The World Economic Forum has released its 2009 edition of The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, which shows that the region of Hong Kong ranks 12th on the league table of global travel and tourism competitiveness.
The report shows that Singapore, a major competitor of Hong Kong and which ranked number 16 last year, has surpassed Hong Kong and is ranked at number 10 this year, while the Chinese mainland has risen to the 47th place from 62th in 2008 and Taiwan has risen from the 52nd place in 2008 to the 43th in 2009.
The report provides rankings for a total of 133 countries, of which the top three are Switzerland, Australia, and Germany.
WEF says that the data in the report was collected between February and May 2008, so the ranking was not affected by the global financial crisis. The forum believes that future rankings may be influenced by the economic depression.
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