The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012

Insight Report
Insight Report
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2012
Fostering Prosperity and Regional Integration
Through Travel and Tourism
© 2012 World Economic Forum
© 2012 World Economic Forum
Insight Report
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2012
Fostering Prosperity and Regional Integration
Through Travel and Tourism
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness
Report 2012 is published by the World Economic within
the framework of the Global Competitiveness Network.
Professor Klaus Schwab
Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
Børge Brende
Managing Director, Government Relations and
Constituents Engagement, World Economic Forum
PROJECT MANAGER
Thierry Geiger
Associate Director, Economist,
Global Competitiveness Network, World Economic Forum
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS NETWORK
Jennifer Blanke, Senior Director, Lead Economist, Head
of the Global Competitiveness Network
Beñat Bilbao-Osorio, Associate Director, Economist
Ciara Browne, Associate Director

Roberto Crotti, Junior Quantitative Economist
Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Director, Senior
Economist
Tania Gutknecht, Community Manager
Caroline Ko, Junior Economist
Cécilia Serin, Team Coordinator
World Economic Forum
Geneva
Copyright © 2012
by the World Economic Forum
Published by World Economic Forum
www.weforum.org
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, or otherwise without the prior permission of
the World Economic Forum.
ISBN-10: 92-95044-39-8
ISBN-13: 978-92-95044-39-5
Printed and bound in Thailand.
For additional information and material related to
this publication and other research of the Global
Competitiveness Network, please visit www.weforum.org/
issues/regional-competitiveness
We thank Gilly Nadel for her excellent editing work and
Neil Weinberg for his superb graphic design and layout.
The terms country and nation as used in this Report do
not in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is a state
as understood by international law and practice. The
terms cover well-defined, geographically self-contained

economic areas that may not be states but for which
statistical data are maintained on a separate and
independent basis.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | iii
Preface v
Executive Summary vii
Fulfilling the Promises of Travel and 1
Tourism in ASEAN
Measuring Travel and 2
Tourism Competitiveness
Performance of ASEAN Countries 4
in the TTCI 2011
Pillar 1: Policies and regulations 10
Pillar 2: Environmental sustainability 11
Pillar 3: Safety and security 13
Pillar 4: Health and hygiene is missinge 14
Pillar 5: Prioritization of travel and tourism 15
Pillars 6–7: Air and ground transportation and connectivity 15
Pillar 8: Tourism infrastructure 18
Pillar 9: ICT infrastructure 18
Pillar 10: Price competitiveness 19
Pillar 11: Human resources 19
Pillar 12: Affinity for travel and tourism 20
Pillar 13: Natural resources 20
Pillar 14: Cultural resources 22
Conclusion 23
Notes 24
References 25
Appendix A: ASEAN scorecard 27

Ap p e ndix B: List of indicators 31
with short descriptions and sources
Contents
© 2012 World Economic Forum
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | v
Preface
BØRGE BRENDE
Managing Director, Government Relations and Constituents Engagement, World Economic Forum
Ove r rec ent d ec ade s, the tr avel an d touri sm (T&T )
sec tor has i ncre as ing ly b ec ome a n imp ort ant dr ive r of
economic prosperity and social progress. It stimulates
grow th thro ug h jobs a nd e nter pri se cr eatio n, and
provid e s sig nif ic an t forei gn excha ng e revenu es fo r
many c oun trie s. T he se ctor ge ne rates o ppo r tu niti es fo r
redu cin g povert y a nd i neq ua lit y, pre se r v ing n atura l an d
cul tura l he rit age, an d up grad ing i nfra str uctu re.
With th is in m ind, the Wor ld Eco nom ic For um
rele as ed fo r the f irs t time i n 2007 the Travel and Tour ism
Com peti ven es s Ind ex ( TTCI) in ord er to as se ss th e
obst acl es a nd dr ive rs of T&T devel opm en t. The f ind ing s
have be en p rese nted in fo ur e diti ons of T he Travel an d
Tour ism Competiti veness Rep or t. T he pre se nt Report
ana ly ze s in det ail th e pe r for ma nc e of eig ht co untr ie s of
the As so ciati on of So uthe as t Asi an N atio n (ASE A N) in
the mo st rec en t T TCI.
By 2015, ASE A N me mb er c ountr ie s ai m to esta bli sh
the ASEA N Co mmu nit y ( AC), a sec ur it y, eco no mic, an d
soc io- cu ltur al co mm uni t y of over 60 0 m illi on p eop le,
whi ch w ill ac co unt for n ea rl y 5 pe rce nt of worl d GD P. In

its mo re than fo ur d ec ade s of exis tenc e, des pite so me
del ays an d setba cks, pro gre ss towards i ntegrati on ha s
be en si gn if ica nt. ASE A N le ade rs h ave long re co gn ized
the vi tal ro le T&T can p lay in re al isi ng the ir a mbi tion s.
Ind ee d, the potentia l for d evelo pin g the T&T
sec tor in the AS E AN re gi on is e no rmo us. T he re gio n is
ble ss ed w ith a wea lth of na tura l and c ultu ral h er it age. It
pos se sse s a lo ng trad itio n of touri sm, an d is strate gic all y
loc ated at the h ea r t of As ia, th e wor ld’s mos t
ec ono mic al ly d yna mi c regi on. T he ex trao rdin ary d ive rs it y
of ASE A N cou ntri es, w hil e pos ing s ome c ha lle ng es to
integr ation, f ur th er e nh anc e s thei r at trac tiven es s. Th is
Report ass es se s the str eng ths tha t ca n be leve rag ed
and th e obs tac le s that mu st be a ddre ss ed for A SE A N
ful ly to rea p the be ne fi ts of T&T.
Th e rel eas e of this Report coinc id es w ith the
Sum mit o n Travel, Trad e & Touri sm, orga ni zed in th e
lea d-up to the Worl d Eco nom ic For um o n Eas t Asi a
2012, th e overa rchi ng the me of w hic h—“Shapi ng the
Reg ion’s Future thro ugh C on ne ctiv it y ”—will s urel y
reso nate for th e T&T sector. We h ope th at this Report
and th e sub se que nt di scu ss ion s wil l infor m the d ec isi ons
of ASE A N’s poli cym aker s an d provi de a va lua ble too l in
achieving their vision.
I would l ike to thank th e auth or of thi s Report,
Th ier ry G ei ger, for hi s en erg y and c om mitm ent to
prod uci ng thi s stud y. I would a lso l ike to expres s
my gratitu de to Je nni fer B la nke, The a Ch ie sa, a nd
Marg aret a Dr ze nie k Ha nou z for the ir g uid an ce, as wel l
as to the othe r mem be rs of th e Com peti tive ne ss a nd

Aviatio n, Trave l, and Tour ism Team s. I am al so gr ateful to
Sushant Palakurthi Rao for suppor ting this project and
other c omp etiti ven es s-re lated re se arch a nd o utre ach
acti viti es i n As ia. Fi nal ly, I woul d like to exten d my sin ce re
grati tude to the Partn er C om pan ie s of the Aviati on,
Travel, and Touris m Ind ustry Pa r tn er shi p Progr am me,
as wel l as ou r net wor k of 150 Par tn er In stitu tes, wh ose
suppor t and commitment make this work possible.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | vii
Executive Summary
THIERRY GEIGER
World Economic Forum
Th e travel an d touri sm (T&T ) se ctor h as be co me a n
imp or t ant d ri ver of grow th a nd p rosp er it y for m any
cou ntri es. It i s esti mated th at the T&T sec tor acco unts
for ab out 9 p erc ent of G DP a nd e mpl oyme nt wor ld wid e.
Yet, d es pite its e co nom ic wei ght a nd the m any b en efi ts
it prov ide s, num ero us ob stac le s hin de r its d evelo pme nt,
inc ludi ng in c ou ntri es of the A ss oci atio n of Sou the ast
Asi an N ation s (ASEA N). Using a un iqu e meth odo log ic al
fra mewor k, thi s Report stud ie s thos e obs tacl es, a s
well a s the e nab le rs of d evelo pme nt for e ig ht ASE A N
mem be r co untr ie s and th e reg ion.
By 2015, ASE A N me mb er c ountr ie s ai m to esta bli sh
the ASEA N Co mmu nit y ( AC), a sec ur it y, eco no mic, an d
soc io- cu ltur al co mm uni t y of over 60 0 m illi on p eop le
that sh oul d by then a cc ount fo r alm ost 5 p erc ent of
worl d GDP. ASE A N le ade rs h ave long re co gn ized

the vi tal ro le T&T can p lay in re al izin g the ir vi sio n.
Th ey have be en jo in ing forc es to add res s T&T-related
iss ue s, whi ch gre atl y be nef it f rom re gio nal c oo pe ratio n,
suc h as pro motio n and m ar keting, co nne cti vi t y,
envi ronm en tal p rotectio n, vis a pol ici es a nd mo bil it y, and
sec tor lib era liz atio n. The AS E AN m em be rs h ave bee n
suc ce ssf ul i n sever al as pe cts, bu t al so exp er ie nc ed
setbac ks an d are s till fa cin g maj or ch al len ge s, as thi s
stud y s hows.
Th e potentia l for deve lo pin g the T&T sector i s
enormous. The Southeast Asia region has many
ass ets to lure the v is itor. It boasts s ome of th e worl d’s
most s pe cta cul ar l and sc ap es a nd at trac tion s, vast
ec osystem s with s tunn ing w ild life, a nd ri ch c ultu re and
history. It p oss es se s a lo ng trad itio n of touris m, and i s
strategi ca ll y loc ated in th e he ar t of A sia , the wor ld’s mo st
ec ono mic al ly d yna mi c regi on. T he ex trao rdin ary d ive rs it y
of ASE A N cou ntri es, w hil e pos ing s ome c ha lle ng es to
integr ation, f ur th er e nh anc e s the at trac tive ne ss of the
regi on, wh ich offe rs c om ple me nta r y tour is m expe ri en ce s
and a pp ea ls to visi tors of al l t yp es.
Th e T&T sector pl ays an im portant ro le in th e overa ll
ASE A N ec ono my. It is es timated to ac cou nt for 4.6
perc en t of ASE A N GDP a nd 10.9 perc en t whe n ta ki ng
into acco unt a ll in dire ct c ontr ibu tion s. It dire ctl y em ploys
9.3 millio n pe op le, or 3.2 pe rce nt of total em ploy me nt,
and i ndi rec tly su ppo r ts s ome 25 mill ion j obs. T he
ana lys is, howeve r, reveals a very mixed p ic ture in ter ms
of the touri sm p erfo rma nc es of in di vid ua l ASE A N
cou ntri es. S ing apo re, for exam ple, dr aws 20 time s

more tour ists p er c ap ita a nd 3 0 time s mo re rec ei pts
per c ap ita th an th e ASE A N avera ge. Ma laysi a is on e of
the wor ld’s top 10 de stin ation s, with a bou t 25 milli on
vis itors p er ye ar, whil e the Ph ili ppi ne s, des pi te its muc h
larg er p opu latio n, at tracts s ix tim es fe wer. The Travel an d
Touris m Com peti ven es s Ind ex ( TTCI) sheds s om e lig ht
on the f actors u nd er pin nin g suc h mi xed res ults.
Measur ing travel and tourism competitiveness
Devel op ed by the Wor ld Eco nom ic For um i n
col lab orati on w ith exp erts f rom th e se ctor, the T TCI is
a com pre he nsi ve fra mewo rk tha t aim s to measu re the
factor s an d pol ic ies t hat ma ke it at tra ctive to deve lop
the T&T sector in d iffer ent c ountr ie s. It is b ase d on th ree
broad c atego ri es of va ria bl es th at fac ilit ate or dr ive T&T
com peti tive ne ss. T he se cate gor ie s are s umm ar ized i n
the thre e su bin dexes of the I ndex: (i ) the T&T regu latory
fra mewor k su bin dex; (ii ) the T&T bus ine ss e nvi ronm ent
and i nfra str uctu re su bin dex; an d (iii ) the T&T hum an,
cul tura l, and natu ral r eso urc es s ubi ndex. T he f ir st
sub ind ex captu res th ose e le me nts that a re po licy re lated
and g en era ll y und er th e purvie w of the gover nm ent; the
sec on d sub ind ex ca ptures e le me nts of the b usi ne ss
envi ronm en t and th e “ha rd” inf ra stru ctu re of eac h
ec ono my; and th e third s ubi ndex c aptur es th e “sof ter”
hum an, cul tura l, and n atura l el em ents of e ach c ou ntr y’s
resource endowments.
Eac h of thes e thre e sub ind exes is c omp ose d of a
num be r of “pill ar s”. There are 14 pill ar s in total: (1) Policy
rules and regulations; (2) Environmental sustainability;
(3) Safet y and s ec ur it y; (4) He alth a nd hygi en e; (5)

Prio ri tiza tion of Travel & Touris m; (6) Air tra nsp ort
infr astr uc ture; (7) G roun d tran spo r t inf ra stru ctu re;
(8) Tourism i nfra str uctu re; (9) ICT infras tru cture; (10)
Pric e co mp etitive ne ss i n the T&T indu stry; (11) Huma n
reso urc es; (12) Aff in it y for Travel & Touri sm ; (13) Natu ra l
reso urc es; and (14) Cultu ral re sou rce s.
Eac h of the p ill a r s is, in tu r n, mad e up of a n um be r
of indi v id ua l i nd ic ators, of w hi ch th e re a re 75 in all. The
data set i nc lu d e s both da ta f rom th e Worl d Eco n om ic
Foru m’s annu a l Execu ti ve Op in i on S urvey and q ua nti tati ve
data from publicly available sources, international
orga ni z atio ns, a nd T&T insti tu tio ns a nd ex p e rts.
Th e fourth e diti on of the TTCI was publ ish ed i n The
Travel and Tourism Competitivene ss Report 2011 a nd
cover s a rec ord 139 co untr ie s. Sw it zer lan d tops the
T TCI ran ki ngs fo r the thi rd edi tion i n a row, foll owed by
Germany and France.
ASEA N pe r fo r ma nce i n th e T TCI
Th roug h the le ns of the TTCI, we identi f y the s tren gths
that ca n be l evera ge d and th e ob stac le s that mu st be
addre s sed fo r ASE A N fu lly to rea p the b en ef its of T&T.
Th e ass es sm ent reve al s ASE A N me mb er co untr ie s in
© 2012 World Economic Forum
viii | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
the TTCI 2011 draws a ver y mi xed pic ture of the r egi on.
Sin gap ore (10th), Mal aysi a (35th), Tha ila nd (41st), Brune i
Dar us sa la m (67th), Ind one si a (74th), Vi etnam (8 0 th), the
Phil ipp ine s (94th), and Ca mb odi a (10 9th) spa n al mos t the
entir e ran ki ngs of 139 e con omi es. D ue to lim ited da ta
availa bil it y, L ao PDR a nd Mya nma r are exclu de d fro m

the an al ysi s.
With o nl y thre e cou ntri es fe ature d in th e top 50 of
the TTCI, the T&T sector in AS E AN u nd oubted ly fac e s
a num be r of cha lle ng es. Yet, one mus t rec ogn ize that
there ex ists a c los e rel ation shi p bet we en p erfo rm anc e in
the TTCI and p rosp er it y, an d the ra nk ing s co ntinu e to be
led by ad van ce d ec ono mie s, of wh ich g roup S ing ap ore
is the o nly re pre se ntati ve amo ng ASEA N me mb er s. Th is
is exp lai ne d by the fac t that ad vanc ed e co nom ie s, on
averag e, fare si gni f ica ntl y bet ter in m ost a rea s of the
T TCI, incl udi ng ha rd and s of t inf ra stru ctu res, re gul ator y
fra mewor k, se cu ri t y, and pu bli c he alth. T he se fac tors
benefit all sectors, boosting productivit y and economic
devel opm en t. In other word s, adva nce d ec on omi es h ad
to have these f actors i n pla ce in o rde r to atta in th eir
“advanc ed s tatus” In T&T.
At 35th, Malaysi a is ac tua lly th e top-ra nked
devel opi ng co untry ove ral l and, se e n in thi s lig ht, its
perform an ce c an be q ua lif ie d as s trong. In de ed, all
seven AS E AN m em be rs fe ature a mo ng the 10 b es t
devel opi ng e con omi es i n As ia, al ong si de Ch ina (39 th),
Indi a (68th), and Sri L a nk a (81st). N epa l, Paki sta n,
Bangladesh, and T imor-Leste all place behind
Cambodia, ASE AN’s worst performer. As for Singapore,
it is th e be st-per fo rmi ng ad vanc ed e co no my outs ide
Europe a nd N or th A m er ica . It le ads th e Asi an T ig er s,
ahe ad of Ho ng Kong (12th), Ko rea (32nd), and Taiwan,
Chi na (37th). It al so pre ce de s Aus tral ia (13th), New
Zeal an d (19 th), and J apa n (22nd).
Th e ana lys is of of the ir p erfor ma nc es i n the

T TCI all ows us to cla ssi f y AS E AN m em be r co untr ie s
into four gro ups. S ing apo re is in a l ea gue of i ts
own, le adin g ASE A N in al l bu t two p ill ar s of the
T TCI. Sec ond, Ma lays ia a nd Th ai lan d do we ll,
de spi te a few weak ne ss es. T he th ird gro up co nsi sts
of Vie tnam, In don es ia, a nd B ru nei D ar us sa lam,
whi ch a ll dis pl ay ver y w id e perform an ce swi ngs.
Fina ll y, both the Phi lipp in es a nd Ca mbo dia
present serious shortcomings in most pillars.
De spi te the dive rs e pe r for ma nc es, th ere exi st
com mon s tren gths a nd we ak ne ss es th roug hou t
the re gio n. Most AS E AN c ou ntri es a re ble s sed w ith
ex traord ina r y n atura l an d cul tura l he rit age s, wh ich
obvi ous ly prov ide fe r ti le gro und fo r T&T develo pme nt.
It mus t be noted th at the se co untr ie s co uld d o
more to showc ase a nd p res erve th eir h er it age. T he
com peti tive ne ss of the s ec tor, however, does not
nec e ss ar ily h ing e on na tura l and c ultu ral h er it age—
Sin gap ore a nd Ca mbo dia b ei ng t wo ex trem e exam ple s.
Gover nm ent p ri ori tiz ation of T&T is an other
stren gth s hare d by mos t ASE A N co untr ie s.
Con crete acti ons, h owever, do not always fo llow.
A third a rea of stre ng th is the re gi on’s af forda bil it y.
Vis iti ng the re gio n is re lati vel y che ap by in tern ation al
sta nda rds. Un dou btedly, pr ic e com peti tive ne ss is
an as set, gi ven the p res ent e co nom ic c ontex t.
On th e other h and, in ade qu ate infra str uctu re in
vast swaths of th e reg ion re ma ins a s ign if ic ant o bsta cle
to the devel opm ent of not o nl y the T&T sector b ut the
pri vate sec tor in ge ne ral. T his d efi cit h ind er s phys ic al

con ne ctiv it y, exac er bates d isp ar itie s, an d und er min es
the vi sio n of the ASEA N Co mmu nit y. AS E AN a nd i ts
mem be rs a re aware of the p robl em a nd c ons ide r it a
pri or it y. Bu t more th an p oli tica l wi ll, bri dgi ng the g ap w ill
requ ire ma ss ive inve stme nt in c om ing ye ar s.
A sec on d are a of con ce rn is th e po or pu bli c he alth
situ ation, a lar mi ng in s ome p ar ts of AS E AN, w he re
inad eq uate sa nit ary i nfra str uctu re an d poo r hygie ne
resu lt in p oo r he alth o utcom es. U nhe al thy con diti ons a re
an in conve ni enc e for tour ists, b ut for th e soc iet y at l arg e,
they are a m ajo r is sue re qu iri ng urg en t at tention.
Enviro nme nta l stewards hi p repre se nts a nothe r
are a of relati ve wea kn es s. Co nse r vati on effo r ts mu st be
com me nsu rate with th e reg ion’s extr aord ina r y n atura l
her it age a nd the tou ris m at trac tive ne ss it d er ive s fro m
that he ri tag e. Gover nm ents in th e reg io n face th e
daunting challenge of balancing the socio-economic
intere sts of differe nt sta keho lde rs w hil e me etin g the
sust ain ab ili t y imp erati ve. Th eir s uc ce ss ha s be en
parti al a nd, de spi te thei r com mitm ent, evi de nc e shows
that the n atura l env iron me nt is un de r gre at stra in an d
deter ior ating i n many p lac es.
Th e ASE A N Touris m Strate gic Pl an 2011-2015
provid e s a roadm ap to 2015 to addre ss m ost of th e
bot tle ne cks a nd leve rag e the stre ng ths id enti fi ed i n this
Report. Provi de d they get i mp lem en ted, thes e me asu res
wil l not onl y un le ash th e potenti al of the T&T sec tor,
but a lso b oos t the re gio n’s compe titive ne ss, h elp th e
regi on’s poore r co untr ie s to move up the val ue c hai n,
produce enormous socio-economic benefits, and greatly

contr ib ute to the real iz ation of th e ASE A N Com mu nit y.
The Report contains a pillar-by-pillar analysis of
the re sul ts for ASEA N cou ntri es. A n umb er of tex t
boxes com pl em ent th e ana ly sis. A mo ng the topi cs i s
an overv iew of g lob al an d reg ion al tre nds i n touri sm; a
revie w of the var iou s ini tiati ves c ar ri ed ou t by ASE A N to
devel op the T&T se ctor; an a nal ys is of ASE A N’s grou p
perform an ce in th e T TCI as it c om pare s wi th othe r
cou ntr y g roup s; a review of ASEA N’s sin gle v is a prog ram
and v is a req uire me nts; an an aly sis of in tra-ASE A N air
con ne ctiv it y; a nd an a ss es sm ent of th e reg ion’s natura l
her it age. T he Report a lso fe ature s the ASEAN Scorecard
whi ch re ports th e det ail ed p erfo rm anc e of ASE A N
cou ntri es i n the di f fe rent c om pon ents of th e T TCI.
The release of this study coincides with the Summit on Travel, Trade &
Tourism, organized in the lead-up to the World Economic Forum on East
Asia 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 1
Th e travel an d touri sm (T&T ) se ctor h as be co me a n
imp or t ant d ri ver of grow th a nd p rosp er it y for m any
cou ntri es (se e Box 1). It co ntri bu tes to develo pme nt by
cre ating j obs a nd e nterp ris es th roug h dire ct a ctiv iti es
and b ackwa rd lin kag es, prov ide s ad diti ona l inc en tive s for
infr astr uc ture de velo pme nt, and e ar ns fore ig n exchan ge
revenu es. It i s es timated th at the T&T sec tor acc ounts
for ab out 9 p erc ent of wo rld G DP a nd e mpl oyme nt.
1
Yet,
de spi te its ec ono mic we ig ht and th e ma ny be nef its i t

provid e s, nume rou s obs tacl es h ind er i ts deve lop me nt.
La unc he d in 20 07, the World Econ om ic For um’s
Travel and Touri sm C omp etiti ven es s Ind ex ( TTCI)
aim s to identi f y a nd me as ure th e obst acl es to,
and e na ble r s of, T&T devel opm ent. T he pre se nt
stud y an aly ze s the p erfor ma nc e of eig ht me mb er
cou ntri es of th e Ass oc iatio n of Sou the ast A sia n
Natio ns (AS E AN ) in the TTCI, namel y Br un ei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indone sia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
2
Undoubtedly, the Southeast Asia region has many
ass ets to lure th e vi sitor.
3
It boa sts so me of th e wor ld’s
most s pe c tac ula r la nd sc a pe s an d at tra ctio ns, vas t
ec osyste ms wi th stu nni ng w ild li fe, and r ic h cu ltu re an d
history. T he re ex ists a l ong tou ri sm tra diti on i n pa r ts of
the re gio n. Th e T&T sector is e sti mated to ac cou nt for 4.6
perc e nt of ASEA N GD P an d 10.9 perce nt w he n ta k ing
into acco unt a ll i ndi re ct co ntr ibu tio ns.
4
It dire ctl y e mpl oys
9.3 millio n pe o ple, or 3.2 p e rce nt of total em pl oym en t,
and i ndi re ctl y sup po r ts s om e 25 milli on jo bs.
Touris m pe r for ma nc e is mi xed, however. The
sec tor is wel l devel op ed in s ome c ou ntri es a nd on ly
nas ce nt in othe rs. M alays ia is o ne of th e worl d’s top
10 de stina tions, w ith a bou t 25 millio n vi sitor s pe r yea r,
while the Philippines, despite its much larger population,

attr acts s ix tim es fe wer. Tourism a cco unts fo r abo ut
15 perc ent of Ca mb odi a’s GDP, but j ust 1 p erc ent of
Indonesia’s (see Table 1).
Ind ee d, diver si t y is on e of the re gio n’s defin ing
cha rac teris tic s. From a touris m pe rs pe cti ve, this
repre se nts a n imp or t ant a sse t. The re gio n ca n of fe r very
dive rs e and c om ple me nta r y ex per ie nc es a nd at tra ctio ns
and a pp ea l to visi tors of all t y pe s. A tru e so cia l, poli tic al,
and g eo gra ph ica l patchwor k, it br in gs togeth er a d iver se
set of ec on omi es. S ing apo re is 8 0 time s ri che r tha n the
lea st d evelo pe d cou ntr y, Mya nma r. Indo ne sia i s 60 0
time s mo re pop ulo us tha n Br un ei D ar uss al am. T he
coa sts of the Ph ilip pin es s tretch over 36,00 0 k m, whi le
Laos is landlocked.
Fur the rm ore, the re gio n is u niq ue ly po siti on ed at
the he art of A sia , the wor ld’s mo st dy na mic re gi on. It is
situ ated bet we en C hin a an d Indi a, t wo of the la rge st a nd
faste st-growing m ar kets, alon g with th ei r ri sin g mid dle
cla sse s. Ri ch er c ountr ie s, suc h as Ja pa n, Austra lia, a nd
even the G ul f cou ntri es, a re not too far away. Th e reg io n
itse lf ha s be en e nj oyin g bri sk e co nom ic deve lop me nt,
whi ch c reates a g reater n ee d for b usi ne ss trave l and
als o me ans m ore pe op le c an affo rd to travel . At the
sam e tim e, the reg ion re ma ins re lati vel y inex pe nsi ve
by intern ation al s tan dard s, a stron g argu me nt to lure
touris ts fro m tradi tion al m ar kets, esp ec ial ly tour ists f rom
Europe, w he re the di f f icu lt e co nom ic si tuatio n ma kes
them m ore p ric e co nsc iou s.
Fulfilling the Promises of Travel and Tourism in
ASEAN

THIERRY GEIGER
World Economic Forum
Table 1: S el ec ted to ur is m an d ec on omi c ind ic ator s fo r AS E AN m em be r s, 2 011
TTCI International tourist arrivals International tourism receipts Population
GD P p e r
capita
R ank /13 9 thousand per 10 0 p op . US$ million % o f G DP US$ pe r c a pi t a million US $
Brunei Darussalam 67 214* 51.7 254
†
1.8
†
613.5
†
0.4 29,852
Cambodia 109 2,882 19.3 1,683 15.0 112.6 15.0 753
Indonesia 74 7,650 3.2 7,952 1.1 33.5 237.6 2,981
Lao PDR — 1,670* 25.9 382* 6.8* 59.3* 6.4 1,004
Malaysia 35 24,714 87.5 18,259 7.7 646.3 28.3 8,418
Myanmar — 391 0.6 73* 0.2* 1.2* 61.2 742
Philippines 94 3,917 4.2 2,783 1.7* 29.6 94.0 2,123
Singapore 10 10,390 200.4 17,990 7.9 3,470.3 5.2 43,865
Thailand 41 19,098 29.9 26,256 8.2 411.0 63.9 4,992
Vietnam 80 6,014 6.8 5,620 5.4 63.7 88.3 1,174
ASEAN — 76,940* 12.8 68,639* 4.6* 114.4* 600.2 3,117
So ur c es : Wo rl d E c on o mi c F or u m; U NWT O 2 0 12; IMF, Wo r ld E c o no mi c O u tl o o k ( Apr il 2 0 12); an d au t h or s’ c a lc ul at i on s.
* 2010
†
2009
© 2012 World Economic Forum
2 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012

In add itio n to these s tren gths, th ere se e ms to
be stro ng po liti ca l wil l in ASE A N me mb er c ountr ie s
to develo p the T&T sector, as it is s ee n as o ne of the
key sector s sup porting the c rea tion of th e ASE A N
Com mun it y. Box 2 revi ews the i niti ative s of ASE A N
rela ted to T&T si nc e its in ce ption in 19 67.
Th anks to the re gi on’s strategic l oc ation, cu ltur al
and n atura l he ri tag e, diver si t y, traditi on of tour ism,
and p oli tic al wi ll, T&T in ASE AN h old s gre at potentia l.
Th roug h the le ns of the TTCI, this stud y aim s to enab le
dia log ue a mon g rel evant st akeh old er s ab out ways
to addres s ob stac le s an d lever age s tren gths at b oth
the nati ona l an d reg ion al leve ls in o rde r to real ize the
potentia l of the T&T sec tor more f ull y an d sus tain ab ly.
MEASURING TR AVEL AND TOURISM
COMPETITIVENESS
Al thou gh the T&T se ctor provi de s ma ny ben ef its,
num erou s obs tac le s at the nati on al leve l hin de r
its grow th. T he Travel & Touri sm Co mp etiti vene s s
Ind ex, develo pe d by the Worl d Econ omi c For um in
col lab orati on w ith exp erts i n the se ctor, mea sure s the
many d if fe re nt reg ulatory a nd b usi ne ss-re lated i ssu e s
that have be e n ide ntif i ed as l ever s for im provi ng T&T
com peti tive ne ss in c oun trie s a roun d the wor ld. Th roug h
ana lys is of e ach d ime nsi on of the I ndex, bu si ne sse s an d
gover nm ents c a n add res s co untry-level c hal le ng e s. Suc h
ana lys is c an a lso in form p oli ci es at th e reg ion al leve l.
Th e T TCI is a co mpre he ns ive in dex that a ims to
measure the f actor s and p ol ici es th at make i t at tract ive
to develo p the T&T sector i n di f fe re nt cou ntr ies. The TTCI

cover s thre e broad c ateg ori es th at fac ili tate or dr ive T&T
com peti tive ne ss. T he se cate gor ie s are p res ented a s
three s ub ind exes:
A. T&T regulator y fra mework. This s ubi ndex
ca ptures th ose e le me nts that a re po licy re lated
and g en era ll y und er th e purvie w of gover nme nts.
B. T&T business environment and infrastr ucture.
Th is su bind ex ca pture s el em ents of the b us ine ss
envi ronm en t and th e “ha rd” inf ra stru ctu re of a
country.
C. T&T human , cul tur a l, a nd na tur a l re so ur ce s
subindex. This su bin dex c apture s the “softer ”
hum an, cul tura l, and n atura l el em ents of e ach
cou ntr y’s re so urce e nd owme nts.
Eac h of thes e thre e sub ind exes is, in tu rn,
com pos ed of a nu mb er of “pil la rs”, of which th ere a re 14
in al l. Figu re 1 pre sen ts the str uc ture of the TTCI and the
all oc ation of th e 14 pilla rs wi thin th e thre e su bind exes.
5

T h es e a r e:
1. Policy r ules and regulations (comp ris es 9
indi cator s). Th is pi lla r ca pture s the ex tent to wh ich
the po licy e nvi ronm ent i s co ndu ci ve to develop ing
the T&T sector i n eac h co untry.
2. Environmental sustainabilit y (7 indicators). This
pill ar m ea sure s th e stri nge nc y of the gover nm ent ’s
envi ronm en tal re gu latio ns in e ach c ou ntr y, as we ll
as the ex ten t to whic h they are a ctua ll y enfo rce d.
Box 1: Glo ba l a nd r e gi on al t re n ds in to ur i sm

Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced
continued expansion and diversification. It has become one
of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the
world. In spite of many shocks, long-term trends are indeed
impressive: tourism rose from 25 million international tourist
arrivals (ITA) in 1950 to a record 980 million ITA in 2011.
1
The T&T sector has not been spared by the recent
economic turmoil. ITA declined by 3.8 percent between 2008
and 2009, which corresponded to the trough of the crisis.
International tourism receipts (ITR), another gauge of the
sector’s health, plunged 5.6 percent during the same period.
But the sector has rebounded swiftly, posting a growth of 6.5
percent in 2010 and 4.4 percent in 2011. In monetary terms,
ITR amounted to US$919 billion in 2010, the latest year for
which data are available.
Emerging markets have been leading the recovery.
Mirroring the global economic shift currently underway, the
share of international tourist arrivals received by emerging
and developing economies rose from 31 percent in 1990 to
47 percent in 2011. This trend is likely to continue. UNWTO
forecasts that, by 2020, emerging and developing economies
will receive 53 percent of all tourist arrivals.
2

The Asia and Pacific region was the fastest-growing
region in terms of ITA in 2010. It now accounts for 22
percent of ITA worldwide, up from 16 percent in 2000. More
specifically in ASEAN, tourism has grown steadily over the
past decade, including intra-regional travel. ITA grew by 12

percent annually from 2000 to 2010, going from 36 million ITA
in 2000 to 77 million ITA in 2010. The share of ASEAN in total
global ITA went from 5.4 percent in 2000 to 7.9 percent in
2010, which corresponds to an increase of almost 50 percent.
Meanwhile the number of arrivals nearly doubled from 6.9 to
11.8 arrivals per 100 population. Intra-ASEAN tourism (i.e.,
visitors from ASEAN countries visiting other ASEAN countries)
accounts for 43 percent of all ITA in ASEAN.
While long-term trends and prospects for the sector
are positive, the current global context remains challenging,
owing to continuing economic uncertainty, high energy prices
that raise the cost of travel, and political upheaval in some
countries. A trend reversal is a real and persistent threat to the
continued development of the T&T sector, which is particularly
vulnerable to negative shocks. The consequences can be dire
for businesses and for employment and growth, especially in
those countries that rely heavily on tourism.
Notes
1 UNWTO 2011a and UNWTO 2012. Figures for 2011 are
preliminary.
2 UNWTO 2011b.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 3
3. Safety and securit y (4 indicator s). Th is pi lla r
takes i nto acco unt th e cos tlin es s of com mon
cri me a nd vi ol enc e, the preva le nc e of terror is m,
and th e inc ide nc e of road traff i c acc ide nts. It al so
con sid er s the ex tent to wh ich p oli ce s erv ic es c an
be re lie d upo n to provid e protecti on f rom cr ime.
4. Hea lth and hygiene (4 indic ators). T hi s pill ar

ass es se s the q ual it y a nd avail abi lit y of h ea lth a nd
sa nita tion i nfra str uctu re.
5. Priori tization of Travel & Tourism (5 indicators).
Th is pil la r me asu res to wh at ex tent the
gover nme nt ha s in p lac e a vis ion fo r deve lop ing
the T&T sector a nd ma kes th e sec tor a pri or it y.
6. Air trans por t infra stru cture (7 indicator s). This
pill ar m ea sure s both th e qua ntit y a nd q ual it y of ai r
trans po r t inf ra stru ctu re.
7. Ground transport infras tructure (5 indicators).
Th is pil la r me asu res b oth the qu anti t y and q ua lit y
of groun d tran spo r t i nfra str uctu re.
8. Touris m infrastr ucture (3 indi cator s). Th is pi lla r
mea su res th e qua lit y of i nfra str uctu re that i s
eith er tour is m-sp ec if ic or p arti cul ar ly re leva nt for
touris m, nam el y, den sit y of h otel room s and ATM s
and p res en ce of ca r ren tal c omp an ie s.
9. ICT infr astr ucture (5 ind ic ators). T his p ill ar
ass es se s upta ke of dif fe re nt infor mati on an d
com mun ic ation te chn olo gie s (ICT), an imp or t ant
enabler of T&T development.
10. Price competitiveness (5 indic ators). T hi s pill ar
mea su res th e rel ative co stli ne ss of a de stin atio n.
11. Human resources (10 ind ic ators). T his p ill ar
ass es se s the g en era l he al th of the pop ul ation
and th e qu ali t y and ava ila bil it y of ed uc ation a nd
training.
12. Af f ini t y for Tr avel & Tour ism (3 i ndic ators). This
pill ar m ea sure s the ex te nt to whic h a cou ntr y a nd
soc iet y a re ope n to touris m an d fore ign v isi tors.

13. Natural resources (4 in dic ators). T hi s pil lar
ca ptures th e qu ali t y of a cou ntr y’s n atura l he ri tag e
and r ic hne ss, a s well a s its effo r ts to pre serve it.
14. Cultural resource s (4 in dic ators). T his p ill ar
ass es se s the q ual it y of a co untry’s c ultu ral
heritage and richness.
Th e com pu tatio n of the TTCI is bas ed o n
suc ce ss ive ag gre gatio ns of the d if fe re nt level s of the
fra mewor k, f rom the l owest l evel (i.e., the ag greg atio n of
the var iou s ind iv idu al i ndi cators) to the hig he st leve l (i.e,
the ag greg atio n of the thre e su bin dic es th at prod uc e
the overa ll TTCI sco re). T he sc ore i n eac h cate gory ( i.e.,
overal l ind ex, sub ind ex, pill ar, indic ator) is th e averag e
of the nor ma lize d sco res of a ll in div id ual c om pon ents
in that c atego r y. T he TTCI sco rec ard i n Ap pe ndi x A
pre sen ts the det ail ed s tru cture of th e T TCI with a l ist of
the 75 individual indicators.
Individual indicators are sourced from various
inter natio nal o rga nis atio ns—e.g., Internati on al A ir
Transpo r t A sso ci ation ( IATA), Intern atio nal U nio n for
Con servation of N ature (IU CN), United N ation s World
Touris m Org ani sati on (U NWTO), Worl d Travel & Tourism
Cou nci l ( WTTC), United N atio ns Co nfere nc e on Trade
and D evel opm ent ( UNCTAD), The World B ank, a nd
Uni ted Natio ns Edu cati ona l, Sci enti fi c an d Cul tura l
Fig ur e 1: The TTC I fr am ewor k
Subindex A:
T&T regulatory
framework
Health and hygiene

Safety and security
Environmental sustainability
Policy rules and regulations
Prioritization of
Travel & Tourism
Subindex B:
T&T business environment
and infrastructure
ICT infrastructure
Tourism infrastructure
Ground transport infrastructure
Air transport infrastructure
Price competitiveness in
the T&T industry
Subindex C:
T&T human, cultural, and
natural resources
Human resources
Affinity for Travel & Tourism
Cultural resources
Natural resources
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index
© 2012 World Economic Forum
4 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
Box 2: ASE AN’s T&T-related initiatives
Brought to life in 1967, ASEAN was created with the aim of
accelerating economic growth, fostering social and cultural
development, and promoting peace and stability in the region.
While retaining its basic mission, the grouping has evolved
over time, in terms of both membership and scope. The five

original signatories were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand. Five other members joined much
later: Brunei Darussalam (in 1984), Vietnam (in 1995), Lao
PDR, Myanmar (both in 1997), and Cambodia (1999).
Since its creation, economic integration has been a key
objective of ASEAN and is embedded in the agreement of
2003 on the ASEAN Community (AC). The AC consists of
three pillars: (1) the ASEAN Political-Security Community; (2)
the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC); and (3) the ASEAN
Socio-Cultural Community.
1
The potential of tourism as a major socio-economic
driver of the region’s development and integration was
acknowledged early on. The ASEAN Tourism Association, a
not-for-profit body regrouping national tourism organisations
and other actors in the sector, was created already in 1971.
And in 1976, the ASEAN Secretariat established the ASEAN
Sub-Committee on Tourism. The reason for joining forces in
developing the T&T sector is, in part, the nature of the issues
related to it. For instance, issues like promotion, connectivity,
environmental protection, and mobility greatly benefit from
regional cooperation.
Initially, efforts mostly focused on promoting ASEAN as
a single tourist destination, typically through joint marketing
campaigns. Over the past decade, efforts have multiplied
and intensified to extend beyond promotion. In 2002, ASEAN
member countries signed the ASEAN Tourism Agreement,
whose objectives were: (1) to cooperate in facilitating travel
into and within ASEAN; (2) to enhance cooperation in the
tourism industry among member countries in order to

improve its efficiency and competitiveness; (3) to substantially
reduce restrictions to trade in T&T services; (4) to establish
an integrated network of T&T services in order to maximize
complementarity among the region’s tourist attractions; (5)
to enhance the development and promotion of ASEAN as a
single tourist destination; (6) to enhance mutual assistance in
human resource development and to strengthen cooperation
in developing, upgrading and expanding T&T facilities and
services in ASEAN; and (7) to create favorable conditions
for the public and private sectors to engage more deeply in
tourism development, intra-ASEAN travel, and investment in
tourism services and facilities.
In 2004, as a further indication of the importance of
the T&T sector for ASEAN, member countries adopted the
ASEAN Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority
Sectors, which identified the air travel and tourism sectors as
two of the 12 priority sectors that will hasten realization of the
AC.
2
In 2011, ASEAN adopted its Tourism Strategic Plan
2011-2015 with a renewed vision for T&T:
By 2015, ASEAN will provide an increasing number
of visitors to the region with authentic and diverse
products, enhanced connectivity, a safe and secure
environment, increased quality of services, while [ ]
ensuring an increased quality of life and opportunities
for residents through responsible and sustainable
tourism development.
3
The Strategic Plan identifies three strategic goals: (1)

developing experiential and innovative regional products and
creative marketing and investment strategies; (2) increasing
the quality of human resources, services, and facilities in the
region; and (3) enhancing and accelerating travel facilitation
and ASEAN connectivity.
In parallel, individual countries’ governments and national
tourism offices pursue their own efforts. For instance, tourism
is one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas at the center of
Malaysia’s efforts to become a high-income nation by 2020.
There are also regional efforts, such as the Mekong Tourism
Initiative, in which some ASEAN member countries partake.
4

Other initiatives, though not T&T specific, directly benefit the
sector, including the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity,
the ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan 2011-2015, and several
agreements on services liberalization. The ultimate objective of
all these initiatives is realization of the AC.
Notes
1 ASEAN Secretariat 2010a.
2 The other sectors are agro-based products; automotives;
e-ASEAN; electronics; fisheries; healthcare; rubber-based
products; textiles and apparels; wood-based products;
and logistics (added in 2006).
3 ASEAN Secretariat 2011.
4 The initiative supports tourism development in six countries
forming the Greater Mekong Subregion, Cambodia, Lao
PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam (all ASEAN members),
and the Chinese Province of Yunnan.
Org ani zati on (U NESCO)—as we ll as f rom th e World

Econ omi c Foru m’s annu al E xec uti ve Opi nio n Su r vey
(see Ap pe ndi x B for a ll the s ourc es). This su r vey is
carried out among business leaders—some 14,000
in 2011—in all ec on omi es c overed by o ur re se arch.
Th e Survey p rovid es u niq ue d ata on m any qu al itati ve
insti tutio na l and b us ine ss e nvi ronm ent i ssu e s, as wel l as
on sp ec if ic is su es re lated to the T&T sec tor, reflec ting th e
per sp ec tive of pe op le ma k ing inve stm ent d ec isi ons i n
thei r res pe cti ve ec ono mie s.
6
PERFO R MAN C E O F AS EAN COU N T R I ES I N TH E
TTCI 2011
Th e ass es sm ent of AS E AN m em be r cou ntri es i n the
T TCI 2011 draws a ver y mi xed pic ture of the re gi on.
Sin gap ore (10th), Ma laysi a (35th), Tha ila nd (41st), Brune i
Dar us sa la m (67th), Ind one si a (74th), Vi etnam (8 0 th), the
Phil ipp ine s (94th), and Ca mb odi a (10 9th) spa n al mos t the
entir e ran ge of the 139 e co nom ie s covere d by the TTCI
(see Table 2), w hic h con tinu es to be le d by Swi t zerl an d.
7

With o nl y thre e cou ntri es fe ature d in th e top 50 of the
T TCI, the T&T sector in AS E AN u ndo ubtedl y fac es a
number of challenges.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 5
Table 2: The TTCI 2011 rankings
Rank
(o ut of139 ) Country/Economy Scor e ( 1–7) Group*
1 Switzerland 5.7 Schengen

2 Germany 5.5 Schengen
3 France 5.4 Schengen
4 Austria 5.4 Schengen
5 Sweden 5.3 Schengen
6 United St ates 5.3
7 United Kingdom 5.3
8 Spain 5.3 Schengen
9 Canada 5.3
10 Singapore 5.2 ASEAN
11 Iceland 5.2 Schengen
12 Hon g Ko ng SAR 5.2
13 Australia 5.2
14 Netherlands 5.1 Schengen
15 Luxembourg 5.1 Schengen
16 Denmark 5.0 Schengen
17 Finland 5.0 Schengen
18 Portugal 5.0 Schengen
19 N ew Zealand 5.0
20 Norway 5.0 Schengen
21 Ireland 5.0
22 Japan 4.9
23 Belgium 4.9 Schengen
24 Cyprus 4.9
25 Estonia 4.9 Schengen
26 Malta 4.9 Schengen
27 Italy 4.9 Schengen
28 Barbados 4.8 Caribbean
29 Greece 4.8 Schengen
30 United Arab Emirates 4.8 GCC
31 Czech Republic 4.8 Schengen

32 Korea, Rep. 4.7
33 Slovenia 4.6 Schengen
34 Croatia 4.6
35 Malaysia 4.6 ASEAN
36 Montenegro 4.6
37 Taiwan, C hina 4.6
38 Hungary 4.5 Schengen
39 China 4.5
40 Bahrain 4.5 GCC
41 Thailand 4.5 ASEAN
42 Qatar 4.4 GCC
43 Mexico 4.4
44 C osta Rica 4.4
45 Puer to Rico 4.4 Caribbean
46 Israel 4.4
47 Tunisia 4.4
48 Bulgaria 4.4
49 Poland 4.4 Schengen
50 Turkey 4.4
51 Latvia 4.4 Schengen
52 Brazil 4.4
53 Mauritius 4.4
54 S lovak Republic 4.4 Schengen
55 Lithuania 4.3 Schengen
56 Panama 4.3
57 Chile 4.3
58 Uruguay 4.2
59 Russian Federation 4.2
60
Argentina 4.2

61 O
man 4.2 GCC
62 Saudi Arabia 4.2 GCC
63 Romania 4.2
64 Jordan 4.1
65 Jamaica 4.1 Caribbean
66 South Africa 4.1
67 Brunei Darussalam 4.1 ASEAN
68 India 4.1 SAARC
69 Peru 4.0
70 Lebanon 4.0
* Se e a na ly s is in Box 3 .
Rank
( out of139) Country/Economy Scor e ( 1–7) Group*
71 Albania 4.0
72 Dominican Republic 4.0 Caribbean
73 Georgia 4.0
74 Indonesia 4.0 ASEAN
75 Egypt 4.0
76 Macedonia, F Y R 4.0
77 Colombia 3.9
78 Morocco 3.9
79 Trinida d an d Tobag o 3.9 Caribbean
80 Vietnam 3.9 ASEAN
81 Sri L an k a 3.9 SAARC
82 Serbia 3.9
83 Azerbaijan 3.8
84 Namibia 3.8
85 Ukraine 3.8
86 Guatemala 3.8

87 Ecuador 3.8
88 Honduras 3.8
89 Cape Verde 3.8
90 Armenia 3.8
91 Botswana 3.7
92 Gambia, The 3.7
93 Kazakhstan 3.7
94 Philippines 3.7 ASEAN
95 Kuwait 3.7 GCC
96 El Sa lv ad or 3.7
97 B o s nia a nd H e r ze g ov ina 3.6
98 Guyana 3.6 Caribbean
99 Moldova 3.6
100 Nicaragua 3.6
101 Mongolia 3.6
102 Rwanda 3.5
103 Kenya 3.5
104 Senegal 3.5
105 Syria 3.5
106 Venezuela 3.5 Caribbean
107 Kyrgyz Republic 3.4
108 Ghana 3.4
109 Cambodia 3.4 ASEAN
110 Tanzania 3.4
111 Zambia 3.4
112 Nepal 3.4 SAARC
113 Algeria 3.4
114 Iran, islamic rep. 3.4
115 Uganda 3.4
116 Swaziland 3.4

117 Bolivia 3.3
118 Tajikistan 3.3
119 Zimbabwe 3.3
120 Benin 3.3
121 Malawi 3.3
122 Ethiopia 3.3
123 Paraguay 3.3
124 Libya 3.2
125 P
akistan 3.2 SAARC
126 Cameroon 3.2
127 Madagascar 3.2
128 Mozambique 3.2
129 Bangladesh 3.1 SAARC
130 Nigeria 3.1
131 Côte d’I voire 3.1
132 Burkina Faso 3.1
133 Mali 3.0
134 Timor-Leste 3.0
135 Lesotho 3.0
136 Mauritania 2.8
137 Burundi 2.8
138 Angola 2.8
139 Chad 2.6
© 2012 World Economic Forum
6 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
Fig ur e 2: T TC I sco re a nd G DP p er c ap it a
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia

Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
3 4 5 6
GD P pe r c ap ita (cur r en t U S $ , l og s ca le), 2 011
T T C I s co r e (1–7 )
Sources: World Ec onomic Forum; IMF World Ec onomic Outlook (Apr il 2012).
To put those re su lts in p er sp ec tive, one m ust
fi rst h igh lig ht that th e T TCI ran ki ngs c onti nue to be
dominated by advanced economies.
8
In the 2011
ran ki ngs, the f ir st 34 c ou ntri es—an d 41 of the top
50—are advance d economies, including Singapore,
the on ly ASEA N me mb er to be lon g to that grou p. This
is dr ive n by the fac t that ad van ced e co no mie s, on
averag e, fare si gni f ica ntl y bet ter in m ost a rea s of the
T TCI, incl udi ng ha rd and s of t inf ra stru ctu res, re gul ator y
fra mewor k, se cu ri t y, and pu bli c he alth. T he se fac tors
are not ju st dr ive rs of T&T com peti tive ne ss. T hey be nef i t
all sectors, boost productivit y, and accelerate economic
devel opm en t. Henc e the c los e rela tions hi p bet wee n T&T
com peti tive ne ss a nd pros pe ri t y, illu strated in F igu re 2.

However, there a re som e dim en sio ns of the TTCI
that are ve r y we ak l y, if at all, co rre lated w ith in com e,
inc ludi ng the a f f ini t y for T&T, natur al he ri tag e, and th e
de cis ion of a g overn me nt to prio ri tize T&T.
9
Fur the r, pric e
com peti tive ne ss is s lig htly n eg ative ly co rre lated.
10
For
the se rea so ns, jud gme nt is re qu ired w he n inter preti ng
and c om par ing th e res ults. I n parti cul ar, in som e are as,
com par is ons a re more re leva nt if m ade b et wee n
cou ntri es at a s imi la r stag e of devel opm en t.
See n in th is li ght, Mal aysia’s perform an ce at 35th is
strong. A s the top-ra nked d evel opi ng co untry, it d e fa cto
lea ds the d evel opi ng As ia re gio n, just a he ad of Ch ina
(39th) an d Th ail and (41st). Amon g the 14 devel opi ng
Asi an e co nom ie s covere d by the TTCI, all seve n ASEA N
mem be rs fe ature i n the top 10 al ong sid e Ch ina, I ndi a
(68th), a nd Sr i L an ka (81st). Nepa l (112 th), Pak ist an
(125th), B ang lad es h (129th) and T im or-Le ste (134th) all
place behind Cambodia, ASE AN’s worst per former.
As for S ing apo re, it is the b e st-per for mi ng ad vanc ed
ec ono my outs ide Eu rope a nd N or th A m er ica . It le ads th e
Asi an T ig er s, ahe ad of Ho ng Kong (12th)—whi ch po sts
a sim ila r pe r for ma nc e—Korea (32nd), and Taiwan, C hin a
(37th). It als o pre ced e s Austra li a (13th), N ew Zea lan d
(19 th), and J apa n (22nd).
A more g ran ula r an al ysis at th e pi lla r level i s req uire d
to unde rst and th e rea so ns for the m ixed p erfo rm an ce

of ASE A N cou ntri es i n the TTCI. The u pp er se cti on
of Table 3 rep or ts th e ra nks ou t of 139 ec ono mie s of
ASE A N cou ntri es a cros s the 14 pill ar s. Th e lower s ec tion
of that ta ble s hows the ir s core s on a 1-to-7 sca le. In both
sec tion s, the co lor s ch em e read ily i de ntif ie s tho se are as
of relati ve stre ngth (w hite-s had ed c el ls) and we ak ne ss
(red-sha de d ce lls), w hil e a lig ht-brown shad e ind ic ates an
averag e pe r for ma nc e (i.e., around th e me dia n).
Table 3 revea ls th e ex tent of Sin gap ore‘s lead in
the re gio n. It tops ASE A N in al l pil lar s of the TTCI, bar
price competi tiveness, led by Br une i Da ru ss ala m, and
natura l re sou rce s, led by Indonesia.
11
De spi te its sma ll
size an d the q uas i-ab se nce of n atura l res ourc es, th e
cit y-state ha s es tab lis hed i tse lf as a m aj or bu sin es s an d
touris t de stin ation. It h as po siti on ed its el f as a ga teway to
Asi a and O ce a nia, a ve nu e for la rge -sca le eve nts, an d a
worl d-c las s sh opp ing d es tinati on, tha nks to its excel len t
infr astr uc ture, very c ond uc ive inve stme nt cl imate, an
edu cated p oo l of tal ent, and o pe nn es s.
12
Singapore
draws 20 tim es m ore tour ists p er c api ta a nd 30 ti me s
more re ce ipts pe r c api ta tha n the AS E AN ave rage.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 7
Table 3 : Perfo r ma nce o f ASEA N co unt ri es i n the TTCI
Pillars
Singapore

Malaysia
Thailand
Brunei Darussalam
Indonesia
Vietnam
Philippines
Cambodia
AS EAN (m ed i a n)
TTCI 2011 10 35 41 67 74 80 94 109 75
1. Policy rules and regulations 1 21 76 120 88 67 70 132 73
2. Environmental sustainability 41 64 97 136 127 115 94 82 96
3. Safety and security 13 83 94 23 72 68 109 79 76
4. Health and hygiene 55 75 80 70 115 89 97 133 85
5. Prioritization of Travel & Tourism 2 46 38 127 15 107 70 13 42
6. Air transport infrastructure 14 34 23 41 58 85 80 113 50
7. Ground transport infrastructure 2 36 56 49 82 77 114 103 67
8. Tourism infrastructure 33 74 40 91 116 110 98 131 95
9. ICT infrastructure 20 52 81 47 96 67 98 123 74
10. Price competitiveness 29 3 15 1 4 16 20 31 16
11. Human resources 2 37 74 47 51 72 86 109 62
12. Affinity for Travel & Tourism 12 17 24 78 121 87 65 21 45
13. Natural resources 96 22 21 38 17 51 70 53 45
14. Cultural resources 30 33 32 91 39 36 76 111 38
Rank
(out of 13 9 ec on omi es)
Pillars
Singapore
Malaysia
Thailand
Brunei Darussalam

Indonesia
Vietnam
Philippines
Cambodia
AS EAN (av e r ag e)
TT CR sample*
TTCI 2011 5.2 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.4 4.2 4.1
1. Policy rules and regulations 6.0 5.1 4.4 3.7 4.2 4.4 4.4 3.4 4.4 4.3
2. Environmental sustainability 4.9 4.6 4.2 3.6 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.6
3. Safety and security 6.1 4.5 4.4 5.7 4.7 4.8 4.1 4.6 4.9 4.8
4. Health and hygiene 5.2 4.5 4.4 4.7 2.6 4.1 3.8 1.5 3.8 4.5
5. Prioritization of Travel & Tourism 6.4 4.8 4.9 3.3 5.7 4.0 4.5 5.8 4.9 4.5
6. Air transport infrastructure 5.0 4.2 4.5 4.0 3.3 2.7 2.8 2.3 3.6 3.3
7. Ground transport infrastructure 6.6 4.6 4.1 4.2 3.2 3.3 2.8 3.0 4.0 3.9
8. Tourism infrastructure 5.1 3.6 4.9 2.8 2.0 2.1 2.6 1.4 3.1 3.8
9. ICT infrastructure 5.2 3.7 2.9 3.9 2.5 3.2 2.5 1.9 3.2 3.4
10. Price competitiveness 5.1 5.6 5.2 5.8 5.6 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.3 4.6
11. Human resources 6.1 5.2 4.8 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.3 5.0 4.8
12. Affinity for Travel & Tourism 5.7 5.4 5.3 4.5 4.2 4.5 4.6 5.3 4.9 4.7
13. Natural resources 2.6 4.5 4.6 4.0 4.7 3.6 3.3 3.5 3.9 3.3
14. Cultural resources 3.9 3.8 3.9 1.8 3.5 3.6 2.2 1.6 3.0 2.9
Score
(1–7 s c a l e )
Worst Median/Average Best
* Aver ag e s c or e of t h e 139 ec o no mi es c o ve re d in t h e TT C I .
© 2012 World Economic Forum
8 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
Box 3: Perfor ma n ce of A SEA N a nd s el e cte d c ou ntry gr ou ps i n the TTCI
This brief comparative analysis between the group
performance of ASEAN and other relevant country groupings

(see Table 2 for composition) provides a sense of the region’s
comparative strengths and weaknesses.
1

Like ASEAN, the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) aims to develop cross-border tourism
to accelerate its economic development and promote regional
integration. SAARC comprises Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and three countries not covered by the
TTCI, namely Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives. SAARC
borders the ASEAN region (India and Bangladesh share
a border with Myanmar), and both regions display some
similarities: SAARC is exclusively composed of developing
Asian nations and boasts abundant cultural, historical, and
natural heritages. It is arguably even more diverse than
ASEAN, with two Himalayan countries, as members.
So far, SAARC’s strategy for tourism development does
not seem to have lived up to expectations.
2
The T&T sector
remains comparatively small, accounting for just 2.1 percent
of GDP, less than half the share in ASEAN.
3
In 2010, the
entire SAARC region attracted 12.4 million visitors, half the
number registered by Malaysia alone, and about six times
less than ASEAN overall, despite being twice as large.
4
India,
SAARC’s most popular destination, recorded roughly as many

arrivals as Vietnam, ASEAN’s 5th largest recipient.
The TTCI points to areas that might explain this
mediocre tourism performance. SAARC’s average is below
that of ASEAN in the overall TTCI—a difference of 0.7 point—
as well as in each of the 14 pillars (see Figure 3.A). The gap
is particularly wide in the areas of tourism infrastructure,
ICT infrastructure, and safety and security. This provides no
reason for complacency, given SAARC’s poor performance,
but these results suggest that the T&T sector in ASEAN is
significantly more attractive to invest in and to develop than
that of a comparable grouping.
Though significantly smaller and geographically less
diverse, the Caribbean attracts annually some 20 million
tourists and business travelers. The T&T sector directly
accounts for 4.5 percent of the region’s GDP. The region
benefits from the proximity of large developed and emerging
markets, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico,
and Colombia. TheCaribbean Tourism Organization (CTO)
regroups 32 countries and territories in the Caribbean and
South America. CTO has as its objective “the development
ofsustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit
ofCaribbeanpeople.”
The TTCI covers only five Caribbean economies, namely
Barbados (28th), Puerto Rico (45th), Jamaica (65th), the
Dominican Republic (72nd), and Trinidad and Tobago (79th),
which together accounted for more than half of all arrivals
Fig ur e 3.A : Perfor ma nc e of ASEA N a nd s ele c ted c ou ntry gr oup s in th e T TCI 2 011
0
1
2

3
4
5
6
7
Cultural resources
Natural resources
Affinity for Travel & T ourism
Human resources
Price competitiveness
ICT infrastructure
Tourism infrastructure
Ground transport infrastructure
Air transport infrastructure
Prioritization of Travel & Tourism
Health and hygiene
Safety and security
Environmental sustainability
Policy rules and regulations
TTCI 2011
4.2* 4.4 4.2 4.9 3.8 4.9 3.6 4.0 3.1 3.2 5.3 5.0 4.9 3.9 3.0
l Schengen l GCC l Caribbean l SAARC n ASEAN
S c o r e ( 1–7)
No te: See Table 2 f o r gr ou p c om p o si ti o ns .
* A S EAN s c or e.
(Cont’d.)
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 9
Sec o n d, Ca mb o d ia a n d th e Ph i li p pi n e s tr ai l th e re s t of
the re gio n, whic h is ref le cted i n the ir pe r fo rma nc e on

indi vi du al pi lla rs of the TTCI. Cambo dia is th e po ore st-
perform ing AS E AN c ou ntr y i n seven p ill ar s of the Ind ex.
Th e Phil ipp ine s ra nks no h igh er th an 65th in 13 pi lla rs.
Th ird, Ma l ays i a a n d T h a il a n d d o co m p a rati ve l y we l l ac ro s s
the bo ard de sp ite a few da rk s pots. Oth er c ou ntri es
del ive r very m ixed re su lts ac ross th e differe nt pil lar s. For
inst anc e, Indo ne si a exhi bits a ve r y va ri ed p erfor ma nc e,
with c le ar stre ng ths in p ric e co mp etitive ne ss, n atura l
her it age, an d T&T prio riti zati on, as we ll as p rono unc ed
shor tcomings related to environmental sustainability,
hea lth a nd hygi en e, and inf ra stru ctu re. Bru ne i
Dar us sa la m als o alter nate s bet we en po si tive an d
neg ative o utcom es—it i s inex pe nsi ve an d safe bu t
pre sen ts one of th e wors t env iron men tal p erfo rm anc es
amo ng the 139 e co nom ie s stud ie d.
Fina ll y, some c omm on ali tie s do exi st ac ross th e
regi on. Sh are d stren gths i ncl ud e the pr io riti zati on of
T&T and pr ice c omp etiti ven es s. Co mmo n wea kn es se s
inc lud e the po or st ate of transp ort a nd tour ism -rel ated
infr astr uc ture s (with th e nota ble exce ption of S ing apo re),
a worr iso me s an ita r y s ituati on in l arg e parts of th e
regi on, an d rathe r po or e nviro nme nta l pe r for ma nc e.
Ove ral l, however, the patchwork of di f fe rent s had es i n
Table 3 un de rsc ore s the p rofound d isp ar itie s that p er si st
with in the re gi on.
Gi ven ASEA N’s am biti on to posi tio n itse lf a s a sin gle
touris t de stin ation, we al so as se ss th e reg ion’s averag e
perform an ce, stre ssi ng that ave rag e sco res a nd m edi an
ran ks ne ce ss ar ily c on ce al the d isp ar itie s hi ghl igh ted
above. Th e ri ghtm ost c olu mn of the u ppe r se ctio n of

Table 3 rep orts th e me dia n ran k of ASE A N co untr ie s and
the t wo co lum ns on th e very r igh t of the lowe r sec tion
repo r t th e averag e sc ore s for ASE A N an d the e ntire
sample, respectively.
13
At the reg ion al leve l, the are as of
weak n es s are e nviro nm enta l su sta ina bil it y, he alth a nd
hygie ne, touri sm inf ra stru ctu re, and ICT inf ra stru ctur e,
whi le the s tren gths i ncl ude p ri ce co mp etiti vene s s, af f ini t y
for T&T, a nd p rio ri tiza tion of T&T. Natu ral re so urce s an d
cul tura l he rit age a lso c ons titu te area s of relati ve stre ngth.
De spi te low averag e sco res i n the se t wo cate gor ie s,
ASE A N doe s be tte r than th e avera ge pe r fo rm anc e of
the fu ll s amp le of 139 co untr ie s cover ed by the In dex.
To compl eme nt th is br ief overvie w, Box 3 com pa res th e
perform an ce of ASEA N aga ins t other re leva nt co untry
associations.
Th e heterog en ei t y am ong AS E AN c ou ntri es i s
of con ce rn, gi ven the ir g oal of b ec omi ng a un if ie d
touris t de stin ation. W hil e ASE A N ca n tur n the c ultu ral,
natur al, ethni c, and e co nom ic di ver sit y of i ts mem be rs
into an ad vanta ge for tour is m prom otion, the s evere
sho r tcom ing s of certain of i ts me mbe rs i n a num be r
of area s cr itic al to the i ndu str y a re wor ri som e. Vis itors
may be d rawn to the re gio n for its d iver si t y but d eter red
Box 3: Perfor ma n ce of A SEA N a nd s el e cte d c ou ntry gr ou ps i n the TTCI (cont’d.)
to the region in 2010. ASEAN trails this subset by a narrow
margin in the overall TTCI. Yet, the drivers of competitiveness
differ greatly between the two regions. The Caribbean clearly
has the advantage in the pillars related to health and hygiene,

prioritization of T&T, ground transport, and ICT infrastructure,
while ASEAN leads in terms of price competitiveness, natural
resources, and cultural heritage.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising the
United Arab Emirates (UAE, 30th), Bahrain (40th), Qatar
(42nd), Oman (61st), Saudi Arabia (62nd), and Kuwait (95th),
does marginally better than ASEAN in the overall TTCI. GCC’s
performance is largely in line with that of the Caribbean. Thus,
the strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis ASEAN tend to be the
same. ASEAN is no match for GCC in terms of infrastructure,
public health, and safety and security, but leads by an ample
margin in terms of cultural and natural heritage.
Finally, we compare ASEAN with the average
performance of the European countries forming the Schengen
Area.
5
Schengen operates very much like a single state for
international travel, with border controls for travel in and
out of the area but no internal border controls. It is such
a model that ASEAN aspires to, although in terms of visa
requirements, ASEAN countries are much more permissive
to third countries (see Box 3). The top five countries in the
TTCI—Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, and Sweden—
all belong to the Schengen Area; and 22 of its members
feature in the top 50. Because of its structure and the strong
performance of its members, the Schengen Area represents
a relevant benchmark for ASEAN. As seen in Figure 3.A,
ASEAN lags behind in most dimensions of the Index,
particularly in the areas of cultural resources (2.2 points lower
than Schengen), health and hygiene (-1.6), and environmental

sustainability (-1.4). The only pillar where ASEAN is ahead is
price competitiveness (+1.2).
Notes
1 All four regions discussed here exhibit great internal dispar-
ities. The same caveats that apply to ASEAN—about group
scores and ranks concealing these disparities—therefore
apply when making comparisons across groups.
2 See de Alwis 2010 for a review of SAARC’s efforts to pro-
mote tourism.
3 WTTC 2012. Among the 12 regions of WTTC classification,
South Asia is where the contribution of T&T is estimated to
be the smallest. Yet, WTTS predicts that it is where growth
will be fastest in the next decade.
4 All tourism figures cited in this paragraph are from UNWTO
2012.
5 A member of the Schengen Area, Lichtenstein is not cov-
ered in the TTCI.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
10 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
from v is itin g plac e s that are u ns afe, not well c onn ec ted,
or def ic ie nt in tour is m inf rastr uc ture. Si mil ar ly, investor s
in the T&T sec tor ca n be at trac ted to ASE AN fo r its
strategi c lo catio n, gre at ec ono mic p otentia l, and po liti ca l
wil l to develo p the se ctor, yet they may shy away fro m
plac e s that do n ot provid e a co ndu ci ve reg ulatory a nd
business environment, a reasonable infrastructure, or a
poo l of sk ill ed wor ker s.
Th e ris k is tha t the mo st co mpe titive a nd mo st
pop ula r de stin ation s in the re gi on—Si nga por e, Malays ia,
and T ha ila nd—may e nd u p ca pturi ng a grow ing s hare

of new vi sitor s an d investm en ts to the regi on, le adin g
to a deep en ing of th e dis par iti es. T his wo uld u nd er min e
the vi sio n of the ASEA N Eco nom ic Co mmu ni t y, and
in pa r tic ula r on e of its four c ore o bje cti ves, wh ich i s to
create a region of “equitable economic development.”
14

Sig ns of suc h di verg enc e ca n al read y be o bse r ve d.
Fig ure 3 sh ows the evol utio n of touri sm re ce ipts in
ASE A N bet we en 20 0 0 an d 2010. Ove r that p er iod, the
sha re of Ma laysi a, Sin ga pore, a nd Th ai lan d—the three
larg es t rec ipi ents—in cre ase d fro m 67 perce nt to 77
perc en t. The se co untr ie s’ rece ipts treb le d, whil e they
dou ble d in th e rest of AS E AN. AS E AN m ust a ddre ss th e
dis par iti es a mon g its me mb er n ation s as pa r t of its l arg er
devel opm en t and i ntegrati on effo r ts.
Th e rem a in de r of th e an a ly si s rev iews th e
perform a nc e of in di v id ua l AS EAN c ou ntr i e s on e ac h p il la r.
As ea c h an d eve ry in di v id ua l i nd ic ator of the TTCI is not
revie wed, the s co re c a rd in A p pe n di x A pre s e nts th e ra nks
and s co re s of ASEA N c ou ntr ie s i n al l the c o mp on e nts of
the TTCI, incl ud in g the 75 indic ator s.
Pillar 1: Policies and regulations
Gover nm ents c an h ave an im port ant i mpac t on th e
attr acti ven es s of devel op ing th e T&T sector, depe nd ing
on wh ethe r the p oli cie s they c reate an d pe rp etuate
suppor t or hinder the sector’s development. This pillar
ca ptures th e ex tent to whi ch the p ol icy f ram ework i s
con duc ive to the se ctor’s deve lo pme nt. It com pr ise s a
num be r of indi cator s, whi ch ca pture th e ex tent to whic h

forei gn own er sh ip an d fore ign d ire ct inve stme nt (FD I) are
welc ome d an d fac ili tated by the c ountry; the protecti on
of prope r t y r ig hts; the ea se of sta r tin g a bus ine s s; visa
requ ire me nt stri ng enc y; the op en ne ss of bi latera l Ai r
Servic e Agre em ents; an d com mi tmen ts und er th e Gl oba l
Agre eme nt o n Trade in Se r v ic es (G ATS) to op en ing T&T
services.
In this p ill ar, Sing apo re is se co nd to non e am ong th e
139 eco no mie s (see Tabl e 3 and A pp en di x A). It de f ac to
sets the b en chm ar k for th e other c oun trie s of ASEA N,
onl y t wo of whic h, Mal aysi a (21st) and V ietn am (67th),
featu re in the top ha lf of the r an ki ng. Th e tran spa ren cy,
clarity, and ef f iciency of Singapore’s legal framework
und er pin th e enti re ec ono my. Ind ee d, other, more
gra nul ar as se ss me nts of sim ila r cr iter ia c ond ucted by th e
World Ec ono mic Fo ru m con sis tently p lac e Sin gap ore o n
top.
15
Th e lowes t-r anked A SE A N cou ntr y, Ca mbo dia ,
com es i n at an a lar mi ngl y low 132nd. It takes 85 d ays
to star t a b usi ne ss (132nd ) ther e, and the s et-up costs
are e qui vale nt to 128 p erc ent of th e averag e natio na l
inc ome (129 th). Fur th er, the co untry r anks 125th for
trans pa ren cy, or lac k the reof, in poli cym ak in g. The se
Fig ur e 3: Tren ds in i nte rn at ion al to ur is m re ce ipt s in AS E A N
0
10
20
30
40

50
60
70
80
7775747272707170686867Share of top 3 (percent)
20102009200820072006200520042003200220012000
US$ (billions)
n Rest of ASEAN
n Top 3: Malaysia, Singapore, Thaliand
So ur c e: A u th o r s’ c al cu la ti o ns a nd e s t ima te s b a se d o n U NWT O 2 0 12.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 11
insti tutio na l sho r tco min gs ca n un de rm ine a g over nme nt’s
be st ef fo r ts to devel op a se ctor thro ug h spe ci fi c
sup porti ng po lic ie s an d me asu res, as r efl ec ted in the
hig h mar ks e ar ne d for t wo T&T-re lated in dic ators of thi s
pill ar, nam el y vis a req uire me nts (15th) and c omm itme nts
to T&T li be ral izati on u nde r GATS (39 th), as wel l as in th e
gover nme nt’s prior itiz atio n of the se ctor (see b elow).
Cambodia’s dichotomous per forma nce is
symptom atic of the s ituati on ac ros s mos t of ASE A N,
with th e exceptio n of Sin gap ore. O n the on e ha nd, mos t
cou ntri es s pare n o ef fo r ts in d evel opi ng the ir T&T sec tor.
On th e other h and, th e insti tutio na l fra mewo rk for d oin g
bus ine ss th ere re ma ins d if f ic ul t. ASE AN c ountr ie s ra nk,
on avera ge, sig ni fi ca ntly h igh er o n thos e indi cator s in
this p illa r that a re sp ec if ic to the tour ism s ec tor than o n
indicators of the general business environment.
16
Box 4

loo ks in mo re det ail at th e vis itor v isa, a key e lem en t of
ASE A N’s T&T strategy. To boost th ei r T&T per fo rma nc e,
however, ASE AN c ou ntri es w ill n ee d to improve
perform an ce in oth er c omp ar tm ents of th ei r insti tutio na l
framework.
Pillar 2: Environmental susta inability
Policies and factors enhancing environmental
sust ain ab ili t y are cr uc ia l for en sur in g that a co untry
wil l conti nue to be a n at trac tive de sti natio n goi ng into
the fu ture. T he se co nd pi lla r of the TTCI me asu res th e
stri nge ncy of e nvi ronm ent al re gul ation s in e ach c ountry,
as wel l as the ex te nt to whic h they a re actu all y enfo rce d.
Gi ven the n eg ative e nviro nm enta l im pact th at tour ism
ca n som etime s br in g abo ut, the pi lla r als o take s into
acc ount th e ex tent to whi ch gove rn me nts pr ior itize
the su sta ina ble d evel opm ent of th e T&T sector in th eir
res pe ctive e co nom ie s. In add itio n to poli cy inp uts, thi s
pill ar i nco rp orates s ome of th e rel ated env iron me ntal
outp uts, in clu ding c ar bo n diox ide e mis si ons a nd th e
prop or ti on of the c oun tr y’s sp ec ie s that a re en da nge red.
From a T&T pers pe ctive, e nviro nme nta l sus tai nab ili t y
is of par amo unt i mpo r ta nc e for ASEA N cou ntri es, w hic h
der ive p art of the ir tour is m at tracti ven es s fro m the ir
ex traord ina r y a nd u niq ue natu ral h er ita ge, as ref le cted
in the ir excel le nt sta ndi ngs i n the natu ra l res ourc es
pill ar (se e be low). It i s the refore wor ri som e that AS E AN
cou ntri es p erfo rm s o poo rl y in thi s dim ens io n (see
Table 3 an d Ap pe ndi x A). Best-ranked S ing ap ore
is on ly 41st, and Mal aysi a (64th) is the onl y other
cou ntr y fe ature d in th e top hal f of the pil la r ran ki ng.

Th e Phil ipp ine s (94th), Tha ila nd (97th), V ietn am (115h),
and I ndo ne sia (127th) ran k ne ar o r be low the 10 0 th
mar k, wh ile B ru ne i Da ru ss ala m (136 th) rank s nea rl y
las t. In a majo ri t y of ASE A N cou ntri es, e nviro nm enta l
protectio n ha s not em erg ed a s a key prio ri t y. Not onl y
is env iron me ntal r egu lati on pe rce ive d as rath er l a x
acros s the re gi on, but r egu lati ons a lso a re not ri goro us ly
enforced.
Acco rdin g to some m ea sure s, the e nviro nm enta l
situ ation i n the re gio n is d eteri oratin g. In the Ph ilip pin es,
one i n fi ve sp eci es of a nim al s is thre atene d, and 13
perc en t in Ma lays ia an d Ind one si a (see Fi gure 4).
17

In Br un ei Da r uss al am, Ca mbo dia, V ie tnam, a nd
Th ail and, a lmo st on e in ten sp ec ie s is thre aten ed.
Figure4: Percent of anima l species threatened in selected countries
So ur c e: I UC N , R e d L i st o f T h re at en e d S p ec ie s 2 0 10.
* Den o te s AS EAN m em be r c ou nt ry
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Russian Federation
Singapore*
South Africa

Brazil
Thailand*
Vietnam*
Cambodia*
Brunei Darussalam*
United States
China
Australia
Indonesia*
Malaysia*
India
Philippines*
Mexico
Mauritius
Madagascar
New Zealand
Rank
93102104111115116120122124127129130131135136137138139 82
6
7
7
8
9
99
10
12
12
13
1313
18

19
20
23
31
5
Percent
© 2012 World Economic Forum
12 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
Box 4: ASEA N’s sing le v is a pr o gr a m a nd v is a r eq ui re me nt s
Facilitating the movement of people within ASEAN has long
been seen as an important factor of integration. To date, while
great progress has been achieved in facilitating the movement
of ASEAN nationals within the region, the community lags
behind when it comes to non-ASEAN citizens.
In 2006, the ten ministers of foreign affairs of ASEAN
signed the Framework Agreement on Visa Exemption. Visa
exemption for ASEAN nationals is an important step for the
T&T sector, as intra-ASEAN tourism accounts for half of all
international tourist arrivals in the region. Under this scheme,
member countries “shall exempt citizens of any other Member
States holding valid national passports from visa requirement
for a period of stay of up to 14 days,” provided the purpose
of the stay is to visit.
1
The goal is that, by 2015, all member
countries will have signed a visa exemption agreement with all
their fellow members. As of May 2012, all ASEAN members
except Myanmar and Cambodia have implemented this
measure. Cambodia still requests visitors to obtain a visa-on-
arrival (VOA), while Myanmar is to implement a similar VOA

scheme as of June 2012.
2
As for non-ASEAN nationals, the idea of a single visa
has been on the table for a while. Under the common visa
program, non-ASEAN nationals would be granted free
movement within ASEAN for a limited period of time. The
model for ASEAN is the Schengen Area, a common visa
program adopted by 26 European countries. Such a program
would provide obvious benefits for promoting ASEAN as a
destination.
In the mid 2000s, the ambition was still to adopt
the single visa program by 2015. But the idea was later
dismissed, and the project was not included in the Tourism
Strategic Plan 2011-2015.
3
The plan mentions this inability
to agree, invoking the “barriers of technology, political issues,
concerns of sovereignty and security and the different visa
systems in the Member States.”
4
Elsewhere, the loss of
revenues generated by visa fees is also cited as a reason.
5

Against this background, two less ambitious initiatives
are being pursued, namely the intra-ASEAN visas and
the adoption of an e-visa with simplified and harmonized
procedures, both within the 2015 deadline.
While significant, the benefits of a common visa scheme
should not be overstated—at least, this should not be seen

as the only way to facilitate travel. Individually, countries can
do much to make traveling across borders easier, including
simplifying application procedures, improving processing
times, reducing fees, and extending visa exemption lists.
Indeed, for a very large proportion of travelers to a
number of ASEAN countries, visa is already not an issue.
Remarkably enough, Malaysia (1st), Singapore (2nd), and the
Philippines (3rd) top the visa requirement index computed by
UNTWO (see Figure 4.A).
6
Nationals from 163 nations can
Figure 4.A : Visa Index and visa requirements for selected countries
l Schengen l GCC l Caribbean l SAARC n ASEAN
Source: World Economic Forum, 2011a.
Note: See text for details.
* Den o te s AS EAN m em be r c ou nt ry
(Cont’d.)
0 50 100 150 200
India
China
Russian Federation
United Arab Emirates
United States
Indonesia*
Brunei Darussalam*
Thailand*
Brazil
EU/Shengen
South Africa
Cambodia*

Vietnam*
Korea, Rep.
Hong Kong SAR
Philippines*
Singapore*
Malaysia*
58
163
159159
151
159
143
159
110
159
70
159
68
159
4.5
159
65
159
58.5
159
21
159
51.5
159
41

10
5
22
3
159
34
159
37
3
103 182
179
1
2
3
4
6
7
15
38
42
74
79
88
94
98
108
126
131
135
Rank

n Visa upon arrival
n No visa required
Number of countr ies
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 13
Th e dis app ea ra nce of s pe ci es is l arg el y the re sul t of
de stru ctio n or d eg radati on of the ir n atura l hab ita ts.
Th e regi on a lso u nde rp erform s on an othe r me asu re
of envi ronm ent al p erfor ma nc e, fin e particl es, wh ic h
pos e ser io us pu bli c he alth h a za rds i n the sh or t r un
and e nvi ronm ent al r isks i n the lo ng r un.
18
Despite
enc ou ragi ng tre nds, th eir c onc e ntratio n rem ain s
hig h in ha lf of the AS E AN c ou ntri es. In I ndo ne sia (6 8
mic rogr ams p er c ubi c meter), Vietn am (50), Thai lan d
(53), Br un ei D ar uss al am (48), an d Cam bod ia, th e
con ce ntratio n rem ain s t wo to three tim es h igh er th an the
ma x imu m an nua l avera ge of da ily c on ce ntratio n of 20
mic rogr ams s et by the Europ ea n Un ion. B y contr ast, the
Phil ipp ine s (17), Ma lays ia (19), and Si nga por e (23) p res ent
lowe r leve ls.
If not add res se d prom ptly a nd de ci sive ly,
envi ronm en tal d eg radati on a nd po llu tion w ill h ave severe
con seq ue nc es for th e at trac tive ne ss of ASEA N as a T&T
de stina tion. Box 5 pre se nts the f in din gs of a stud y that
aim s to asse ss th e ec ono mic va lue of n atura l res ourc e s
for T&T and the m one tary c ost of th ei r de stru ctio n or
de grad ation. Too ma ny cou ntri es i n ASE A N are sti ll
neg le ctin g this a sp ec t of thei r deve lop me nt, des pite the ir

rep eated c om mitm en ts at the re gi ona l leve l to develo pi ng
tourism in a sustainable manner.
19
Pilla r 3: S afe t y a nd se cu r it y
Safet y a nd se cu rit y c on diti ons a re well -und er stood
deter min ants of th e com peti tive ne ss of a co untry’s T&T
sec tor. Tour ists a re de terre d fro m traveli ng to dang ero us
cou ntri es a nd re gio ns, ma ki ng it l es s at trac tive to
devel op the T&T se ctor in tho se pl ace s. T his p ill ar ta kes
into acco unt s ecu ri t y is sue s su ch as th e co stlin es s of
com mon c ri me, vi ole nc e, and p otential ter ror is m, as well
as the ex ten t to whic h pol ice s erv ic es c an b e rel ie d upo n
to provide p rotectio n fro m cr ime. T he pi lla r als o take s
into acco unt a n imp orta nt me as ure of s afet y, nam el y, the
inc ide nc e of road traff ic a cci de nts in the c ou ntr y.
ASE A N me mbe r co untr ie s pai nt a mi xed pic ture
in this p ill ar (see Tabl e 3 an d Ap pe ndi x A). Singa po re
ran ks 13th, followe d by Bru ne i Da ru ss ala m (23rd). The
other c oun trie s ra nk mu ch l ower, rangi ng f rom 68 th for
Th ail and to 109 th for th e Phil ipp ine s. Howeve r, as the
sco res i n this p illa r are g en er all y hig he r tha n in ma ny
other p ill ar s, a low ran k doe s not n ec es sa ri ly me a n that
a cou ntr y i s uns afe. Low-ranked P hili ppi ne s gets a s core
of 4.1 out of 7.
Ove ral l, the regi on is s afe r than a n umb er of
de stina tions i n the re st of deve lop ing A si a, and m ost
plac e s in L atin A me ri ca a nd Af ric a. T he in tention al
hom ici de rate, a roug h prox y of the de gre e of vi ole nc e
prevai ling i n a co untry, is re lati vely l ow am ong AS E AN
cou ntri es, ra ng ing f rom 0.5 homi cid e s per 100,0 0 0

pop ulati on in S ing ap ore to 10.2 in Myan mar. Th e
pop ulati on-wei ghted aver age r ate for ASE A N is 5.9
hom ici de s, com pare d wi th 25.0 in C entra l A mer ic a, 21.0
in Sou th A me ric a, 16.8 in Af ric a, a nd 3.4 in Europe.
20
Of c our se, the re gi on is n ot immu ne to pet t y
cri me, es pe ci all y in la rge c itie s, forc ing v isi tors to exer t
cau tion a nd avoi d sp ec if ic pl ace s at c er t ain ti me s.
Th is is exac er bated by the p erc ei ved u nre lia bil it y of
pol ice s erv ic es i n a num be r of cou ntri es i n the re gio n,
es pe cia lly i n Cam bo dia (115th, with a sco re of 3.2 on a
1-to-7 s ca le), the P hili ppi ne s (10 5th, 3.4), Th ail and (87th,
3.8), and I ndo ne si a (80, 4.0).
21
By co ntras t, Sing apo re
ran ks a clo se se co nd be hi nd Fi nla nd, wi th a sco re of 6.4.
Oth er for ms of v iol en ce, inc lud ing r iots a nd terro ri st
att acks, m ay occ ur bu t are r are a nd al mos t never t arg et
Box 4: ASEA N’s sing le v is a pr o gr a m a nd v is a r eq ui re me nt s (cont’d.)
enter Malaysia visa free.
7
Vietnam (7th) and Cambodia (15th)
also rank very high among the 139 economies covered. By
contrast, Thailand (79th), Brunei Darussalam (88th), and
Indonesia (94th) rank much lower. Yet, even their visa regimes
are less restrictive than those in place in Russia (126th), China
(131st), and India (135th), which grants visa-free travel to the
nationals of only three countries worldwide.
It is important to note that the visa requirement index
does not assess the ease of the application process for

obtaining a visa prior to departure, so that travelers may
experience the situation in two countries with the same index
score very differently.
Notes
1 ASEAN Secretariat 2006.
2 “Myanmar offers visa-on-arrival.” TTR Weekly. April 30th,
2012.
3 ASEAN 2011. See also Box 2.
4 ASEAN 2011, p.21.
5 “ASEAN working on common visa procedure.” Jakarta
Post. November 16th, 2012.
6 The visa requirement index score for an economy is based
on the visa requirements imposed on the nationals of all
countries and territories. In compiling the data, economies
whose nationals do not require a visa are assigned one
point, and those countries whose citizens can obtain a
visa upon arrival are assigned half a point. Those countries
whose nationals need a visa prior to departure get zero
points. The sum of points produces the country score.
The maximum theoretical score is 227 (i.e., the number of
countries and territories represented at the United Nations).
7 Malaysia ranks sixth in the overall ranking. The ranking is
led by the Cook Islands, where the nationals of a record
195 countries and territories can travel visa-free. The
Seychelles, Dominica, and Samoa follow. All these small
islands are not covered by the TTCI.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
14 | The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012
touris ts. However, the me mory of the at tac ks aga ins t
touris ts in Ba li p er sists. T he f ir st at ta ck took p lac e in

2002 a nd k ill ed 202 pe op le, mos tly fore ig ne rs.
22
Th e
sec on d at tack o cc ur red in 20 05 a nd k il led 25 pe opl e,
aga in mo stly tour ists. H owever, in rec ent d ec ade s, on ly
three oth er at ta cks re su lted in tour ist f atal itie s, on e in
La o PDR in 20 03 (10 deaths) and t wo in th e Phi lipp ine s
(six de aths in total ).
Th at be ing s aid, ter ror ism i n ASE A N cou ntri es i s
an is su e, and so me 48 0 inc id ents we re rec ord ed in
the re gio n in 2010. In de ed, the re sul ts of the For um’s
E xecu tive O pin ion S urvey reve al tha t the thre at of
terror is m has s om e con seq ue nc es for b us ine ss es
from th e reg ion. ASEA N’s lowe st-ranked co untry, the
Phil ipp ine s, ran ks 126th. However, the sco re of 4.4 (on
a 1-to-7 s ca le) reveal s that th e situ ation i s muc h bet ter
than i n the thre e wor st-per fo rm ing c ountr ie s, na me ly
Col omb ia (sco re of 2.5), Pakista n (2.9), and Nep al (3.4).
Any ma ni fes tatio n of vio le nce c an p otentia lly
dam age a c ou ntr y’s im ag e and h ave a maj or im pact o n
touris m, as fe ar c an le ad tour ists a nd trave le rs to ca nce l,
postp on e, or cha ng e the ir pl ans. A lso, gover nm ents a re
of ten qu ick at i ss uin g travel war ni ngs i n cas e of vio le nc e,
unre st, or ri sk th ere of.
23
These recommendations tend
to be followe d by indi vi dua l travel er s, tour op erator s, and
travel ag ents. Fo r inst anc e, the protests i n Th ail an d in
ea rl y 2010, whi ch c ulm inated i n vio le nt co nfro ntatio ns
in Ba ngkok in M ay, had a ma jor, thou gh sh or t-live d,

impa ct on tou ris m. It is im port ant th at ASE A N co untr ie s
pur sue e f forts to imp rove safet y a nd se cu ri t y with in
thei r terr itor ie s. Of c our se, this b en ef its not ju st th e T&T
sec tor, but the overa ll inve stme nt cl imate a nd, ind ee d,
the en tire so cie t y.
Pilla r 4: He al th a nd hygi en e
A cou ntr y’s l evel of he al th an d hygie ne is a lso e ss enti al
for T&T comp etiti vene s s. For exam ple, ac ce ss to
imp roved dr ink in g water and s an itati on is i mp or t ant for
the co mfort a nd he al th of travel er s. And, in th e event
that tour ists d o be com e ill, the c oun tr y’s he al th se ctor
must b e ab le to ens ure th ey are pro pe rl y ca red for, as
mea su red by the avai la bil it y of phys ici ans a nd h osp ita l
beds.
In this p ill ar, Sing apo re, onc e aga in ASEA N’s
be st-per for mi ng co untry, ra nks 55th in in tern ation al
com par is on, but i ts sc ore of 5.2 revea ls that h ea lth an d
hygiene do not represent a serious shortcoming (see
Table 3 an d Ap pe ndi x A).
24
By co ntras t, the situ atio n is
worr iso me in C am bod ia, wh ic h ran ks a dis ma l 133rd.
Its sco re of 1.5 means th at the c oun tr y g ets ne ar ly the
lowes t mar k in e ach of th e four i ndi cators c om pr isi ng
this p illa r. Indon es ia (115th, with a sco re of 2.6) als o
dis plays tro ubl es ome re su lts ac ros s the bo ard, wh ile th e
Phil ipp ine s (97th, 3.8) and Vi etna m (89th, 4.1) likewi se
pre sen t ser io us sh or tco min gs. In th ese fo ur c ountr ie s,
acc es s to safe dr ink in g water is not yet u nive rs al; it is a
dist ant p rosp ec t in Ca mbo dia, w he re ne ar ly 4 0 perc en t

of the pop ul ation l acks a cc es s. Th e situ atio n evokes
even mo re co nce rn w ith re sp ec t to acce ss to imp roved
sa nita tion: le ss tha n 30 p erc ent of th e pop ulati on in
Box 5: As s es s ing t he va lu e of bi od ivers ity fo r tour i sm
The long-time failure to include the value of the services
provided by ecosystems and biodiversity in economic and
other decision-making processes is believed to be one of the
principal factors leading to the overuse and degradation of
such services. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(TEEB) study is a recent step towards filling this information
gap. It aims to assess the economic, societal, and human
value of biodiversity, promoting a better understanding of
the true economic value of ecosystem services and offering
practical economic tools that take proper account of this
value. Because T&T is a biodiversity-dependent industry,
it may be the sector that most readily recognizes and
incorporates the findings of TEEB. Some of the tourism-
related findings of the study include:
• Tourism is a key export for 83 percent of developing
countries. For the world’s 40 poorest countries, it is the
second most important source of foreign exchange, after
oil.
• Many tourism businesses are fully or partially dependent
on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• In 2004, the nature and ecotourism market grew three
times faster than the tourism industry as a whole.
• Several biodiversity hotspots are experiencing rapid
tourism growth: 23 hotspots have seen growth in tourist
visits of over 100 percent in the last decade (see Box 7
Hotspots)

• Whale watching alone was estimated to generate
US$2.1 billion in 2008, with over 13 million people
undertaking the activity in 119 countries.
• Revenues from diving tourism in the Caribbean (which
account for almost 20 percent of total tourism receipts)
are predicted to fall by up to US$300 million per year
because of coral reef loss.
• In the Maldives, each gray reef shark was valued at
US$3,300 per year for the tourism industry, in contrast to
a one-time take of US$32 for the fishing industry.
• In the United States in 2006, private spending on
wildlife-related recreational activities (e.g., hunting,
fishing, and observing wildlife) amounted to US$122
billion, or just under 1 percent of GDP.
References
Marton-Lefèvre and Borges 2011.
© 2012 World Economic Forum
The ASEAN Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2012 | 15
Cam bod ia ha s acc es s to it, just over h al f in Ind on es ia,
and o nl y arou nd 75 perce nt in the P hili ppi ne s an d
Vietnam.
Poor he al th an d hygie ne st and ard s, cou ple d wi th
a hot an d hum id cl imate an d the re motene ss of c ert ain
plac e s, resu lts in a h igh p reval en ce of co mmu nic ab le
dise as es i n vast swaths of th e ASE A N terr itory. For
examp le, up to 90 p erc en t of Camb odi a’s popul ation h as
be en exp ose d to hep atitis. D en gue feve r is o n the ri se,
and AS E AN i s the re gio n mos t af fe cted by thi s dis eas e,
alongside the Western Pacific region. The incidenc e
of mal ar ia rem ai ns hi gh in Ca mb odi a and I ndo ne si a,

and th e dis ea se re mai ns en de mic e ls ewhe re, except
in Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. Tube rculosis
inc ide nc e is very hig h in Cam bo dia a nd the P hili ppi ne s;
it is e levated in V i etnam, T ha ila nd, an d Indo ne si a;
and m ode rate in M alays ia, B ru ne i Dar us sa la m, and
Singapore.
Fina ll y, hea lth c are inf ra stru ctu re rem ains
und erd evelo pe d in seve ral c ou ntri es, a nd ac ce ss to
it is di f f ic ult, of ten ow ing to the re gio n’s geogr aphy,
parti cul ar ly in I ndo ne sia a nd th e Phil ipp ine s, the wor ld’s
two l arg est a rch ipe la gos. For eve r y 10,00 0 p eop le
in Cam bo dia, th ere i s onl y on e hos pit al be d (the
third lowe st c ount i n the s amp le) an d 1.6 phy sic ia ns,
com pare d wi th 32 bed s an d 15 physic ia ns in S ing apo re.
Oth er c ountr ie s are w ith in thi s ran ge on b oth me asu res,
except Ind on es ia, w hic h sets the l ow ma rk for p hysic ia n
de nsi t y with 1.3 doc tors pe r 10,00 0 pop ula tion. Su ch
poo r res ults m ea n that trave lin g to areas o uts ide th e
mai n touri st at trac tion s rai ses s om e hea lth c onc er ns,
especially in Cambodia and the Philippines.
Pilla r 5: Pr io ri tiz at ion o f tr avel a nd tou ri sm
Th e ex tent to whic h the g overn me nt pr ior itize s the T&T
sec tor als o has a s ign if ic ant i mpa ct on a c oun tr y’s T&T
com peti tive ne ss. By m ak ing c le ar th at T&T is a pri ori t y
sec tor, and by refl ecti ng thi s in its b udg et, a gover nme nt
ca n cha nn el n ee de d fun ds to es se ntial d evel opm ent
proje cts. S ign ali ng its i ntentio ns c an al so have p osi tive
spi ll-ove r ef fe cts, su ch a s at tracti ng pr ivate inve stme nt
into the se ctor. Prior itiz atio n of the se ctor c an be
refl ec ted in a var iet y of ways, su ch a s gover nm ent effo r ts

to colle ct a nd m ake availa bl e T&T data on a tim el y bas is
and to co mmi ssi on h igh- qu ali t y de stin ation -ma rketing
campaigns.
As di scu sse d in B ox 3, ASE AN co untr ie s sc ore
rela tivel y hi gh on th is pi lla r, desp ite the di sa ppo intin g
perform an ce of a few me mb er c ountr ie s (see Tabl e 3
and A pp en dix A ). Singap ore ra nks s ec ond ove ral l,
followe d by Cam bod ia (13th) an d Ind one si a (15th). Th e
de gree of p ri ori tiz ation i s als o hig h in T hai la nd (38th)
and M al aysia (46th). Howeve r, the perfo rm anc es of
the Phi lip pin es (70th), V ietn am (107th), and Br un ei
Dar us sa la m (127th) are rathe r dis ap poi nting.
Gover nm ent p ri ori tiz ation of T&T tends to be hi gh
acros s ASEA N. Sin ga pore r anks 6 th on th is pa r ti cul ar
mea su re, achi evi ng a ne ar ly p erfe ct s core (6.6 out of
7). Thail an d (16th, 6.3) an d Mal aysi a (25th, 6.1) foll ow
clo sel y. Br une i Da ru ss al am, the po ore st-perfo rmi ng
ASE A N cou ntr y, sc ore s a stil l rel ativel y stro ng 5.2. The
fact th at the c ountry ran ks onl y 79th revea ls how m uch
of a pri ori t y T&T is for mos t gover nm ents a roun d the
worl d. It is imp orta nt to stres s that th is in dic ator gau ge s
intent and n ot nec e ss ar ily success.
25
Th e vis ion th e
gover nme nt for mu lates is n ot ne ce ss ar ily fo llowe d up by
concrete measures.
Touris m prom otion h as al ways be en a c or ne rstone
of ASE A N’s T&T strategy. Th e ef fe cti vene s s of touris m
mar keting c am pai gns i s ca ptured by a n ind ica tor der ive d
from th e E xecu tive O pi nio n Survey. S ing apo re onc e

aga in le ads th e grou p, placin g 4th with a sc ore of 6.1
out of 7. M al aysia (15th, 5.5) and T hai lan d (20th, 5.5)
als o sta nd ou t pos iti vely. Ef fo r ts a re pe rcei ved a s le ss
suc ce ssf ul i n Cam bod ia (52nd, 4.8), In do ne sia (58th,
4.6), Brun ei D ar uss al am (61st, 4.6), an d Vi etna m (62nd,
4.5). The Ph ilip pin es c le ar ly l ags b eh ind at 9 9th p os itio n
with a m idd lin g sco re of 3.8.
Per fo rma nc e is le s s com pe lli ng wi th reg ard to
actu al gove rn men t spe nd ing o n T&T. T he se ex pe ndi ture s
com pr ise tra nsfe rs o r su bsi die s to provid e T&T-re lated
servic es s uc h as cu lture (e.g., ar t mus eum s), rec rea tion
(e.g., natio na l par ks), an d cl ea ran ce (e.g., i mmi grati on).
Th ey acc ount fo r ab out 10 perce nt of total gover nme nt
expe nd iture s in S ing apo re (8th), Ca mbo dia (10th), an d
Indo ne si a (13th). T he s har e drops to 3.6 perc ent i n the
Phil ipp ine s (63 rd) an d 2.7 perce nt in T ha ila nd (85th)
and a cco unts fo r le ss tha n 2 pe rce nt of gover nm ent
expe nd iture s in th e other c ou ntri es.
26
Pilla r s 6–7: Ai r an d gr ou nd tr a ns po r t at ion a nd
connectivity
Physic al i nfra str uctu re pl ays a cr itic al ro le in p romotin g
ec ono mic d evelo pm ent, inc lus ive growth, a nd reg ion al
integr ation, by im provin g a co untry’s p rodu ctiv it y,
con ne ctiv it y, ac ce ss ibil it y, an d at tracti ven es s. Yet,
infr astr uc ture re pre se nts one of th e big ge st ch all en ge s
face d by ASE A N co untr ie s, owing to yea rs of u nde r-
investm en t and a l ack of p lan nin g in the c ontex t of rap id
economic growth.
27

Th e ge ogr aphy a nd g eol og y of
Sou the ast A sia m ake mat ter s wor se, as do th e reg ion’s
fre que nt natu ra l dis aster s. Th is si tuati on un de rm ine s
ASE A N’s integr ation e f forts. Poo r inf rastr uc ture i s of ten
cited a s one of th e ch ief re aso ns be hi nd the s tagn atio n
of intra-ASE A N trad e an d the la ck of pro gre ss in c reati ng
a regi on al pro duc tion b ase. It a lso exa ce rbate s reg ion al
dis par iti es in stead of re duc ing th em, as i nvestm ent ten ds
to go to areas p rovidi ng a n ade qua te infra stru ctu re bas is
and away f rom thos e exh ibi ting a n inf rastr uc ture d efi ci t.
Qu ali t y inf rastr uc ture b en efi ts not on ly th e T&T
sec tor, but the en tire ec on omy an d, inde e d, soci et y
at larg e. Th e T TCI focu se s on tho se as pe cts m ost
cri tic al to the T&T sector, nam el y air tr ans portatio n
(Pill ar 6) a nd gro und tra ns port ation ( Pill ar 7), touris m-
spe ci fi c inf ras tru cture (P illa r 8), and infor matio n an d
com mun ic ation s tech nol ogi es (I CT ) inf ras tru cture ( Pilla r
9). Trans portatio n is pa r tic ula rl y es se ntia l, for it provi de s
acc es s to and f rom co untr ie s and f aci lit ates movem ent
with in the m, lin kin g ci tie s, sites, a nd othe r at trac tion s.
With th e exceptio n of Sin ga pore, the s tate of
infr astr uc ture in AS E AN va ri es f rom s atisf actory to
ble ak. Tabl e 3 an d the co mpa rati ve ana lys is ac ros s
© 2012 World Economic Forum