(CNN) — Europe is winning the tourism game in 2022, says a new report from the U.K.-based market research firm called — no bias — Euromonitor.
Each year, its annual report compares the attractiveness of 100 cities around the world in six categories — or “pillars” — including tourism policy and performance, sustainability, infrastructure, health and safety and economic performance.
In the pre-Covid era, when the index ranked the leading destinations by number of international arrivals, Asian destinations dominated the top of the list — with Hong Kong and Bangkok leading the way.
But now, for the second year in a row, Paris has topped the 2022 Top 100 City Destinations Index, while eight of the top 10 cities are its European neighbours.
In a new report, obtained exclusively by CNN, the French capital is hailed as “the most successful destination in the world” for its “outstanding performance in all pillars of tourism policy and attractiveness, tourism infrastructure and tourism performance”.
‘Positive year’
Dubai was again number two on the list, but took first place when it came to actual international arrivals. More than 12 million inbound trips were made to Dubai this year — almost double last year’s performance. Read also : Real estate scores gap to save gap. The postponed Expo 2020 Dubai, which lasted from October 2021 to March 2022, would greatly help this.
Globally, arrivals are up more than 80% this year in terms of the number of trips.
“While 2022 was a positive year for the travel sector, the road to full post-pandemic recovery is long and government support remains crucial in all regions,” Euromonitor said. Rising inflation, deteriorating economic conditions and the war in Ukraine were pointed to as factors likely to affect the speed of tourism recovery.
Asia is the one to watch
New York was the highest ranked city outside of Europe and the Middle East. See the article : The US is in turmoil this July 4, but many see reason to celebrate.
A total of 40 European cities are represented in the ranking, with Italy (six cities), Spain (five cities) and Greece (four cities) being the biggest hitters in Western Europe.
Amsterdam was third, Madrid fourth, Rome fifth, and London climbed two places this year to No. 6. Munich and Berlin also jumped two places — to No. 7 and No. 8 — respectively. and Barcelona climbed one place to no. 9.
New York ranked last in the top 10, although the report said US cities as a whole showed a “strong recovery in tourism performance”.
Asia had a mixed performance regionally due to Covid-related travel restrictions, but Asian cities made some of the biggest jumps in performance. Singapore jumped 30 places on the list, with Euromonitor praising it as “the most business-friendly destination, with simplified taxation and a high proportion of skilled workers”.
Africa and the Middle East were the best in terms of health and safety.
Intra-regional travel, the easing of Covid-related restrictions and the return of international travel were key to the attractiveness of cities that shined in 2022.
However, Euromonitor said, “Asia is the region to watch in 2023 as the return of international travel, both inbound and outbound, is sure to shake up the rankings.”
Euromonitor’s index of the top 10 city destinations in 2022: