Perhaps nothing, not even a pandemic can curb the human desire to travel. While travel may look different, this is where people are most likely to go as the world opens up again.
The ranking below by Euromonitor International’s travel report, uncovers million international yearly arrivals at more than 400 cities before the pandemic, with arrivals defined as international tourists who stay in the city for longer than 1 day.
⦁ Hong Kong, 29.3M arrivals
⦁ Bangkok, 24.2M arrivals
⦁ London, 19.2M arrivals
⦁ Macau, 18.9M arrivals
⦁ Singapore, 18.6M arrivals
⦁ Paris, 17.6M arrivals
⦁ Dubai, 15.9M arrivals
⦁ New York, 13.6M arrivals
⦁ Kuala Lumpur, 13.4M arrivals
⦁ Istanbul, 13.4M arrivals
⦁ Delhi, 12.6M arrivals
⦁ Antalya, 12.4M arrivals
⦁ Shenzhen, 12 M arrivals
⦁ Mumbai, 10.6M arrivals
⦁ Phuket, 10.5M arrivals
⦁ Rome, 10.1M arrivals
⦁ Tokyo, 10M arrivals
⦁ Pattaya,9.6M arrivals
⦁ Mecca, 9.6M arrivals
⦁ Taipei, 9.6M arrivals
While Hong Kong, Bangkok, and London continue to lead city destination rankings, there are dramatic shifts in city travel patterns happening below the top 10.
Paris and Istanbul both have seen an impressive influx of travellers between 2017 and 2019 with 20.6% and 37.2% growth in visitors respectively.
India has gained notable attention for its yoga retreats and Ayurveda practices. Delhi’s connectivity to important locations across North India has boosted inbound arrivals to the city.
Here continues the list of 100 most visited cities in the world.
⦁ Guangzhou, 9M arrivals
⦁ Prague, 8.9M arrivals
⦁ Medina, 8.6M arrivals
⦁ Seoul, 8.4M arrivals
⦁ Amsterdam, 8.4M arrivals
⦁ Agra, 8.1M arrivals
⦁ Miami, 8.1M arrivals
⦁ Osaka, 7.9M arrivals
⦁ Los Angeles, 7.5M arrivals
⦁ Shanghai, 7.5M arrivals
⦁ Ho Chi Minh City, 7.2M arrivals
⦁ Denpasar, 7.2M arrivals
⦁ Barcelona, 6.7M arrivals
⦁ Las Vegas, 6.6M arrivals
⦁ Milan, 6.5M arrivals
⦁ Chennai, 6.4M arrivals
⦁ Vienna, 6.4M arrivals
⦁ Johor Bahru, 6.4M arrivals
⦁ Jaipur, 6.4M arrivals
⦁ Cancun, 6M arrivals
⦁ Berlin, 6M arrivals
⦁ Cairo, 5.7M arrivals
⦁ Athens, 5.7M arrivals
⦁ Orlando, 5.5M arrivals
⦁ Moscow, 5.5M arrivals
⦁ Venice, 5.5M arrivals
⦁ Madrid, 5.4M arrivals
⦁ Halong, 5.3M arrivals
⦁ Riyadh, 5.3M arrivals
⦁ Dublin, 5.2M arrivals
⦁ Florence, 5.1M arrivals
⦁ Hanoi, 4.7M arrivals
⦁ Toronto, 4.5M arrivals
⦁ Johannesburg, 4.1M arrivals
⦁ Sydney, 4.1M arrivals
⦁ Munich, 4.1M arrivals
⦁ Jakarta, 4M arrivals
⦁ Beijing, 4M arrivals
⦁ St. Petersburg, 4M arrivals
⦁ Brussels, 3.9M arrivals
⦁ Jerusalem, 3.9M arrivals
⦁ Budapest, 3.8M arrivals
⦁ Lisbon, 3.5M arrivals
⦁ Dammam, 3.5M arrivals
⦁ Penang Island, 3.4M arrivals
⦁ Heraklion, 3.4M arrivals
⦁ Kyoto, 3.3M arrivals
⦁ Zhuhai, 3.3M arrivals
⦁ Vancouver, 3.2M arrivals
⦁ Chiang Mai, 3.2M arrivals
⦁ Copenhagen, 3.1M arrivals
⦁ San Francisco, 2.9M arrivals
⦁ Melbourne, 2.9M arrivals
⦁ Krakow, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Marrakech, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Kolkata, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Cebu, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Auckland, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Tel Aviv, 2.8M arrivals
⦁ Guilin, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Honolulu, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Hurghada, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Warsaw, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Mugla, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Buenos Aires, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Chiba, 2.7M arrivals
⦁ Frankfurt, 2.6M arrivals
⦁ Stockholm, 2.6M arrivals
⦁ Lima, 2.5M arrivals
⦁ Da Nang, 2.5M arrivals
⦁ Batam, 2.5M arrivals
⦁ Nice, 2.5M arrivals
⦁ Fukuoka, 2.4M arrivals
⦁ Abu Dhabi, 2.4M arrivals
⦁ Jeju, 2.3M arrivals
⦁ Porto, 2.3M arrivals
⦁ Rhodes, 2.3M arrivals
⦁ Rio de Janeiro, 2.3M arrivals
⦁ Krabi, 2.3M arrivals
⦁ Bangalore, 2.2M arrivals
Where in the World? Asia and Europe
Asian hot spots are gaining steam and swiftly making their way up the top 100 rankings, signalling a shift in global preferences before lockdowns began.
Asia continues to lead all other regions with 43 cities in the top 100, followed by Europe’s 32 cities. Americas has only 13 cities and Middle East and Africa 12 cities on the list.
The pandemic might have thrown these dynamics off course for the international travel industry, however as the world has reopened we all have more reasons to travel.
Sources: Euromonitor International, Wikipedia.
