Ireland has jumped up two spots to 19th in the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which ranks each country according to its tourism friendliness.
The WEF previously published the report in 2013, in which Ireland came in at 21. According to businessandleadership.com, Ireland has move up in the rankings by improving in areas that the WEF lists as important to tourism growth.
The WEF ranks each country according to 14 categories that, according to the report, are “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.”
Among the notable rankings for Ireland in these categories were 'international openness' (5th), 'safety and security' (15th) and 'environmental sustainability' (2nd). However, Ireland is still way down in terms of price competitiveness, coming in a 122nd in that category.
Niall Gibbons, chief executive for Tourism Ireland said Ireland fares well in an "extremely competitive" international tourism marketplace thanks to innovation and a unique approach.
"We are constantly looking at innovative and engaging ways of reaching potential holidaymakers, to help the island of Ireland to stand out from other destinations,” said Gibbons.
