According to EuroMonitor's top cities report, the entire continents of North and South America may no longer have cities that can crack the list for the top 10 destinations in the world.
The report highlights the top 100 cities based on 2018 international arrivals — meaning international tourists who visited for at least 24 hours — as well as 2019 projections from current data.
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In 2018, New York City clung to its No. 8 spot. But based on current numbers, it's expected that it will plunge three spots by the end of the year — excluding it and the Americas from the 2019 list. London may drop two spots, down to No. 5, and Kuala Lumpur is projected to slip from No. 9 to No. 10. This is what the list is expected to look like by year's end:
- Hong Kong, 26.7 million
- Bangkok, 25.8 million
- Macau, 20.6 million
- Singapore, 19.8 million
- London, 19.6 million
- Paris, 19.1 million
- Dubai, 16.3 million
- Delhi, 15.2 million
- Istanbul, 14.7 million
- Kuala Lumpur, 14.1 million
New York City is still the most popular urban destination in the U.S., as well as North and South America, followed by Miami (expected to be the 29th most popular city for tourists in the world in 2019); Los Angeles (33rd) and Las Vegas (38th). All will loose ground based on current projections. In fact, only 13 of the top 100 cities are in the Americas.
Rabia Yasmeen, the author of the report, wrote that, "Despite high concern for safety and security among visitors, stringent policies and a travel ban under the Trump administration, most U.S. destinations performed well during 2018 when compared with the previous year.”
"However," Yaseem added, "most U.S. cities in [the ranking] experienced a decline ... due to increased competitiveness from other regions such as Asia and Europe."
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According to the report, only 13 of the top 100 cities are in the Americas. The majority (expected to be 42 in 2019), are in Asia — a number that has increased significantly from 34 back in 2013.
Europe remains a popular spot for tourists, too. It maintained 32 cities in the rankings, the same number as last year. What's interesting to note, though, is that the number of inbound arrivals to London decreased, possibly the result of Brexit uncertainty and tightened visa restrictions, Yaseem surmised.
If you want to beat all the crowds, though, you'll want to make sure Singapore, Delhi, Hurghada, Egypt; and Fukuoka, Japan are all on your list for next year. They're all listed as cities to watch in the report. EuroMonitor predicts Hurghada might even crack the top 50 in the next years, as it leapt 45 places this year.
