Three is the Magic Number: Canada Again Named the Country with the World's Best Reputation

For the third year in a row, Canada has been ranked No.1 as the country with the best overall reputation in the world. The ranking, derived from the Reputation Institute's annual Country RepTrak™ report, saw Canada keep top spot ahead of Sweden in second place and Switzerland in third.

The Reputation Institute, a global private consulting firm based in New York and Copenhagen, evaluates the reputations of 50 countries based on online interviews with 27,000 people from G8 countries. The Country RepTrak™ report measures the trust, esteem, admiration and good feelings the public holds towards these countries, as well as perceptions of peoples' quality of life, safety and attention to the environment.

According to Nicolas Trad, the Reputation Institute's executive partner, there is a strong correlation between a country's reputation and the intention to visit, and that intention to visit alongside a country's income from tourism. "The perceptions held by stakeholders determine their decision to visit or live and work in a country, buy national debt, or purchase its products or services," says Trad. "Without a doubt, a good reputation will always mean greater national income for a country."

The report underscores the link between country reputation and economic outcomes. Tourism has a vital role to play as a lever to drive trade and investment in ideas, education and business.

"A country's reputation is its personal calling card and Canada's tourism brand is expanding into all corners of the globe," says Michele McKenzie, CTC President and CEO. "We're not just inviting the world to visit us, we're capitalizing on our positive reputation to open new doors and create new opportunities for Canada, such as the impact of the business events travel sector on our economy."

Tourism generated revenue of $81.9 billion for Canada in 2012. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry directly contributed $2.1 trillion in GDP and 101 million jobs to the global economy in 2012. This year, global tourism's contribution to direct GDP is forecast to grow by 3.1%, outpacing the growth of the total global economy (2.4%). The future is even brighter: annual growth forecast is 4.4% per year up to 2022.