Spain named world’s safest, cleanest and cheapest holiday destination

Beaches, attractions, mountains, lakes, historic cities and excellent infrastructure – Spain is the best holiday destination in the world.

The World Economic Forum’s biannual Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, released last week, has ranked Spain as the best country in the world for tourism.

The comprehensive study analyses a range of factors across 136 countries worldwide, with the intention to rank each nation in terms of safety, affordability, cleanliness, leisure options and accessibility…

This time, Spain edged out France and Germany as the best place in the world for global travellers thanks to a range of factors.

The World Economic Forum said that the very fact Spain places so much emphasis on tourism pushed it towards first place. The report was full of praise with the way Spain ensures visitors have excellent airports and air transport, comprehensive tourist-based infrastructure, supreme cultural resources, and even a growing reputation as a business travel hub.

Allied to the country’s natural attractions – its beaches, its weather, its landscape and its location – and Spain delivered an unbeatable mix.

“The World Economic Forum measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which in turn contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country,” said the report.

It comes as little surprise that Spain has been officially recognised as the world’s best tourism reputation. For the past few years it has been the most visited country in the world, and success breeds success – as more and more holidaymakers have visited and enjoyed the country, word-of-mouth recommendations have spread and Spain’s authorities have taken the necessary steps to ensure the country maintains its special status.

After France in second place and Germany in third, Japan ranked fourth, with the UK coming in at fifth place. Despite Britain’s generally drab weather, the country scored highly on historical and cultural attractions, and also tourism services.

The USA, Australia, Italy, Canada and Switzerland rounded out the top ten.