Spain named world's most tourist-friendly country
Spain has been named the most tourist friendly country in the world in the World Economic Forum's travel competitiveness report.
The Mediterranean country has jumped a few places from last time when it came in fourth place and Switzerland topped the leader board in 2013, The Local reports.
Spain came in first place for cultural resources and fourth place for both supporting tourist's online searches for entertainment and for infrastructure too.
Switzerland only made it into sixth place this year, beaten to the European dominated top five by France, Germany, USA and the UK, the Mail Online reports.
As part of the assessment each country is judged in 14 categories including safety, health and business environment.
There were 141 countries included in the list with Chad, Guinea and Angola taking the bottom three spots this time around.
Europe's success in the ratings was attributed to "'world-class tourism service infrastructure, excellent health and hygiene conditions" as well as the borderless travel afforded by the Schengen Agreement.
Both Australia and Japan made it into the top ten with other countries from the Asia-Pacific region also ranking highly such as Singapore at 11 and New Zealand at 16.
Central American countries appeared lower on the list with Brazil at 28th and Mexico in at 30th with the report claiming infrastructure gaps and safety and security concerns as the reasons for this.
Economist at the World Economic Forum, Roberto Crotti, said: "The diversity in the top 30 shows that a country does not have to be wealthy to have a flourishing tourism sector.
He added: "But many countries should still do more to tackle travel and tourism challenges, including visa policies, better promotion of cultural heritage, environmental protection and ICT readiness.
"This in turn would drive economic growth and the creation of jobs."
Most tourist friendly countries
1. Spain
2. France
3. Germany
4. USA
5. UK
6. Switzerland
7. Australia
8. Italy
9. Japan
10. Canada
Related articles:
Holidays 2015: Best places to go, things to see and do
Package holiday or DIY break: Which is better value?
Secret Greece: 15 Greek islands you've never heard of
%VIRTUAL-TripAdvisorWidget%
