The 31 most popular cities in the world for travelers

Mark AbadiDec 9, 2018, 21:09 IST

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The list of the most visited cities in the world was released this week by market-research firm Euromonitor International.
New York City saw more than 13 million international tourists last year, but it only finished No. 8 on the global list.
Asian cities dominated the top 10, with one city attracting nearly 28 million international tourists.

Euromonitor International released its annual ranking of the most visited cities in the world this week, measuring the appeal of some of the world's most famous destinations to international travelers.

The UK-based market-research firm looked at 600 cities worldwide and ranked the 100 that attracted the most international tourists in 2017, and projected estimates for 2018 using part-year data.

Seven American cities made the cut this year, led by New York City, which attracted more than 13 million tourists in 2017, good for eighth in the global rankings.

Meanwhile, Asian cities dominated the top of the list, comprising seven out of the top 10 most popular cities. One Asian tourism powerhouse retained its title for the eighth consecutive year, leading the world with nearly 28 million international visitors.

Read on to see the biggest urban tourism hotspots in the world:

See The 31 most popular cities in the world for travelers >>

31. Barcelona, Spain

2017 arrivals: 6,530,100

2018 estimate: 6,726,000

30. Osaka, Japan

2017 arrivals: 6,605,900

2018 estimate: 7,456,300

29. Agra, India

2017 arrivals: 6,644,000

2018 estimate: 8,258,200

28. Las Vegas, USA

2017 arrivals: 6,687,800

2018 estimate: 6,599,300

27. Los Angeles, USA

2017 arrivals: 7,165,000

2018 estimate: 7,246,400

26. Shanghai, China

2017 arrivals: 7,193,300

2018 estimate: 7,359,600

25. Pattaya, Thailand

2017 arrivals: 7,426,200

2018 estimate: 8,620,000

24. Seoul, South Korea

2017 arrivals: 7,659,100

2018 estimate: 7,731,400

23. Amsterdam, Netherlands

2017 arrivals: 7,848,000

2018 estimate: 8,476,600

22. Miami, USA

2017 arrivals: 8,075,800

2018 estimate: 8,071,200

21. Mecca, Saudi Arabia

2017 arrivals: 8,632,300

2018 estimate: 9,484,300

20. Prague, Czech Republic

2017 arrivals: 8,806,700

2018 estimate: 9,038,900

19. Mumbai, India

2017 arrivals: 8,984,900

2018 estimate: 10,670,100

18. Guangzhou, China

2017 arrivals: 9,004,800

2018 estimate: 9,392,000

17. Taipei, Taiwan

2017 arrivals: 9,273,300

2018 estimate: 9,783,300

16. Antalya, Turkey

2017 arrivals: 9,482,400

2018 estimate: 10,729,300

15. Rome, Italy

2017 arrivals: 9,353,900

2018 estimate: 9,531,600

14. Tokyo, Japan

2017 arrivals: 9,272,900

2018 estimate: 9,549,400

13. Delhi, India

2017 arrivals: 10,157,000

2018 estimate: 12,505,300

12. Istanbul, Turkey

2017 arrivals: 10,730,300

2018 estimate: 12,121,100

11. Phuket, Thailand

2017 arrivals: 11,613,100

2018 estimate: 11,949,500

10. Shenzhen, China

2017 arrivals: 12,075,100

2018 estimate: 12,437,300

9. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2017 arrivals: 12,843,500

2018 estimate: 13,434,300

8. New York City, USA

2017 arrivals: 13,100,000

2018 estimate: 13,500,000

7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

2017 arrivals: 15,790,000

2018 estimate: 16,658,500

6. Paris, France

2017 arrivals: 15,834,200

2018 estimate: 16,863,500

5. Macau

2017 arrivals: 17,337,200

2018 estimate: 18,931,400

4. Singapore

2017 arrivals: 17,618,800

2018 estimate: 18,551,200

3. London, United Kingdom

2017 arrivals: 19,827,800

2018 estimate: 20,715,900

2. Bangkok, Thailand

2017 arrivals: 22,453,900

2018 estimate: 23,688,800

1. Hong Kong

2017 arrivals: 27,880,300

2018 estimate: 29,827,200

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