Saudi Arabia has witnessed ‘second largest improvement’ on the global index of travel and tourism of the World Economic Forum featuring 117 nations.

As reported by The National, the Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021 of the forum assesses and measures elements and policies that enable the sector's sustainable and resilient development, which includes everything from business and safety and health conditions to infrastructure and natural resources, as well as environmental, socioeconomic, and demand pressures.

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In 2020, the 117 countries accounted for almost 96% of the world's direct travel and tourist gross domestic output.

Saudi Arabia rose from 43rd to 33rd between 2019 and 2021, with its score increasing by 2.3 percent.

This rise in the rankings was only surpassed by Indonesia, which improved their score by 3.4% to move from 44th to 32nd place.

The UAE placed 25th among countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar was ranked 43rd, Egypt 51st, Bahrain 57th, Jordan 64th, Morocco 71st, and Tunisia 80th.

The index was topped by Japan, with the United States coming in second, followed by Spain, France, and Germany.

According to the report, this industry is a major engine of economic progress and worldwide connectedness.

It is also critical to the survival of those of the communities and enterprises that have been most vulnerable to – and severely affected by – the pandemic over the last two and a half years.

In terms of the outlook for 2022, the report stated that despite increased vaccination rates and the relaxation of travel restrictions, economic development has helped kick start a recovery but the rebound is still gradual, uneven, and weak.