Philippines places 69th in WEF’s travel and tourism index

The Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 is the second edition of an index that evolved from the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) series, a flagship index of the World Economic Forum that has been in production since 2007. The TTDI is part of the Forum’s broader work with industry and government stakeholders to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future for economies and local communities.

The Philippines inched up a spot to 69th out of 119 economies in the 2024 edition of Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The TTDI measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the travel and tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn contributes to the development of a country. With an overall TTDI score of 3.84 (7 is best), the Philippines was one of the laggards in the region.

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Source: Business World and WEF

Real estate prices soar in Manila

Global Home Prices Rise 4.1 Percent Annually In March

According to global property consultant Knight Frank, the first quarter of 2024 witnessed an average annual growth rate of 4.1% across the 44 markets covered by the Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index, marking the strongest rate of growth since Q3 2022 - a period when interest rates were surging and nearly 70% of central banks were tightening monetary policy.

On a quarterly basis, price growth also showed signs of strengthening, with a 1.1% increase in Q1 2024, up from a 0.3% increase in the last quarter of 2023.

While the current annual growth of 4.1% marks a notable recovery from zero growth seen at the end of 2022, it remains below the long-term average annual growth rate of 5.4%. However, quarterly growth at 1.3% is now aligning with the long-term quarterly average.

Looking across the 44 cities that make up the index, 78% are experiencing annual price growth, while 19% are seeing declines. The rate of price declines has slowed: a year ago, in Q1 2023, nine markets were experiencing annual price falls of more than 5%. In Q1 this year, only one market - Frankfurt - was seeing prices fall at this rate.

Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's global head of research commented, "The rebound in global housing markets is continuing, as evidenced by our Prime Global Cities Index reaching 4.1% annual growth. Rather than heralding a return to boom conditions, the index indicates that upwards price pressures are stemming from relatively healthy demand, set against continued low supply volumes. The pivot in rates - when it comes - will encourage more vendors into the market, leading to a welcome return to liquidity in key global markets."

Global Cities Focus

At the top of the list was Manila with 26.2% annual growth, followed by Tokyo at 12.5%. Indian cities are experiencing strong growth, with Mumbai at 11.5% and Delhi at 10.5%. In fourth place, Perth, at 11.1%, confirms the resilience of key Australian markets.

Manila's strong growth can be attributed to two particular factors: strong economic performance, which has boosted consumer confidence and spending power, and significant infrastructure investment in and around the city, which has also boosted demand.

In Tokyo, the robust growth in house prices early in 2024 can be attributed to two key factors: exceptionally favorable mortgage terms offered by Japanese banks and a weaker yen, which has increased foreign investment in Tokyo's real estate. Despite Japan's overall population decline, Tokyo continues to see a net increase in population due to migration from other parts of Japan.

With annual GDP growth running at over 8%, strong economic growth across India has boosted house prices in the main cities, particularly in Delhi and Mumbai, as our results confirm.

While the Australian market has remained healthy in recent months, there has been a slowing in price growth in most cities. However, Perth has been positively impacted by the rebound in commodity prices, particularly in the mining sector, which is a significant part of Western Australia's economy.

The weaker markets in Knight Frank's index are mainly seeing a continuation of the negative impact of higher interest rates, which is affecting affordability.

Source: World Property Journal

Being Filipino: Our soft power

The 5th annual global survey from Brand Finance ranks all 193 member states of the United Nations for the first time 

• Military conflict harms soft power, with Russia, Ukraine, and Israel falling down the ranking 

• China is the fastest-growing nation brand this year, rising in the ranking from 5th to 3rd 

• The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Türkiye see greatest improvement since inception of the Global Soft Power Index in 2020 

The United States and the United Kingdom are the most influential soft power nations in the world, according to the new iteration of the Global Soft Power Index by Brand Finance, the world's leading brand evaluation consultancy. China is ranked 3rd, surpassing Japan and Germany.  

Brand Finance publishes the Global Soft Power Index based on a survey of more than 170,000 respondents from over 100 countries to gather data on global perceptions of all 193 member states of the United Nations. Thanks to the scope of the survey, the Index is the world’s most comprehensive study on perceptions of nation brands, providing an in-depth analysis of the evolving status of soft power as nations navigate significant global changes and challenges.  

Soft power is defined as a nation’s ability to influence the preferences and behaviors of various actors in the international arena (states, corporations, communities, publics, etc.) through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. Each nation is scored across 55 different metrics to arrive at an overall score out of 100 and ranked in order from 1st to 193rd. 

The report has found that at a time of global uncertainty and instability, economic credentials are increasingly important contributors to a nation’s soft power. Nation brand attributes such as 'strong and stable economy' and 'products and brands the world loves' emerge as key drivers of influence and reputation on the global stage. This trend explains the continued dominance of the world’s largest economies like the USA and China as well as smaller developed economies like Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates at the top of the ranking. Dominant nation brands are recording faster soft power growth (average +3.1 points in the top 50) than the rest of the ranking (average -1.3 for those ranked 51-193). 

The Philippines , known for its warm and welcoming people, climbed nine spots to 52nd place out of 193 nations with an overall index score of 39.8 out of 100 in the latest edition of the annual Global Soft Power Index by brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance.

Though the country’s performance could be better, its high score in the “people” metric “speaks volumes in terms of who we are as Filipinos,”. We’re nurturing, and we’ve reached other countries through different professions by always being rooted in malasakit (concern).

Source: Business World and BrandFinance