Five ways the travel industry can prepare for a more volatile future

Global travel demand is reaching record levels, but growing exposure to extreme weather, geopolitical disruption, overcrowding, and rising costs is putting greater pressure on tourism businesses to build resilience.

The new World Economic Forum (WEF) Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, produced with Zurich Insurance Group, identifies five priorities for destinations and travel businesses: diversify source markets, protect physical and digital access, compete on value rather than price, ensure tourism growth benefits local communities, and address workforce shortages.

The report follows a record year in which 1.5 billion international tourists contributed US$11.6 trillion to global GDP. Yet 2026 has already seen grounded aircraft, closed airspace, heatwaves, and wildfires, highlighting the operational and financial risks facing the sector.

Japan, which rose to first place in the index, is highlighted for diversifying both its visitor markets and destinations. Meanwhile, Germany has invested in digital infrastructure to make destination information more accessible to travellers and artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.

The report also points to Costa Rica, where international arrivals rose just 1% but average visitor spending increased from around $1,602 to $1,848, demonstrating the potential of higher-value tourism.

Workforce resilience is another pressing issue, with the sector potentially facing a shortfall of more than 43 million workers by 2035.

For travel businesses, the report argues that resilience increasingly depends on collaboration across airlines, hotels, insurers, governments, and technology providers.

As the authors put it, “resilience has to be built through partnership” – and before disruption occurs, rather than during it.