findings carry particular weight for Oman, where tourism supports economic diversification. All three of Oman's 2024 PEO scores improved versus 2019, with the strongest performance in opportunity.

Women hold 28% of travel and tourism jobs in Oman, against 18% across the Middle East, making the country a regional leader in female participation. Young people hold 13% of tourism jobs, compared with under 9% across the wider Omani economy. Power gains reflect growth in GDP contribution and employment; environmental gains stem from improvements in water use, air pollution and materials efficiency.

For governments, investors and industry leaders, the indices offer a tool to benchmark destinations, identify gaps and direct policy, investment and infrastructure where they can have the greatest impact.