World's top 10 attractive destinations

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Switzerland

Switzerland is the world's most attractive destination, rich in cultural and natural resources besides being a business hub.
It is safe, has excellent health and hygiene indicators states the WEF study. The transport and tourism infrastructure are also among the best in the world, making it very easy and comfortable for visitors to move around the country. Further, the country's natural and cultural resources are among the richest in the world.
The natural environment is assessed as being among the most pristine in the world (ranked 9th). On environmental sustainability, Switzerland is ranked second. Switzerland boasts of excellent ground transport infrastructure (ranked first worldwide), with top-quality roads and railroads and an excellent domestic transport network.
The tourism infrastructure is ranked 7th, with readily available hotel rooms and automated teller machines (ATMs) for cash withdrawals. Such high-quality infrastructure makes a tourist's stay in the country easy and comfortable, an experience that is reinforced by the high level of general safety and security (ranked 8th).
International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 8,448
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 --12,182

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Germany

Germany is the third most attractive destination in the world. It ranks high in cultural resources, ranked 4th for 32 world heritage cultural sites and second for the number of international fairs and exhibitions held in the country.
The country's infrastructure is among the best in the world, ranked 5th for the quality of its ground transport infrastructure and 7th for its air transport infrastructure.
Germany scores better than Switzerland and Austria for the policy rules and regulations in the travel and tourism industry. It has a transparent policy-making system, well protected property rights, and bilateral Air Service Agreements that are assessed as open. The country has good quality of transport infrastructure.


International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 24,425
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 36,029


Image: Tourists visit the frozen waterfalls at the famous Partnach Gorge (Partnachklamm) in the Bavarian resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. | Photograph: Alexandra Beier/Reuters

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France

France is the fourth most attractive place in the world. The country attracts tourists with its rich cultural heritage (ranked 4th for the number of World Heritage cultural sites and 7th for creative industries).
The country also hosts many international fairs and exhibitions (ranked 5th) attracting business travellers.



France's ground transport infrastructure is among the best in the world (ranked third), with the quality of roads and railroads particularly well assessed, as well as its air transport infrastructure (ranked 5th). France has a strong and well-enforced environmental legislation.
International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 81,900

International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 54,228


Image: Tourists walk through artificial fog at the Miroir d'Eau (Mirror of Water), a public art piece on the quay of the Garonne river in Bordeaux. | Photograph: Gelu Sulugiuc/Reuters

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Canada

Canada is the highest-ranked country in the Americas region, ranked fifth out of the 133 countries surveyed. It has jumped four places this year beating the United States for the top regional spot.
Canada's natural resources, 9 world Heritage natural sites make it a tourist's delight. Many international fairs and exhibitions are held in the country. Canada's air transport infrastructure is ranked 1st out of all countries.



It also ranks high in tourism and ICT infrastructure and facilitating a good online travel and tourism environment. Canada's policy environment is very conducive to the development of the tourism sector.
International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 17,931
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 15,486


Image: Tourists use a pedalo in Rodney Bay. | Photograph: Simon Baker/Reuters

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Spain

Spain is ranked just behind France in Europe and bags the sixth position in the world. Spain is ranked first out of all countries for the richness of its cultural resources, with many world Heritage sites, a large number of international fairs and exhibitions, and sports stadium capacity.



Spain's tourism infrastructure is ranked first, with many hotel rooms, car rental facilities and ATMs, and its air transport infrastructure ranked t 10th position.

International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 59,193
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 57,795

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Sweden

Sweden scores high on ICT infrastructure, environmental regulation, foreign ownership and property rights, cost to start a business, transparency in government's policies, health and hygiene, good attitude toward tourists, natural environment, good airport and ground infrastructure.



International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007 -- 5,224
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 12,002


Image: A dogs-led team carries tourists down the frozen Torne River in Jukkasjarvi, above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. | Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters

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United States

The United States is ranked second in the Americas and eighth out of all countries. The country scores high on overall business environment and infrastructure.



In particular, the United States has an excellent air transport infrastructure (ranked second) and high-quality tourism and ICT infrastructure.
Its natural resources are ranked first out of all countries, with many nationally protected areas and many World Heritage natural sites, safety and security, ranked 122nd, is a matter of concern. The country has one of the highest death rates from road traffic accidents out of all countries.
International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2007-- 55,986
International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 -- 96,712


Image: Children pose for photographs in front of a giant snow globe promoting tourism for the Canadian province of Ontario, in Bryant Park, New York. | Photograph: Chip East/Reuters

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Australia

Australia is the highest-ranked country from the Asia Pacific region. It is ranked ninth in the world. Australia is ranked 4th for its natural resources, with the most world heritage sites worldwide.
It has excellent air transport infrastructure (ranked third) as well as good general tourism infrastructure (ranked 9th). Australia also benefits from the strong government prioritisation of the tourism sector and effective destination-marketing campaigns.



International tourist arrivals (thousands), 2006 --- 5,064 International tourism receipts (US$ millions), 2007 .........22,298


Image: Tourists walk past a topiary sculpture of a samurai warrior at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. | Photograph: Daniel Munoz/Reuters

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India

India is ranked a poor 62nd among the world's most attractive destinations. India scores high on natural resources (ranked 14th) and cultural resources (24th), with many world heritage sites and strong creative industries in the country.



India's air transport network is ranked at 37th and ground transport infrastructure is ranked 49th. The tourism infrastructure however remains underdeveloped (ranked 73rd), with very few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison and low ATM penetration.



India is ranked first with regard to tourism fair attendance. The promotional campaigns and marketing to attract tourists remain average (ranked 53rd). The report highlights the policy environment in India as a matter of concern, with much time and cost for starting a business, bilateral Air Service Agreements that are not assessed as open, and visas required for most visitors.



The country also benefits from excellent price competitiveness, ranked 6th overall, with low ticket taxes and airport charges and low prices in the economy as a whole, the World Economic Forum study states.
The rankings are based on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which measures the different regulatory and business-related issues.



Check out the world's 10 most attractive destinations for tourism. . .
Image: The Taj Mahal