WSTHA and Tourism Economics launch first Global Destination Resilience Index | News
The World Awards for Sustainable Travel and Hospitality (WSTHA) And Tourism economy have published the first Global Destination Resilience Index 2025 – a groundbreaking study designed to measure how well destinations are prepared to balance growth and sustainability in an era of rapid global travel expansion.
The report, developed through a new partnership between WSTHA and Tourism Economics, rates the world’s top 50 travel destinations across five key pillars: transportation mix, tourism intensity, environment, climate and macroeconomics. It provides a unique benchmark for policymakers, investors and tourism leaders who want to understand where destinations stand today and how they can strengthen resilience for the coming decade.
According to the Index, Peru is the most resilient destination in the world, followed by Hong Kong and Poland. These destinations scored highly for their ability to manage tourism sustainably and for economic stability. Meanwhile, Malaysia, India and Spain were identified as having significant opportunities to improve their resilience, particularly in the area of climate adaptation measures.
Global travel demand is expected to increase by more than 50% over the next decade, and the findings underline that sustainable management is crucial to ensure this growth supports both local economies and the natural environment.
“Tourism Economics is proud to be working with the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards on this crucial initiative,” said Dave Goodger, Managing Director EMEA at Tourism Economics. “Our shared goal is to provide the industry with credible, data-driven insights that help destinations build long-term resilience and prosperity. The Index will evolve over time to reflect the changing realities of global tourism and the urgent need to integrate sustainability into every decision.”
The foreword to the report states Justin Cooke, Executive Vice President of the World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awardsdescribed the collaboration as “a pivotal moment in our mission to define measurable progress in sustainable travel.” He added: “By identifying where we are today, we can begin to map where we need to go tomorrow. This partnership will help demonstrate that sustainability is not just a moral imperative, but a source of economic resilience, competitiveness and long-term growth.”
The Global Destination Resilience Index will be updated regularly and provide a living framework to track progress and drive evidence-based transformation in the global travel and hospitality ecosystem.
The full report, Global Destination Resilience Index 2025, can be downloaded here: https://info.oxfordeconomics.com/l/1022713/2025-10-27/3vmmz
