A country can attract tourists with it beautiful nature, interesting history and big events. However, many travelers state the locals’ attitude towards them as one of the the most important factors that had brought them to the place. Friendliness of nations is one of the trends which was researched in a recent report prepared by the World Economic Forum. The research found that the United Arab Emirates ranked among the first 20 friendliest countries for tourists in the world.
The study is based on statistics from 140 economies around the globe. Also, the World Economic Forum used the help of experts in the Travel and Tourism sector for more detailed information. The research uses a scale of 1 to 7 to rate the how welcoming the attitude of a country’s populations is.
Friendliest Nations for Foreign Tourists
According to the report, Iceland and New Zealand are the friendliest nations for tourists. The two counties enjoy an equal result of 6.8 points. New Zealand overtoke Australia in this category to become the most welcoming country in the Pacific and the world. Next, with a result of 6.7, are listed four countries from three different regions – Morocco, Macedonia, Austria and Senegal. The top ten ranking is completed by four European nations and one African one. Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, as well as Burkina Faso all received ratings of 6.6 which was more than enough to push them among the leaders on the chart.
An interesting trend that is easily noticed on the list is the European domination. A big part from the Old Continent’s countries is found to be really friendly towards tourists. That is surprising since Europe has been under the grip of various austerity measures over the past few months.
The U.S., on the other hand, did rather poorly in the ranking. The States are not only out of the top 10 this year, but they also could not find a place in the top 100. The U.S. have 6 points which wins them the 102 spot.
In the Middle East, the UAE scored the second highest after Morocco (3). The Arab country received 6.6 points and was placed at the 15th position. In that way the United Arab Emirates became the friendliest nation in the ME. The country managed to achieve higher scores than Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Australia, Greece, Brazil and Italy.
Among the high achievers from the Middle East region were also Yemen (18), Bahrain (20), Lebanon (22), Oman (35), and Jordan (52).
Most Unfriendly Nations for Foreign Tourists
At the bottom of the ranking are the so-called most unfriendly nations. These are the countries that are more unwelcoming to foreign tourists than the average. The report names Bolivia as the most unfriendly nation. The country got only 4.1 points which pushed it down to the last place on the list. Bolivia is followed by another South American nation – Venezuela (4.5 points). That is said to be mainly because of the country’s anti-Western policies and sentiments. The Russian Federation is the third in the unfriendly chart thanks to its high corruption rates. In the anti-ranking are also seen countries like Kuwait, Latvia, Iran, Pakistan and the Slovak Republic.
Here are the complete top 10 lists from the World Economic Forum’s report:
Friendliest
1. Iceland 6.8
2. New Zealand 6.8
3. Morocco 6.7
4. Macedonia, FYR 6.7
5. Austria 6.7
6. Senegal 6.7
7. Portugal 6.6
8. Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.6
9. Ireland 6.6
10. Burkina Faso 6.6
Most Unfriendly
1. Bolivia 4.1
2. Venezuela 4.5
3. Russian Federation 5.0
4. Kuwait 5.2
5. Latvia 5.2
6. Iran 5.2
7. Pakistan 5.3
8. Slovak Republic 5.5
9. Bulgaria 5.5
10. Mongolia 5.5
