TOURISM REFERENCE · 2023–2025
Most Visited Cities
Compare international arrivals by year, read the source notes and download the Excel data behind the city rankings.
Which city receives the most international arrivals?
Bangkok leads Euromonitor International’s 2025 table with an estimated 30.3 million international trips, followed by Hong Kong and London. Below, explore the most visited cities by international arrivals in three separate annual editions for 2025, 2024 and 2023.
Each table retains its original source order, rounded figures and publication date. The editions are presented separately because their values do not form a directly comparable growth series. They cover international arrivals rather than all domestic and international travel.
Choose a reference year
Most visited cities in 2025
Bangkok ranks first with 30.3 million international trips. Hong Kong follows with 23.2 million, ahead of London at 22.7 million. This is the December 2025 publication’s estimate table, released before the year ended.
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| Rank | City | Country or territory | International trips (million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangkok | Thailand | 30.3 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR, China | 23.2 |
| 3 | London | United Kingdom | 22.7 |
| 4 | Macau | Macao SAR, China | 20.4 |
| 5 | Istanbul | Türkiye | 19.7 |
| 6 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 19.5 |
| 7 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 18.7 |
| 8 | Antalya | Türkiye | 18.6 |
| 9 | Paris | France | 18.3 |
| 10 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 17.3 |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2025 publication, published , chart “Top 10 Cities in International Arrivals 2025”. Values are rounded to one decimal place.
2024 · Table and sources
Most visited cities in 2024
Bangkok heads the December 2024 edition with 32.4 million international trips. Istanbul is second with 23.0 million and London third with 21.7 million. These values are retained from that edition rather than replaced with figures from a later edition.
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| Rank | City | Country or territory | International trips (million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangkok | Thailand | 32.4 |
| 2 | Istanbul | Türkiye | 23.0 |
| 3 | London | United Kingdom | 21.7 |
| 4 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR, China | 20.5 |
| 5 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 19.3 |
| 6 | Antalya | Türkiye | 19.3 |
| 7 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 18.2 |
| 8 | Macau | Macao SAR, China | 18.0 |
| 9 | Paris | France | 17.4 |
| 10 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 16.5 |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2024 publication, published , chart “Top 10 Cities in International Arrivals 2024”. Values are rounded to one decimal place.
Mecca and Antalya both display 19.3 million. Their positions follow the source order; equal rounded figures do not establish an exact tie.
2023 · Table and sources
Most visited cities in 2023
Istanbul leads the December 2023 edition with 20.2 million international trips. London follows at 18.8 million and Dubai at 16.8 million. New York and Cancún also appear in this edition’s top ten.
On smaller screens, swipe or scroll horizontally to read the full table.
| Rank | City | Country or territory | International trips (million) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Istanbul | Türkiye | 20.2 |
| 2 | London | United Kingdom | 18.8 |
| 3 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 16.8 |
| 4 | Antalya | Türkiye | 16.5 |
| 5 | Paris | France | 15.5 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR, China | 14.7 |
| 7 | Bangkok | Thailand | 12.2 |
| 8 | New York | United States | 11.7 |
| 9 | Cancún | Mexico | 10.8 |
| 10 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 10.8 |
Source: Euromonitor International, 2023 publication, published , chart “Top 10 Cities in International Arrivals 2023”. Values are rounded to one decimal place.
Cancún and Mecca both display 10.8 million. The original order is preserved without assuming their unrounded totals were identical.
How to read these city tourism rankings
International arrivals measure trips
The source charts label their values as international trips or international arrivals, in millions. These are not counts of unique people. Repeat trips and visits to several cities can generate multiple arrivals. Domestic tourism is outside the measure shown here.
City statistics can use different geographical boundaries and reporting systems. The public charts do not provide enough detail to establish every city’s boundary or all inclusion rules. These figures should therefore stay attached to Euromonitor’s named edition rather than be combined with airport passenger totals, hotel nights or local visitor surveys.
Why the years are separate
The December 2023, December 2024 and December 2025 editions are dated publication snapshots. The 2025 article explicitly describes projected trips. All three sources were published before their respective year ends, so this page does not label them a final revised historical series.
There is a material difference between the figures in adjacent editions and the publisher’s reported growth rates. For example, the 2024 chart lists Istanbul at 23.0 million, while the 2025 chart lists 19.7 million alongside reported growth of 6%. Those displayed levels do not reproduce that growth rate. The reason has not been established from the public sources. Photos4Travel therefore omits growth percentages and does not calculate annual changes across these tables.
Rounded values and source order
Every arrival value is shown to one decimal place in millions, matching the original charts. A displayed 19.3 million is a rounded observation, not a claim of exactly 19,300,000 arrivals. Rank numbers follow the order in the source chart. Rounded ties are not re-ranked alphabetically or treated as proven exact ties.
Visitor volume and city attractiveness are different measures
The same Euromonitor reports also contain an overall City Destinations Index, which combines several dimensions of city attractiveness. Paris can lead that index while another city leads international arrivals. The tables on this page use the international-arrivals ranking throughout.
Use the rankings to start planning
A large international-arrival total can help you identify widely visited destinations. It does not show how crowded a particular neighbourhood will feel, how much a trip will cost or which month suits your plans. Make those decisions with destination-specific information rather than the rank alone.
Continue with Photos4Travel Travel Guides for practical planning. For national arrival statistics and their reporting limits, see Most Visited Countries. Country and city totals describe different units and should not be added together.
Download the city rankings in Excel
The Excel workbook contains the same 30 observations in three separate annual tables. It includes the original source links and publication dates, units, rounding and estimate notes, plus Photos4Travel attribution and usage information.
Download the Most Visited Cities Excel file
Prepared by Photos4Travel. Statistical source: Euromonitor International. Use the workbook for reference and your own analysis. Retain the source links, reference year, edition date, units and estimate notes when citing its figures.
Photos4Travel’s compilation does not grant rights in the underlying third-party data or graphics. Consult the source publisher’s citation policy and applicable terms before republication or redistribution.
Suggested citation: Photos4Travel, Most Visited Cities: 2023–2025, prepared 13 November 2026. Statistical source: Euromonitor International, relevant December 2023, December 2024 or December 2025 edition. Sources checked 13 November 2026.
Sources and publication dates
Photos4Travel checked the city order and all 30 arrival values against the original Euromonitor charts on 13 November 2026. These producer sources support the tables:
- Top 100 City Destinations Index 2025: Driving Growth and Innovation. Published 2 December 2025. Use the embedded international-arrivals chart, rather than the overall attractiveness index.
- Euromonitor International reveals world’s Top 100 City Destinations for 2024. Published 4 December 2024. Use the embedded international-arrivals chart, rather than the overall attractiveness index.
- Euromonitor International’s report reveals world’s Top 100 City Destinations for 2023. Published 13 December 2023. Use the embedded international-arrivals chart, rather than the overall attractiveness index.
The Wikipedia list of cities by international visitors helped locate these references. The original Euromonitor charts are the statistical sources used here.
Most visited cities frequently asked questions
What is the most visited city in the 2025 ranking?
Bangkok ranks first in Euromonitor International’s December 2025 arrivals table, with 30.3 million international trips. Hong Kong is second with 23.2 million and London third with 22.7 million. These are 2025 estimates published before the year ended.
Do these figures count unique tourists?
No. The charts report international trips or arrivals. A person can make more than one trip, and a journey can include more than one city. The figures should not be described as counts of different individuals.
Why does another city ranking put Paris first?
Euromonitor also publishes an overall City Destinations Index using multiple measures of city attractiveness. That index and its international-arrivals table answer different questions. A first-place attractiveness score does not mean the largest number of international arrivals.
Can I calculate tourism growth by comparing these three tables?
The annual editions are not a reconciled time series. Their published levels do not consistently reproduce the growth rates reported in the following edition. Use each table as its own dated ranking and do not calculate year-on-year growth from these values.
Are the 2025 figures final full-year results?
The source article was published on 2 December 2025 and describes projected 2025 trips. Photos4Travel labels the table as estimates. The 2023 and 2024 sources were also released before their respective year ends and are retained as those publication editions.
Does the Excel file include sources and usage information?
Yes. The workbook contains all three separate tables, a visible Prepared by Photos4Travel credit, the original Euromonitor source links, publication dates, units and estimate notes. Its Sources and use sheet explains citation and the distinction between Photos4Travel’s compilation and the underlying source material.
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