Three Southeast Asian cities among most visited in 2018

Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur made it once again into the top-ten list of most visited cities 2018 issued by business intelligence firm Euromonitor International. The ranking is based on both the numbers of total arrivals in 2017 and Euromonitor’s projections for 2018.

The ranking shows that six out of the top-ten most visited cities in 2017 are in Asia, with Hong Kong on top and Macau, Shenzhen also in the global top ten. To Hong Kong, close to 30 million tourists are expected to travel this year, and more than 50 per cent of them will be from the Chinese mainland. Bangkok can expect 23.7 million, a growth of 5.5 per cent over 2017 and the highest number ever. Singapore will see 18.6 million visitors, 5.3 per cent more than last year.

The best ranked non-Asian cities in the top-ten list of 100 are London (3), Paris (6), Dubai (7) and New York City (8).

Other popular Southeast Asia cities are Phuket (11), Pattaya (25), Denpasar (33), Johor Bahru (37), Ho Chi Minh City (39), Hanoi (51), Ha Long (53), Jakarta (60), Chiang Mai (64), Penang (66), Phnom Penh (69), Siem Reap (68), Batam (97) and Krabi (100).

A particular high growth in visitors over 2017 has been noted in Pattaya (+16.1 per cent), Johor Bahru (+14 per cent), Denpasar (+15.2 per cent), Jakarta (+12.4 per cent), Ha Long (+12 per cent), Batam (+11.9 per cent), Phnom Penh (+11 per cent) and Siem Reap (+10 per cent).

Ho Chi Minh City is expected to receive 5.8 million foreign visitors this year, up 5.9 per cent against a year earlier. It has overtaken some of world’s leading tourism cities like Beijing (54th), Sydney (55th), Chiang Mai (64th), Kyoto (67th) and Melbourne (76th).

Newcomer Batam in Indonesia rose 31 positions since 2012 and strengthens the group of Asian cities among the most visited cities in the world. The upward trend should continue, and the city is forecast to see around 2.5 million inbound arrivals in 2018, mostly from or through Singapore.

“Asia continues its rise, accounting for 41 out of the top 100 visited cities globally in 2018, in comparison to 37 cities in 2012,” said Euromonitor International travel research consultant Wouter Geerts.

Top 20 cities based on 2017 arrivals and 2018 estimates

1. Hong Kong: 27,880,300 arrivals (2017)/29,827,200 arrivals (2018)
2. Bangkok, Thailand: 22,453,900 arrivals (2017)/23,688,800 arrivals (2018)
3. London, England: 19,827,800 arrivals (2017)/20,715,900 arrivals (2018)
4. Singapore: 17,618,800 arrivals (2017)/18,551,200 arrivals (2018)
5. Macau: 17,337,200 arrivals (2017)/18,931,400 arrivals (2018)
6. Paris, France: 15,834,200 arrivals (2017)/16,863,500 arrivals (2018)
7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 15,790,000 arrivals (2017)/16,658,500 arrivals (2018)
8. New York City, USA: 13,100,000 arrivals (2017)/13,500,000 arrivals (2018)
9. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 12,843,500 arrivals (2017)/13,434,000 arrivals (2018)
10. Shenzhen, China: 12,075,100 arrivals (2017)/12,437,300 arrivals (2018)
11. Phuket, Thailand: 11,613,100 arrivals (2017)/11,945,500 arrivals (2018)
12. Istanbul, Turkey: 10,730,300 arrivals (2017)/12,121,100 arrivals (2018)
13. Delhi, India: 10,157,000 arrivals (2017)/12,505,300 arrivals (2018)
14. Tokyo, Japan: 9,549,400 arrivals (2017)/9,896,300 arrivals (2018)
15. Rome, Italy: 9,531,600 arrivals (2017)/9,703,200 arrivals (2018)
16. Antalya, Turkey: 9,482,400 arrivals (2017)/10,729,300 arrivals (2018)
17. Taipei, Taiwan: 9,273,300 arrivals (2017)/9,783,300 arrivals (2018)
18. Guangzhou, China: 9,004,800 arrivals (2017)/9,392,000 arrivals (2018)
19. Mumbai, India: 8,984,900 arrivals (2017)/10,670,100 arrivals (2018)
20. Prague, Czech Republic: 8,806,700 arrivals (2017)/9,038,900 arrivals (2018)

Download the report: Top 100 City Destinations 2018