If you’ve ever wondered where the rest of the world travels, whether it’s for leisure or business, the numbers are in. Each year Euromonitor International tracks arrivals in 400 global cities. It releases a list of the 100 most-visited cities (with stays of at least 24 hours but shorter than 12 months) based on global inbound arrivals the previous year.
The top 100 most-visited cities cover close to 47% of global arrivals, according to Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations 2019 report, which represents 2018 international arrivals. In 2019 global inbound arrivals are are expected to increase by 4.2% to 1.47 billion trips.
The list of 100 most-visited cities excludes people in transit, cruise passengers, expat workers, long-term students, military personnel and people who are displaced by war or natural disasters. You won’t find any beach or ski resorts on this list either, as they experience an influx of international travellers during their peak seasons.
Asian cities (43) dominated the list of 100 most-visited cities, followed by Europe (32), the Americas (13) and the Middle East and Africa (12). Despite Asia having the largest number of cities on the list, Europe received the largest number of visitors in 2018. China has nine cities on the top 100 most-visited cities list, followed by India and the United States tied with seven, and Thailand with five.
The Middle East and Africa: 134 362 600
The Americas: 214 421 900
Asia: 363 031 300
Europe: 701 801 000
The top 100 most-visited cities
1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China received 29 262 700 visitors in 2018. This number is expected to drop by around 8.7% to 26 716 800 in 2019 due to ongoing pro-democracy protests.
2. Bangkok, Thailand
3. London, United Kingdom
Read more about free things to do in London and the United Kingdom
4. Macau Macau, China
5. Singapore, Singapore
6. Paris, France
Here’s my article about Paris by Subway for Sawubona Magazine
7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
8. New York City, US
9. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
10. Istanbul, Turkey
11. Delhi, India
12. Antalya, Turkey
13. Shenzhen, China
14. Mumbai, India
Read more about how I spent 24 hours in Mumbai
15. Phuket, Thailand
16. Rome, Italy
17. Tokyo, Japan
18. Pattaya, Thailand
19. Taipei, Taiwan, China
20. Mecca, Saudi Arabia
21. Guangzhou, China
22. Prague, Czech Republic
23. Medina, Saudi Arabia
24. Seoul, South Korea
Read about how Seoul was my home for two years
25. Amsterdam, Netherlands
26. Agra, India
Read more about visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal
27. Miami, US
28. Osaka, Japan
29. Los Angeles, US
30. Shanghai, China
31. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
32. Denpasar, Indonesia
33. Barcelona, Spain
34. Las Vegas, US
35. Milan, Italy
36. Chennai, India
37. Vienna, Austria
38. Johor Bahru, Malaysia
39. Jaipur, India
Find out why I loved Jaipur, the pink city
40. Cancun, Mexico
41. Berlin, Germany
42. Cairo, Egypt
43. Athens, Greece
44. Orlando, US
45. Moscow, Russia
46. Venice, Italy
47. Madrid, Spain
48. Ha Long, Vietnam
49. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
50. Dublin, Ireland
51. Florence, Italy
52. Ha Noi, Vietnam
53. Toronto, Canada
54. Johannesburg, South Africa received 4 120 800 visitors.
Read more about Johannesburg, Jozi, Joeys, the city of gold
55. Sydney, Australia
56. Munich, Germany
57. Jakarta, Indonesia
58. Beijing, China
59. St. Petersburg, Russia
60. Brussels, Belgium
61. Jerusalem, Israel
62. Budapest, Hungary
63. Lisbon, Portugal
64. Dammam, Saudi Arabia
65. Penang Island, Malaysia
66. Heraklion, Greece
67. Kyoto, Japan
68. Zhuhai, China
69. Vancouver, Canada
70. Chiang Mai, Thailand
71. Copenhagen, Denmark
72. San Francisco, US
73. Melbourne, Australia
74. Krakow, Poland
Read more about Poland’s cultural capital of Krakow
75. Marrakech, Morocco
76. Kolkatta, India
77. Cebu, Philippines
78. Auckland, New Zealand
79. Tel Aviv, Israel
80. Guilin, China
81. Honolulu, US
82. Hurgada, Egypt
83. Warsaw, Poland
Read more about Poland’s economic capital of Warsaw
84. Mugla, Turkey
85. Buenos Aires City, Argentina
86. Chiba, Japan
87. Frankfurt, Germany
88. Stockholm, Sweden
89. Lima, Peru
90. Da Nang, Vietnam
91. Batam, Indonesia
92. Nice, France
93. Fukuoka, Japan
94. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
95. Jeju, South Korea
I travelled to South Korea’s largest Island of Jeju twice
96. Porto, Portugal
97. Rhodes, Greece
98. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
99. Krabi, Thailand
100. Bangalore, India welcomed 2 239 200 visitors, around 27 million less than Hong Kong, which received the largest number of visitors.
I’ve visited 31 cities on this list. How about you? And which cities on the 100 most-visited cities list are you planning to visit next?
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I have visited 19 and would like to visit them all!
So many incredible places on this list (and so many I want to visit!)