While an island getaway is always high on our bucket list, we do love a good city break and everything that promises: great shopping, diverse attractions and dining options, and of course, some solid infrastructure to get around safely and easily. From Bangkok to Seoul, Asia has some pretty impressive big cities suitable for a weekend trip, or – heck – to settle down in. No matter your favourites, two in particular stood out in a new study by Euromonitor International.
The data analytics and research firm just released its annual Top 100 City Destinations Index, and we're proud to say that Tokyo and Singapore made it to the very top ten.
But first, what makes a city attractive? For Euromonitor, it's these six pillars: economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, and sustainability. It assessed 100 cities using 55 metrics across these pillars to create an overall city attractiveness score.
This year, the ever-popular Japanese capital city moved up to third place while Singapore entered the top ten for the first time. The latter performed well thanks to its strong economic and business performance and attractive tourism initiatives.
Asia also shone overall, with six cities in the top 20 rankings. Taipei stands at No. 11, Seoul at No. 12, Osaka at No. 16, and Bangkok at No. 17.
Where did people actually travel to, though? Bangkok, apparently. The Thai capital, famed for its intriguing mix of modern mega-malls and religious shrines, topped Euromonitor's list of Top 10 Cities in International Arrivals. It recorded 32.4 million international arrivals in 2024 – an astounding 37% jump from the year before.
And if you're interested in getting ahead of the tourist crowds, we suggest packing your bags for China. The country is expected to have the highest volume growth of international arrivals by 2030.
These are Euromonitor International's Top 10 City Destinations for 2024:
- Paris, France
- Madrid, Spain
- Tokyo, Japan
- Rome, Italy
- Milan, Italy
- New York, USA
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Sydney, Australia
- Singapore
- Barcelona, Spain
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