The country moved up from 12th place in the 2024 Travel & Tourism Development Index, putting it immediately behind Italy and ahead of a number of other major tourism destinations.

Japan took the top spot in the 2026 ranking, followed by the United States and Spain. Australia was fourth, followed by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Italy.

Portugal came next in 11th place.

The index looks beyond the number of people visiting a country or how much they spend while they are there. Instead, it measures the conditions that allow a tourism sector to grow and operate successfully over the longer term.

Seventeen different areas are considered, including transport and tourism infrastructure, natural and cultural attractions, connectivity, sustainability, safety, the business environment and the availability of workers.

Tourism conditions improve worldwide

Portugal’s rise comes during a strong period for tourism internationally.

The World Economic Forum assessed 110 economies for this year’s report, with 92% improving their overall score between 2024 and 2026.

The average score increased by 2.1%, the greatest improvement recorded since 2019.

Some of the biggest gains came in cultural attractions, tourism infrastructure and services, and air connectivity.

Travel itself has also reached new highs. Around 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide in 2025, 5% more than the previous year and above pre-pandemic levels.

But the report isn’t entirely upbeat.

The World Economic Forum warns that the rapid return of tourism is creating a different set of problems for destinations to manage.

Travel has become less affordable in many countries, investment has struggled to keep pace with demand, and the industry continues to face shortages of skilled workers.

Crowding and the pressure tourism can place on housing, infrastructure, and natural resources are also becoming harder to ignore.

In fact, the report argues that attracting ever greater numbers of tourists is no longer enough. Countries increasingly need to show that tourism can benefit local communities without putting too much pressure on the places people have come to see.

For Portugal, 11th place leaves the country just outside the world’s top 10 and one position behind Italy.

It also puts the government’s stated ambition of reaching the top 10 tantalisingly close.

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