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