This year’s best city destinations have been named in an influential annual Index by Euromonitor International, and it seems 2023 is Europe’s year.
International travel continues to recover well to pre-Covid levels, with 1.3 billion trips and an estimated global spend in 2023 of 1.5 trillion euros ($1.7 trillion, or the size of the U.S. federal budget).
It’s in this buoyant market that European cities are dominating the rankings.
The list
Host of 2024’s Olympics or not, Paris is perhaps no surprise at the head of the list as the world’s most attractive city destination. It’s the quick succession of other European cities that is remarkable: Madrid comes in third place, Amsterdam fifth, Berlin sixth and Rome at number seven. Barcelona and London take ninth and tenth places, meaning a whopping seven cities in the top 10 are in Europe, as are 63 countries out of the top 100.
Dubai, UAE stands on the silver podium, while Tokyo makes a blistering first time entry in the top ten, coming in at fourth spot thanks to a great exchange rate on the Yen plus improved infrastructure and post-Covid-19 access. New York is the only U.S. city to make the top ten cut, at number eight.
Who else?
Asia performed well in general, taking four spots in the top 20: Singapore (11), Seoul (14), Osaka (16) and Hong Kong (17). What’s more, Hong Kong wins the gong for steepest growth (2,495%), followed by Bangkok (142%). Your eyes do not deceive you. Their exponential growth is partly in thanks to only recently lifting the last Covid-19 restrictions.
And of course, with both continents doing well, the city hailed as the gateway between Europe and Asia, Istanbul, did well too, topping the list for international arrival numbers.
Urbanization and tech
The analysis used criteria such as economic performance, tourism factors, sustainability, and health and safety to compare cities around the world. In a statement accompanying the report, the authors note that the more successful city destinations are already engaged in “digital transformation with the help of disruptive technology, improving sustainability, transportation networks and social impact.”
European cities especially have undertaken “fast-paced urbanization and widespread technology adoption” which has enabled them to deliver the “high-speed internet, flexible booking options and spaces for remote working” that we now seek when on the move.
Overtourism
Nadejda Popova, senior manager at Euromonitor International, drew attention to how some cities are dealing with overtourism with various approaches including “restrictions, steep taxation or reduction of hotel capacity to help limit the influx of tourists and preserve cultural heritage.”
Other ways to combat the problem include “dispersion strategies that promote alternative or off-the-beaten-path destinations,” Popova added.
Off-the-beaten-path . . . but less remote?
Other challenges to face the sector in the next two years, according to Popova, are economic uncertainty around the cost of living, as well as inflationary and geopolitical instability. As a result, destinations that appear to offer good value and manage to market themselves as less remote may do well, she predicts.
The top 20 cities in Euromonitor’s top 100 city destinations index 2023 are:
- Paris, France
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Madrid, Spain
- Tokyo, Japan
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Berlin, Germany
- Rome, Italy
- New York, United States
- Barcelona, Spain
- 10. London, United Kingdom
- Singapore
- Munich, Germany
- Milan, Italy
- Seoul, South Korea
- Dublin, Ireland
- Osaka, Japan
- Hong Kong
- Vienna, Austria
- Los Angeles, United States
- Lisbon, Portugal
