The world’s high 100 cities for 2024 RANKED: Paris is No.1 but once more, London drops out of the highest 10, New York strikes up the desk – and Cairo is backside
Paris has been crowned the world’s best city destination in an annual study for the fourth year in a row.
Once more, the French capital tops Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index.
This ranks cities around the world based on a comparison of 55 metrics across six ‘key pillars’ – economic and business performance; tourism performance; tourism infrastructure; tourism policy and attractiveness; health and safety, and sustainability.
The 2024 report places Madrid in second place, Tokyo third, and Rome fourth, with Milan rounding out the top five.
The rest of the top 10 comprises New York (sixth), Amsterdam (seventh), Sydney (eighth), Singapore (ninth) and Barcelona (10th).
London, the top-ranking UK city, has slipped from 10th to 13th, behind Taipei (11th) and Seoul (12th).
Paris has been crowned the world’s best city destination in an annual study for the fourth year in a row. Once more, the French capital tops Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index
The rest of the top 20 comprises Dubai (14th), Berlin (15th), Osaka (16th), Bangkok (17th), Los Angeles (18th), Istanbul (19th) and Melbourne (20th).
At the other end of the table is Cairo, which ranks 100th, with Zhuhai coming 99th and Jerusalem in 98th place.
Euromonitor International remarked that ‘Paris holds unmatched global dominance in 2024’, its tourism offering strengthened further by ‘a wide array of sporting events it hosted throughout the year, including the Summer Olympic Games’.
The report also revealed that global international arrivals had increased by 19 per cent in 2024, ‘driven by strong tourism demand’.
Europe has remained the most popular region, reaching 793million international trips this year.
London, the top-ranking UK city, has slipped from 10th to 13th, behind Taipei (11th) and Seoul (12th)
Madrid is ranked as the second best city in the world to visit
Tokyo has been ranked the world’s third-best city to visit
However, the most visited city in terms of international arrivals is Bangkok, with 32million in 2024.
Euromonitor International said: ‘The city surpassed pre-pandemic level of international tourism flows in 2023 and continued dynamic growth of over 30 per cent in 2024.’
The rest of the top five for international arrivals comprises Istanbul (second, 23million/up 14 per cent); London (third, 21.7million/up seven per cent); Hong Kong (fourth, 20.5million/up 19 per cent) and Mecca (fifth, 19.3million/up 20 per cent).
Rounding out the top 10 are Antalya (sixth), Dubai (seventh), Macau (eighth), Paris (ninth) and Kuala Lumpur (10th).
Nadejda Popova, global head of loyalty at Euromonitor International, said: ‘Despite positive recovery projections, challenges like labour shortages, geopolitical tensions and a sluggish economy will persist, limiting city growth.
‘Less-travelled destinations and third-tier cities are expected to rise in popularity as travellers seek hidden gems, off-season experiences and responsible tourism.
‘Consumers will prioritise culturally enriching, personalised experiences, making them the new travel currency.’
Cairo (above) ranks 100th, with Zhuhai coming 99th and Jerusalem in 98th place
