Paris has been crowned the best destination city in the world in an annual study for the fourth consecutive year.
Once again, the French capital tops Euromonitor International’s Top City Destinations index.
This ranking ranks cities around the world based on a comparison of 55 metrics across six ‘key pillars’: economic and business performance; tourism performance; tourist infrastructure; politics and tourist attraction; health and safety, and sustainability.
The 2024 report places Madrid in second place, Tokyo in third and Rome in fourth, with Milan completing the top five.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of New York (sixth), Amsterdam (seventh), Sydney (eighth), Singapore (ninth) and Barcelona (tenth).
London, the highest-ranked UK city, has fallen from 10th to 13th, behind Taipei (11th) and Seoul (12th).
Paris has been crowned the best destination city in the world in an annual study for the fourth consecutive year. The French capital once again tops Euromonitor International’s Top City Destinations index
The rest of the top 20 are made up of Dubai (14th), Berlin (15th), Osaka (16th), Bangkok (17th), Los Angeles (18th), Istanbul (19th) and Melbourne (20th).
Euromonitor International highlighted that “Paris will have unrivaled global dominance in 2024”, and its tourism offer will be further strengthened by “a wide range of sporting events it organized throughout the year, including the Summer Olympic Games”.
The report also revealed that global international arrivals had increased by 19 percent in 2024, “driven by strong tourism demand.”
Europe remains the most popular region, reaching 793 million international trips this year.
London, the UK’s highest-ranked city, has fallen from 10th to 13th, behind Taipei (11th) and Seoul (12th).
However, the most visited city in terms of international arrivals is Bangkok, with 32 million in 2024.
Euromonitor International said: “The city surpassed the pre-pandemic level of international tourism flows in 2023 and continued dynamic growth of more than 30 percent in 2024.”
The rest of the top five countries in international arrivals are made up of Istanbul (in second place, 23 million, an increase of 14 percent); London (third, 21.7 million, up seven percent); Hong Kong (fourth, 20.5 million/up 19 percent) and Mecca (fifth, 19.3 million/up 20 percent).
Completing the top 10 are Antalya (sixth), Dubai (seventh), Macau (eighth), Paris (ninth) and Kuala Lumpur (tenth).
Nadejda Popova, global head of loyalty at Euromonitor International, said: ‘Despite positive recovery projections, challenges such as labor shortages, geopolitical tensions and a sluggish economy will persist, limiting the city’s growth.
‘Less traveled destinations and third-tier cities are expected to increase in popularity as travelers seek hidden gems, off-season experiences and responsible tourism.
“Consumers will prioritize personalized and culturally enriching experiences, making them the new travel currency.”