The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in collaboration with OMRAN Group, has launched its inaugural Power, Efficiency & Opportunity (PEO) Indices, introducing a new framework to assess the economic, environmental and social contributions of the global Travel & Tourism sector across 184 economies. The new indices were unveiled at World Travel Market (WTM) London on November 4, 2026.
Developed by WTTC and Oxford Economics, the research moves beyond traditional tourism measurements such as visitor arrivals and economic contributions to provide a broader assessment of how effectively destinations generate economic value, manage environmental resources and create employment opportunities. The initiative aims to provide governments, investors and tourism industry leaders with a comprehensive tool to compare destination performance, identify development gaps, guide investment decisions and promote sustainable and inclusive tourism growth.
Three Indices to Provide a Broader Measurement of Tourism Performance
The newly introduced framework evaluates tourism performance through three interconnected dimensions: Travel & Tourism Power, Environmental Efficiency and Employment Opportunities. Together, these indicators provide a more comprehensive understanding of the sector’s contribution to national economies and its long-term impact on destinations and communities. The Travel & Tourism Power Index measures the economic scale and influence of the sector through its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and investment.
According to the research, tourism’s economic power remains concentrated among a relatively small number of countries, with the top 20 economies accounting for 81% of global Travel & Tourism GDP in 2024. The United States, China and India rank as the world’s three most powerful Travel & Tourism economies, followed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Saudi Arabia, completing the global top 10. The findings also highlight differences among destinations, with some countries performing particularly well in tourism investment and employment relative to their overall economic contribution.
Environmental Efficiency Improves as Tourism Focuses on Sustainability
The Environmental Efficiency Index assesses the environmental footprint of tourism in relation to the economic activity it generates. Its measurements include greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon energy use, water consumption, air pollution and materials use. The research highlights improvements in the sector’s environmental performance between 2019 and 2024. Globally, the Environmental Efficiency score increased by 2.3 points during the period. The low-carbon energy component improved by 6.7 points, while greenhouse gas intensity recorded a 3.9-point improvement.
According to the WTTC research, these findings demonstrate progress in reducing tourism’s environmental impact while maintaining economic growth. The report highlights the importance of long-term government policies, stronger environmental standards and investment in clean energy infrastructure to promote sustainable tourism development. Among high-income economies, Sweden ranks first in environmental efficiency, while Costa Rica leads among upper-middle-income destinations. The WTTC findings also show that environmental leadership is not limited to countries with the largest tourism economies, as destinations at different stages of development can make significant progress in adopting sustainable tourism practices.
Tourism Creates Employment Opportunities for Women and Young People
The Employment Opportunities Index examines the tourism sector’s contribution to social development and inclusion through employment share, employment growth, youth employment and female employment. The findings reinforce the importance of tourism as a major source of employment and an accessible entry point into formal careers for people from different backgrounds. The sector continues to create opportunities for women and young people while supporting employment across economies at different stages of development.
Croatia ranks first among high-income economies, while the Maldives leads the upper-middle-income group. El Salvador tops the lower-middle-income category, and The Gambia ranks first among low-income economies. The research also highlights the significant contribution of tourism to national employment in destinations such as the Maldives, Grenada and Belize. These findings demonstrate how tourism can support inclusive economic growth by generating jobs, strengthening local communities and expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups.
Oman Demonstrates Progress Across All Three Tourism Indices
The research also highlights Oman’s progress in tourism development, with WTTC reporting improvements across all three Power, Efficiency & Opportunity (PEO) indices in 2024 compared with 2019. The WTTC findings particularly recognise tourism’s contribution to employment generation and economic diversification. Women account for 28% of Travel & Tourism employment in Oman, compared with 18% across the Middle East, making the country a regional leader in female participation in the sector. Similarly, young people represent 13% of Oman’s tourism workforce, compared with less than 9% of the country’s overall economy.
According to WTTC, Oman’s tourism performance has also benefited from growth in GDP contribution and employment, alongside improvements in water use, air pollution and materials efficiency. These findings underline the role of tourism investment and destination development in supporting long-term economic and social progress. WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara said the new indices provide a broader understanding of tourism’s global impact and encourage the industry to focus on the quality as well as the quantity of growth. She emphasised that assessing economic contribution, environmental efficiency and employment opportunities together can support sustainable tourism development, improve decision-making and expand opportunities for women and young people.
OMRAN Group CEO Eng. Ayad Al Balushi described the PEO Indices as an important step towards redefining tourism success beyond traditional growth measurements. He emphasised the importance of assessing efficiency, opportunities and the long-term value tourism creates for destinations, local communities and future generations. Through the new framework, WTTC and OMRAN Group aim to strengthen evidence-based tourism planning and promote investment strategies that balance economic performance, environmental responsibility and social inclusion.
The WTTC Power, Efficiency & Opportunity (PEO) Indices are designed to provide governments, investors and tourism industry leaders with a common reference for benchmarking destinations and identifying areas where policy improvements, investment and infrastructure development can generate greater benefits. WTTC has also made the complete research findings available through its interactive dashboard, enabling users to explore key indicators and compare tourism performance across 184 economies.
