The 20 most visited places in

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The 20 most visited places in the world according to Euromonitor International

Johannesburg came in at number 38 in Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations 2018 report.

The 20 most visited places in

Getty Image/funnybank

UK-based market research company Euromonitor International recently released its Top 100 City Destinations 2018 report, an annual ranking of the world’s most popular cities by international tourism arrivals. 

Euromonitor International’s research covers 600 cities and according to them, global inbound arrivals are expected to grow by 5% this year.

At the same time, arrivals to this year’s top 100 city destinations are set to grow by 7.5%.

The most visited city in the world 

According to CNN, Hong Kong came up as the number one spot to travel to once more. 

“Close to 30 million tourists are expected to travel to the region before the year is out, and more than 50% of them will be from the Chinese mainland.”

Asia continues to be the biggest player in the rankings, with 41 of the top 100 cities being on the continent.

Bangkok holds onto its place in the number 2 spot in the rankings, with close to 24 million visitors expected this year, while Singapore, Macau, Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen are all in the top 10.

“Japan and India stand out for their strong growth in inbound city arrivals growth,” says Euromonitor International, highlighting that “cities such as Osaka and Chiba have shown average annual growth of 43% and 35%, respectively, between 2012 and 2017.”

Europe

London is overall in third place with just under 21 million international tourists expected this year. 

Paris came in at sixth place with 16.9 million, and Rome, with 9.7 million must make do with 15th place. 

The Middle East and Africa

The biggest loser is the Middle East and Africa region, with cities such as Jerba and Sousse in Tunisia, or Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt dropping out of the ranking in past years, mainly due to terrorist attacks and subsequent slumping demand. Cairo, however, is seeing a resurgence.

Johannesburg came in at number 38 on the top 100 list with 5,941,8000 arrivals. Research show leisure is the main reason visitors come to the city.

“Southern African visitors are the main tourists to the city for both business and leisure purposes, while South African leisure travelers prefer travelling to other local destinations.”

Dubai, United Arab Emirates is number 7 on the list with 16 million arrivals in 2018. 

Americas

The top echelons of the ranking in the Americas are highly focused on North and Central America, although there are a number of South American cities, including Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro in the top 100.

In America, the most visited cities are New York with 13,500,000 arrivals for 2018, followed by Miami and Los Angeles. 

The ones to watch 

Euromonitor International says Mumbai, Porto, Osaka and Jerusalem is the cities to watch.

Mumbai will enter the Asian top 10 next year, with an expected arrivals growth of 19%, and is prepared for the influx, with the first phase of the new Navi Mumbai International Airport set to be operational by 2019.