Euromonitor International’s Top City Destinations Ranking
Author: Caroline Bremner
Date published: 12 Dec 2008
Euromonitor International is pleased to release the results of its latest Top City Destinations Ranking, covering over 200 of the world's leading and most dynamic cities in terms of tourist arrivals. London ranked once again on top of Euromonitor International's Top City Destinations in 2007, but Asian cities – led by Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore - further reduced the gap on the UK capital and seriously threatened London's leadership in the mid term.
The deep economic turbulences of 2008 will not only impact the next Top City Destination Ranking but will completely reshape the city tourism market in the years to come. The hike in fuel prices has hurt the low cost carrier model in which most of European city travel relies on. However most worryingly, the financial crisis evolved into a global recession with unknown consequences that Euromonitor will aim to analyse below.
London still holds strong
London attracted 15.3 million tourists in 2007, down 2% in growth terms on the previous year. However, the UK capital maintained its rank at the top of Euromonitor International's Top City Destinations in 2007.
Hong Kong in second place was the most dynamic city within the top 5 City Destinations, attracting 12 million overseas tourists, 9% up on the previous year. Bangkok and Singapore in third and fourth place also surpassed the 10 million barrier, as the number of tourists increased by around 5% on 2006.
Top City Destinations Ranking 2007 |
'000 arrivals |
Ranking |
000 tourist arrivals |
% growth 2006/2007 |
London |
1 |
15,340 |
-1.9 |
Hong Kong |
2 |
12,057 |
8.8 |
Bangkok |
3 |
10,844 |
4.8 |
Singapore |
4 |
10,284 |
5.4 |
Paris |
5 |
8,762 |
-10.2 |
New York City |
6 |
7,646 |
23.0 |
Antalya |
7 |
7,292 |
13.8 |
Toronto |
8 |
6,627 |
-3.6 |
Dubai |
9 |
6,535 |
6.8 |
Istanbul |
10 |
6,454 |
21.8 |
Rome |
11 |
6,123 |
1.5 |
Barcelona |
12 |
5,044 |
7.4 |
Seoul |
13 |
4,994 |
1.5 |
Shanghai |
14 |
4,800 |
11.2 |
Dublin |
15 |
4,627 |
4.4 |
Kuala Lumpur |
16 |
4,403 |
0.8 |
Pattaya |
17 |
4,387 |
5.3 |
Mecca |
18 |
4,200 |
10.5 |
Moscow |
19 |
4,050 |
9.6 |
Macau |
20 |
3,953 |
28.7 |
Amsterdam |
21 |
3,909 |
0.2 |
Beijing |
22 |
3,900 |
8.5 |
Cairo |
23 |
3,896 |
10.0 |
Prague |
24 |
3,696 |
-0.2 |
Vienna |
25 |
3,637 |
4.5 |
Madrid |
26 |
3,404 |
12.1 |
Guangzhou |
27 |
3,300 |
31.4 |
Phuket |
28 |
3,160 |
9.9 |
Vancouver |
29 |
3,127 |
-0.9 |
Montreal |
30 |
2,736 |
-5.0 |
Shenzen |
31 |
2,700 |
41.8 |
Ho Chi Minh |
32 |
2,700 |
14.8 |
Los Angeles |
33 |
2,652 |
5.5 |
Rio De Janeiro |
34 |
2,627 |
10.1 |
Mexico City |
35 |
2,560 |
-6.3 |
Berlin |
36 |
2,552 |
10.5 |
Mumbai |
37 |
2,436 |
11.9 |
Tokyo |
38 |
2,422 |
13.8 |
Miami |
39 |
2,341 |
18.7 |
Brussels |
40 |
2,328 |
2.6 |
Athens |
41 |
2,300 |
7.9 |
Buenos Aires |
42 |
2,286 |
9.0 |
San Francisco |
43 |
2,270 |
13.9 |
Warsaw |
44 |
2,210 |
9.8 |
Baii |
45 |
2,183 |
13.0 |
Budapest |
46 |
2,119 |
3.7 |
St.Petersburg |
47 |
2,100 |
10.0 |
Munich |
48 |
2,098 |
8.9 |
Orlando |
49 |
2,055 |
3.1 |
Cancún |
50 |
2,022 |
27.2 |
Delhi |
51 |
1,920 |
11.9 |
Milan |
52 |
1,914 |
0.7 |
Hangzhou |
53 |
1,900 |
21.7 |
Sydney |
54 |
1,869 |
0.9 |
Lisbon |
56 |
1,863 |
8.6 |
Ryad |
55 |
1,798 |
3.4 |
Venice |
57 |
1,798 |
1.9 |
Johannesburg |
58 |
1,739 |
23.9 |
Florence |
59 |
1,729 |
0.8 |
Las Vegas |
60 |
1,720 |
4.4 |
Jerusalem |
61 |
1,610 |
1.7 |
Marrakech |
62 |
1,600 |
6.7 |
Chiang Mai |
63 |
1,584 |
-4.8 |
Honolulu |
64 |
1,553 |
-10.4 |
Calgary |
65 |
1,546 |
0.8 |
Frankfurt/Main |
66 |
1,542 |
0.1 |
Zurich |
67 |
1,418 |
3.6 |
Cape Town |
68 |
1,374 |
3.8 |
Suzhou |
69 |
1,350 |
5.0 |
Abu Dhabi |
70 |
1,340 |
21.5 |
Zhuhai |
71 |
1,340 |
1.6 |
Varadero |
72 |
1,326 |
-8.4 |
Edinburgh |
73 |
1,320 |
-1.3 |
São Paulo |
74 |
1,307 |
19.3 |
Ha Noi |
75 |
1,306 |
9.8 |
Copenhagen |
76 |
1,300 |
-5.4 |
Nice |
77 |
1,235 |
0.6 |
Tel Aviv |
78 |
1,225 |
9.1 |
Washington DC |
79 |
1,195 |
12.6 |
Manchester |
80 |
1,180 |
29.4 |
Palma de Mallorca |
81 |
1,172 |
-4.9 |
Chicago |
82 |
1,147 |
8.0 |
Guilin |
83 |
1,094 |
7.1 |
Boston |
84 |
1,075 |
7.9 |
Bucuresti |
86 |
1,073 |
2.2 |
Lima |
85 |
1,063 |
18.0 |
Stockholm |
87 |
1,063 |
6.0 |
Alexandria |
88 |
1,013 |
4.6 |
Krakow |
89 |
1,012 |
2.0 |
Rotterdam |
90 |
1,009 |
-0.6 |
Luxor |
91 |
1,009 |
5.8 |
Birmingham |
92 |
970 |
24.5 |
Sharjah |
93 |
970 |
5.1 |
Tallinn |
94 |
965 |
-3.5 |
Cuzco |
95 |
960 |
20.0 |
Melbourne |
96 |
954 |
3.4 |
La Habana |
97 |
943 |
-1.1 |
Osaka |
98 |
937 |
13.8 |
Helsinki |
99 |
903 |
7.3 |
Santiago |
100 |
886 |
5.0 |
Lyon |
101 |
869 |
2.2 |
Sevilla |
102 |
865 |
-1.5 |
Tianjin |
103 |
855 |
0.7 |
Nanjing |
104 |
853 |
1.2 |
Salzburg |
105 |
851 |
-2.7 |
Manila |
106 |
839 |
8.0 |
Xi'an |
107 |
810 |
1.2 |
Qingdao |
108 |
803 |
1.0 |
Xiamen |
109 |
800 |
1.0 |
Kyoto |
110 |
788 |
13.8 |
Cebu |
111 |
773 |
33.0 |
Cologne |
112 |
768 |
1.1 |
Hamburg |
113 |
754 |
2.1 |
Glasgow |
114 |
743 |
0.3 |
Yakarta |
115 |
740 |
12.7 |
Granada |
116 |
738 |
4.2 |
Geneve |
117 |
722 |
5.6 |
Poznan |
118 |
683 |
25.8 |
Dalian |
119 |
679 |
1.9 |
Mombasa |
120 |
677 |
12.0 |
Valencia |
121 |
670 |
16.5 |
Ras Al-Khaimah |
122 |
660 |
7.6 |
Salvador de Bahia |
123 |
650 |
0.6 |
San Diego |
124 |
645 |
-0.8 |
Bruges |
125 |
644 |
0.5 |
Chiba |
126 |
639 |
13.8 |
Antwerp |
127 |
636 |
0.1 |
Düsseldorf |
128 |
632 |
0.4 |
Liverpool |
129 |
627 |
0.3 |
Bogota |
130 |
617 |
13.5 |
Kunming |
131 |
615 |
1.3 |
Casablanca |
132 |
610 |
6.7 |
Kolkata |
133 |
609 |
11.9 |
Wuxi |
134 |
606 |
1.9 |
Porto |
135 |
603 |
9.0 |
Gdansk |
136 |
600 |
7.1 |
Nairobi |
137 |
598 |
12.0 |
Foz do Iguacu |
138 |
588 |
18.0 |
Chongquing |
139 |
568 |
4.2 |
Innsbruck |
140 |
556 |
3.8 |
Florianópolis |
141 |
516 |
64.5 |
Chengdu |
142 |
514 |
1.1 |
Oslo |
143 |
513 |
9.9 |
Leeds |
144 |
510 |
74.7 |
Göteborg |
145 |
497 |
1.3 |
Jaipur |
147 |
492 |
11.9 |
Houston |
146 |
478 |
5.0 |
Atlanta |
148 |
478 |
0.3 |
Bristol |
149 |
470 |
16.6 |
Bratislava |
150 |
462 |
1.5 |
Oxford |
151 |
450 |
0.2 |
Dubrovnik |
152 |
449 |
7.4 |
Yokohama |
153 |
448 |
13.8 |
Lucerne |
154 |
447 |
0.5 |
Zagreb |
155 |
432 |
11.1 |
San Jose |
156 |
430 |
4.4 |
Quito |
157 |
429 |
60.0 |
Goa |
158 |
428 |
11.9 |
Luxembourg City |
159 |
427 |
5.0 |
Aix-en-Provence |
160 |
410 |
32.0 |
Reykjavik |
161 |
407 |
9.7 |
Seattle |
162 |
406 |
24.9 |
Tangier |
163 |
393 |
6.7 |
Caracas |
164 |
391 |
-10.0 |
Lille |
165 |
384 |
1.4 |
Naples |
166 |
381 |
-1.6 |
York |
167 |
370 |
46.2 |
Stuttgart |
168 |
363 |
1.3 |
Belgrade |
169 |
360 |
2.7 |
Dallas |
170 |
358 |
3.5 |
Fortaleza |
171 |
358 |
1.5 |
Cardiff |
172 |
356 |
0.3 |
Ljubljana |
173 |
354 |
6.0 |
Nürnberg |
174 |
352 |
-1.3 |
Cambridge |
175 |
350 |
0.6 |
Montevideo |
176 |
349 |
10.0 |
Monaco |
177 |
343 |
9.6 |
Fès |
178 |
342 |
6.7 |
Kamakura |
179 |
332 |
13.8 |
Basel |
180 |
319 |
1.3 |
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
181 |
319 |
0.6 |
Pune |
182 |
316 |
11.9 |
Palermo |
183 |
316 |
1.0 |
Sapporo |
184 |
315 |
13.8 |
Rabat |
185 |
305 |
6.7 |
Rhodes |
186 |
296 |
2.1 |
Córdoba |
187 |
290 |
14.6 |
Verona |
188 |
289 |
1.9 |
Rimini |
189 |
284 |
1.2 |
Málaga |
190 |
282 |
4.5 |
Bologna |
191 |
279 |
1.6 |
Ghent |
192 |
278 |
6.6 |
Fukuoka |
193 |
265 |
13.8 |
Brighton |
194 |
264 |
-0.4 |
Dijon |
195 |
262 |
8.4 |
La Paz |
196 |
255 |
4.0 |
Inverness |
197 |
253 |
0.4 |
Reims |
198 |
249 |
10.1 |
Bath |
199 |
247 |
0.8 |
Genua |
200 |
243 |
1.5 |
Heidelberg |
201 |
240 |
-2.1 |
Alicante |
202 |
240 |
10.1 |
Turin |
203 |
240 |
-2.2 |
Blackpool |
204 |
230 |
-2.2 |
Bilbao |
205 |
230 |
15.6 |
Dresden |
206 |
230 |
1.3 |
Udaipur |
207 |
221 |
11.9 |
Nottingham |
208 |
218 |
-0.5 |
Lausanne |
209 |
215 |
0.1 |
Santiago de Compostela |
210 |
215 |
18.5 |
Strasbourg |
211 |
214 |
1.7 |
Stavenger |
212 |
213 |
16.3 |
Thessalloniki |
213 |
213 |
4.9 |
Graz |
214 |
210 |
2.0 |
Bergen |
215 |
209 |
11.1 |
Bern |
216 |
203 |
1.6 |
Reading |
217 |
203 |
0.5 |
Shefield |
218 |
200 |
0.8 |
Linz |
219 |
200 |
0.2 |
Aberdeen |
220 |
196 |
0.5 |
Bordeux |
221 |
195 |
1.0 |
Avignon |
222 |
186 |
2.2 |
Marseille |
223 |
185 |
2.8 |
Rethymnon |
224 |
181 |
1.7 |
Lugano |
225 |
176 |
0.7 |
Zaragoza |
227 |
170 |
5.7 |
San Sebastian |
228 |
169 |
1.1 |
Siena |
229 |
163 |
0.6 |
Tarragona |
230 |
161 |
4.5 |
Trondheim |
231 |
150 |
8.7 |
Agra |
232 |
150 |
11.9 |
World Tourism Organisation, European Cities Tourism, National Statistics, National Tourist Boards, Local Tourism & Convention Bureaux, Trade Press (local and national newspapers, business travel news), Euromonitor International |
Mainland China cities exclude visits from Hong Kong and Macao (and vice versa), but include visitors from Taiwan |
The currency issue
New York, ranked in 6th place, outperformed all other cities in the top 15 in terms of growth in the number of tourist arrivals. The Big Apple received 7.6 million overseas tourists in 2007, 23% more than in 2006. The depreciation of the US dollar against international currencies, notably the Euro and the British pound, attracted many Europeans to the streets and shops of New York.
Between 2002 and mid-2008 the Euro jumped 45% against the dollar. The six year run-up of the Euro boosted not only the number of Europeans travelling to US cities, but also to many other destinations in which most tourism transactions are still dealt with in dollars.
Since July 2008 the Euro has lost 19% of its value against the greenback, while the British pound has fallen by 24%. The sudden strength of the US dollar will have a great impact on next year's Top City Destinations ranking, especially if, as the global economy continues to sour, the dollar rises even more.
Paris, ranked fifth, lost 10% of its international tourists in 2007, a figure only matched by Honolulu and Caracas. The sharp decline in tourist arrivals in Paris - and to a lesser extent in London - coupled with the sluggish performance of other European cities such as Rome, Amsterdam or Prague mark a turning point for European capitals.
The slowdown of the European city market in 2007 was partly due to the strength of the Euro, which pushed many Europeans to fly to other continents for the price of what would have cost them a long-weekend in any continental capital. It was also the result of an on-going trend towards the European countryside to the detriment of big cities.
Nevertheless, 2007 was not so gloomy for all European cities. Istanbul, ranked 10th, received 22% more international tourists in 2007 to reach 6.5 million. Meanwhile top cities such as Madrid, Berlin, St Petersburg, Birmingham and Manchester also witnessed two-digit growth rates.
Emerging regions outperform Europe in growth
The top 230 city destinations accounted for 35% of global tourist arrivals in 2007. International tourists to these destinations increased by over 6% on previous year, totalling 335 million tourists.
European cities received 40% of all international visitors. Despite the number of tourists experiencing an increase of 4% in 2007, European cities were outperformed by the impressive growth rates witnessed in other regions. The number of tourists visiting Asian and Latin American cities grew by 9% in 2007 on the previous year, while in the Middle East and North Africa region the number of visitors grew on average by 8%.
Asian city tourism is a golden opportunity
In the future, Asian cities will continue to outpace European city destinations in terms of international city tourist arrivals. Euromonitor International predicts that by 2013 more international travellers will visit more large cities in Asia than in Europe.
China is expected to be the key driver of this growth. Not only will Chinese cities attract more international visitors, but an increasing number of Chinese tourists will flock to visit cities in other Asian countries, with outbound tourism driven by rising disposable income and increased air connectivity.
In the meantime, Japanese and South Korean tourists will continue flocking to Asian cities, as long as their current economic recession does not plunge them into a deep and long depression. Furthermore, the dynamism expected in Asia will be driven by emerging source markets such as Russia, Malaysia or the Philippines.
The impact of fuel prices
During the first half of 2008 fuel prices rocketed to an unprecedented level, causing operating costs to spiral for all airlines. A direct consequence by some airlines was the introduction of fuel surcharges that increased the final price paid by travellers. That struck at the heart of European city tourism which relies on the short, discretionary trip where Europeans decide to take trips last minute tempted by special offers.
Furthermore, this also undermined the low fares sector, with some of the weaker carriers going bust such as XL or Sterling. The rise in fuel prices affected also the legacy carriers that could not compete with the more efficient cost-cutting model of large budget companies such as Ryanair and easyJet.
Although fuel prices have dropped dramatically since last summer's peak, the economic slowdown and the financial difficulties of the air travel industry will lead to further consolidation in coming years.
As carriers streamline their business, unprofitable flights will be closed. And as small no-frills carriers and charter airlines file for bankruptcy, many regional airports are set to see fewer planes landing in 2009. For example, Ryanair closed seven of its European bases in November. The budget airline will no longer land at Basel, Budapest, Mallorca, Krakow, Rzeszow, Salzburg and Valencia airports.
Valencia ranked 121st in 2007, up eight places on the previous year, partly as a result of the America's Cup that was held in Valencia that year. In 2008, the city will jump several places further thanks to the F1 European Grand Prix that was raced there for the first time, attracting many overseas tourists. However, Valencia will suffer from Ryanair's decision in 2009, as its airport will lose 60 weekly international flights, which could mean around 750,000 fewer passengers per year.
The global economic turmoil takes its toll
As most of the Western world slips into recession and emerging economies slow down sharply, the outlook of city tourism looks increasingly worrisome. Throughout 2008, what began with a credit crunch of financial markets developed into a real economic recession in North America, Europe and Japan that threatens to have serious consequences on the global tourism industry.
Consumers, unable to borrow and fearful for their jobs, are increasingly cutting their spending. The data published to this date on tourist arrivals points out that city tourism has been one of the first victims, as consumers cut their spending on travelling. Most European hotel chains have already reported fewer bednights figures during the first half of the year in key European cities. Although only a fragment of potential holidaymakers renounced to their annual holidays, data shows that they have reduced their short breaks abroad.
Research Analyst, Pablo Sáez Gil, comments “this not only affects European and North American cities, but significantly also Asian cities. Recently published data from IATA singles out Asia as the second region where passenger traffic has declined most sharply, only surpassed by Africa. This does not come as a surprise when the major Asian source markets of Japan, South Korea, also Singapore and Hong Kong (China) have all joined the recession club”.
The number of foreign tourists visiting China declined by nearly 2% during the first 10 months of 2008, despite the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The decline was mainly driven by the sharp slump of tourists from its major source markets. The number of South Koreans visiting China declined by 24% over the same period, while the number of Japanese tourists was down by 16%. Monthly like-for-like figures in cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong and Tokyo have steadily declined since September.
Meetings and Incentives deals with financial distress
In recent years, Meetings and Incentives travel has played a key role in developing city tourism with total business arrivals accounting for 20% of global arrivals. Fuelled by the globalisation of the world economy, Meetings and Incentives activities have helped to set some cities firmly on the map. According to the International Congress & Convention Association, Spain jumped two positions in 2007 to become the third most important country in terms of organising international events, after the US and Germany. Cities such as Madrid and Valencia strongly benefited from MICE activity in 2007.
The sudden downturn in the global economy in 2008 will hinder MICE travel activities across the globe. Several trade shows related to new technology have already been postponed as companies cut their marketing expenses, such as Digital Life in New York and Simo in Madrid. Although the amount of conferences and exhibitions will not suffer from a sudden slump, the market will experience a slowdown as some exhibitions are cancelled throughout 2009. What seems clear is that organised business events will gather fewer professionals in 2009, especially in Europe.
The credit crisis also caused financial distress to many local authorities across the globe. That, in turn, has put on hold some of the urban city projects planned, which partly aimed to increase city competitiveness in a global tourist market. The urban development in many cities – including development for the Olympics in London 2012 - could be hindered as a result. The way the different economies emerge from the economic gloom will shape the future of city destination tourism.
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