Rich natural resources keep NZ in global tourism top 20

New Zealand has slipped one place in a ranking of how attractive countries are for developing the travel and tourism industry.

Out of 133 countries in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) third annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, New Zealand ranked 20th, down from 19th last year.

The rankings are headed by Switzerland, Austria and Germany, with Australia in ninth, down from forth last year.

The report measured the different regulatory and business-related issues identified as levers for improving travel and tourism competitiveness.

It said New Zealand benefited from its rich natural resources, with several World Heritage natural sites.

It ranked third for its environment, and 10th for how conducive overall policy rules and regulations were for the development of the sector.

Although the country's ground transport network remained somewhat underdeveloped, ranking 53, the air transport infrastructure was ranked 11th.

New Zealand was ranked 17th for its "high-quality" human resources, and 15th for having a safe and secure environment overall. It was only 85th for price competitiveness in the travel and tourism industry.

Improvements to infrastructure and removing other barriers to development would make the industry even more competitive against other international visitor destinations, Tourism Industry Association New Zealand chief executive Tim Cossar said.

- NZPA