Which are the countries where tourism is the main industry?

Traditionally, when talking about the economic growth of a country, people relate it directly to the industrial sector, however, more and more countries are betting on tourism as an engine to boost their economy.
According to a report published by the World Economic Forum (2017) the main countries that depend on this activity according to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are: The Maldives, Croatia, Malta, Thailand, Jamaica and Iceland.
Inés Peluffo, of Turismocity said that "although these countries depend to a large extent on the tourism sector to grow, because almost all of their GDP is linked to the amount of tourists they receive and their expenses in the territory, they do not necessarily exceed in tourism to countries like France or Spain ". According to the report of the Forum, the ones that generate the most income for tourism are the United States (USD 449,000 million), China (USD 206,000 million) and Germany (USD 120,500 million), but these countries do not require the tourism sector to base their economy (which only represents 7% of its GDP).
"In general, the countries that base their economy on tourism are those that are classified as 'in the process of development' or are small in population; an example is Iceland, which with 338,349 inhabitants receives 1.7 million tourists a year, triple the total number of its residents. And another relevant case is the Maldives Islands, where 35% of its GDP comes from tourism, "they explained from the flight comparator.

Famous destinations, natural beauties and cultural icons
Although these countries do not have a developed economy in terms of industry, commerce or exports, they do have well-defined and planned strategies to fully exploit their tourism values.
In this sense, thanks to the Game of Thrones series, which has locations full of exotic landscapes and classic medieval style, countries such as Croatia, Malta and Iceland had a tourist revival. In the case of Malta, you can visit the Verdala Palace built in 1586 and located in Buskett Gardens; the city of Duvrobnik, is one of the main tourist attractions of Croatia for being surrounded with labyrinths of walls, architecture in terracotta colors and its stone cathedrals; and the lava cave Grjótagjá, in Iceland, which is a hot spring paradise, located in the north of the country, which is recommended to visit early to avoid the tourist mass.
Of course, traditional destinations continue to grow; from Turismocity they explain that year after year the searches to travel to Barcelona have grown exponentially, with a total of 3 million queries of flights. And something similar has happened with flights to Miami, whose consultations also increased in recent months. In this sense, worldwide, tourism has proven to be a key activity and of great importance as a driver of economic growth. Today, it has become an industry that presents unique opportunities for developing and emerging countries to advance within the market.