In 2023, the most visited city in the United States by international tourists was ********, attracting just under **** million visitors. ********************* followed in the ranking, with roughly *** million and *** million international visitors, respectively.

The number of international tourist arrivals to the selected European destinations increased in 2024 over the previous year, in most cases surpassing pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, Paris and the Île-de-France region recorded the highest figure among the selected destinations, with **** million inbound tourist arrivals. London and Istanbul followed in the ranking that year, with roughly ** million and **** million arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited countries by international tourists? Both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, France was the country with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide. Meanwhile, the United States consistently ranks as the country with the highest international tourism receipts worldwide. How many tourists travel every year? In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide exceeded *** billion, catching up with pre-pandemic levels. Breaking down the number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide by region shows that Europe is the global leading destination for inbound tourism, with over *** million international tourist arrivals in 2024.

Madrid was the most visited city destination in Spain in 2024, having welcomed nearly **** million overnight visitors. The Catalonian capital followed second in the ranking that year, with roughly *****million tourists spending at least one night in the destination. How did Madrid rank in tourist visits and accommodation? In 2022, Madrid attracted over 4.5 million domestic and 4.6 million international tourists for stays exceeding one day, despite experiencing a more than 10 percent decrease compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Spanish capital has consistently ranked among the top ten European cities with the highest number of nights spent by tourists in paid accommodation, securing the 8th position that year. Which regions attracted the most international tourists? Spain's international tourism rebounded strongly from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, surpassing 100 million visitors in 2022. Catalonia led as the most visited region, attracting over **** million international tourists. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role as the primary source of international tourists, contributing over ** million travelers, followed by France with around ** million visitors.

In 2024, London was the leading European city tourism destination based on the number of bed nights. That year, bed nights in the United Kingdom's capital reached almost ** million, nearly catching up with pre-pandemic levels. Paris and Istanbul followed in the ranking in 2024, with roughly ** million and **** million bed nights. What are the most visited countries in Europe? While the French capital came in second among leading European cities based on bed nights, France consistently tops the ranking of the European countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals, ahead of Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Meanwhile, when looking at European countries with the highest tourism receipts, Spain recorded the highest figure both before and after the impact of COVID-19. How many international tourists visit Europe every year? In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe totaled over *** million. This figure, which also exceeded pre-pandemic levels, made Europe the region with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide that year.

This statistic presents the ranking of the most visited French cities (excluding Paris) by French tourists in 2016, according to the number of nights spent in hotels. That year, around 3.5 million overnight stays were spent by French tourists in the city of Marseille, in pole position in this ranking. Lyon was not far behind with more than 3.4 million hotel nights spent there.

Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena were the most visited Colombian cities by international tourists between 2020 and 2022. In that latter year, the Colombian capital welcomed more *** million foreigners.

The Mexican city of Cancún was the top Latin American destination for foreign visitors in 2018, with approximately **** million international tourist arrivals. This number was expected to increase by *** percent in 2019, reaching **** million foreign arrivals that year. Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, ranked second on the list of top city destinations for international tourism in Latin America, with nearly *** million international tourist arrivals in 2018 and an estimate of **** million arrivals for 2019. During the depicted period, the most visited city in the whole American continent was New York.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, San Francisco was the most popular city among millennials in the United States, with ** percent saying they liked the city. Meanwhile, San Diego was the most popular among Generation X, and Nashville among Baby Boomers.

When it comes to global tourism, some cities are more expensive than others. They may also attract tourists that are willing to spend a bit more. Dubai had by far the largest international visitor spending in the world in 2018 at 30.82 billion U.S. dollars.

London was by far the most visited city by international tourists in the United Kingdom in 2024. That year, inbound visits to the UK's capital totaled just over ** million, staying marginally lower than in 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Edinburgh and Manchester followed in the ranking, reporting around *** million and *** million visits, respectively. Overall, the number of inbound visits to the UK reached ** million in 2024 but remained below pre-pandemic levels. What is the leading tourist attraction in London? Tourists visit London for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its attractions. In 2024, the British Museum was London’s most visited tourist attraction, drawing in approximately *** million visitors. The Natural History Museum in South Kensington and the Tate Modern came next in the ranking, with about *** and *** million visitors, respectively. What is the leading region for summer staycations in the UK? A 'staycation' typically refers to a holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad. It can also refer to a holiday spent at home involving day trips to local attractions. The leading region for summer staycations in the UK, according to a March 2025 survey, was the South West. Meanwhile, ** percent of respondents said that they intended to visit Scotland during their summer holiday while only *** percent stated that they would like to visit Northern Ireland.

Berlin attracted the most tourist arrivals in Germany in 2024, which is perhaps to be expected. But the country has other city destinations with a lot to offer as well. Among them Hamburg in the north with the largest port in Germany and Munich, the capital of Bavaria, in the south. All three cities also have busy airports and railways. The top three Berlin recorded a significant drop in travel accommodation numbers in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic began. Figures began to pick up again later, with *** establishments open in 2024, though this was still less than in previous years. The numbers may also have to do with competition from such accommodation platforms as Airbnb. Hamburg is also catching up after the pandemic in terms of tourism, with noticeably more travel arrivals recorded recently. While 2021 saw around *** million arrivals, there were already roughly *** million in 2023. Meanwhile, the average occupancy rate in Munich travel accommodation was also noticeably higher in 2022 than in previous years, with an almost ** percent total. City tourism As of 2023, around **** million people in Germany preferred city trips as a vacation. Numbers decreased somewhat in recent years. Various factors contribute to making a city attractive for tourists, among them mobility options, the ease of getting around, and spending time outside. In 2022, Germany’s largest cities were evaluated in terms of walking and cycling space availability. Munich scored highest at ** percent, followed by Cologne with ** percent and Hamburg with ** percent. That same year, these cities were also evaluated in terms of traffic safety for pedestrians and cyclists. This time, Hamburg came first at ** percent, and Berlin followed with ** percent.

According to a 2025 study, ***** and ***************** were the travel destinations that reported the highest change in the share of flight bookings from Europe between June and September 2025 over the previous year. *****, ********, and ******* followed in the ranking.

Bangkok had the most international overnight visitors in 2018 with 22.78 million, followed by Paris and London with 19.1 and 19.09 million, respectively.
 

 Is Bangkok the world’s number one tourist destination?

Bangkok has become increasingly popular as a tourist attraction over the past years, and its popularity looks unlikely to wane any time soon. The number of overnight visitors to Thailand’s capital has more than doubled since 2010. The city has many attractions on offer, including temples, local markets, a varied nightlife and shopping. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that Bangkok was also one of the leading cities in international visitor spending worldwide in 2018, with visitors to the city spending over 20 billion U.S. dollars. Although tourists spend a lot of money when traveling to Bangkok, it still ranked among the 30 cheapest holiday destinations in the world by average price per night per person in 2018.

Global tourism industry 

Globally, the tourism industry has experienced continuous year-over-year growth for the past decade. In 2018, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide was estimated to reach approximately 1.4 billion – the figure having more than doubled over the past 15 years.

This statistic shows the leading city destinations in the United States in 2019, by number of international arrivals. New York was the leading city destination in the U.S. in terms of international arrivals with approximately ** million visitors from foreign countries in 2019.

According to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Paris was the city with the highest direct travel and tourism contribution to GDP in 2022. That year, the direct travel and tourism GDP in the capital of France - the country with the highest number of international tourist arrivals worldwide - amounted to roughly ***** billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Beijing and Orlando followed on the ranking in 2022, with a direct travel and tourism GDP of around **** billion and **** billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

In 2015, Dubai was the city with the highest number of tourists staying at least one night per capita. That same year, international overnight visitor spending in Dubai reached 28.5 billion US dollars. The city, which is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, was also one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world in 2018. In 2016, 14.87 million people visited Dubai from abroad.

Europe and Asia: top destinations

According to the source, most of the 20 tourist cities with the highest number of visitor arrivals per capita were Asian or European cities. After Dubai, Amsterdam and Prague were the second and third cities with the greatest number of tourists spending at least one night per capita. With respectively, 2.7 and 2.5 visitors per capita, the two European cities were followed by another one: London. Singapore, ranked fifth with 2.1 visitors per capita, was the first Asian city in the list. Thus, New-York the first North American city of this ranking was 17th. It appears that Europe remains one of the most popular tourist destinations. Asia was also a very attractive destinations for international visitors with Hong-Kong being the leading city destination in 2017.

Focus on tourism in Europe

Since the nineties, the number of international tourist arrivals in Europe keeps increasing. France is the European country with the largest number of international visitors’ arrivals, while Spain and Italy are also two of the leading tourist destinations on the continent. Travel and tourism have an important contribution to GDP in Europe, reaching 781.6 billion US dollar and 2018 and expected to attain 991.4 billion in 2028.

In 2024, London played a prominent role in supporting international tourism in the United Kingdom. That year, the UK's capital accounted for roughly ** percent of all inbound tourist arrivals in the country. Meanwhile, Paris and the Île-de-France region represented around ** percent of all international arrivals to France, whereas travelers to Barcelona made up almost ** percent of inbound tourist arrivals in Spain in 2024. What are the most visited European cities? When looking at the number of inbound tourist arrivals to leading travel destinations in Europe, Paris and Île-de-France, the region surrounding the French capital, recorded the highest figure in 2024, with nearly ** million arrivals. London and Istanbul, also among the leading city tourism destinations in Europe based on the number of bed nights, followed in the ranking that year, with around ** million and over ** million inbound tourist arrivals, respectively. What are the most visited European countries? Both before and after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, France, Spain, and Italy were the most visited European countries by international travelers. Meanwhile, Spain consistently ranks as the European country with the highest number of inbound tourism receipts.

In 2024, Makkah welcomed **** million inbound tourists, making the city the primary destination for inbound tourists arriving in Saudi Arabia. In comparison, Riyadh welcomed *** million inbound tourists, making it the second most visited city in the country that year. Tourist arrivals were calculated based on the primary destination, and not secondary cities visited throughout the trip.

In 2025, San Miguel de Allende in Mexico was named the top destination in Latin America by travelers, receiving a score of 93.33. The Mexican capital followed in second place with a score of nearly 91 points.

Istanbul was the leading destination in Turkey based on the volume of international tourist arrivals in 2023 and 2024. Overall, inbound travelers in that city totaled over **** million in 2024, more than in the previous year. Antalya was the second-leading tourist destination, with around **** million inbound arrivals. Istanbul does not lose its popularity Istanbul has been an attractive destination with plenty of sights, including mosques, churches, museums, palaces, and the Bosphorus Strait, which connects two large continents, Europe and Asia. This city, which has hosted different civilizations and cultures for centuries, has welcomed millions of foreign and local visitors for years. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in the largest city in Turkey has increased since 2020, when it dropped due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In line with the high inflation in the country, accommodation prices in Istanbul have generally been increasing. As of October 2023, the average cost for an overnight stay in the city was *** euros. Domestic tourism is falling back Although international tourism in Turkey has been recovering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its limitations, domestic tourism has fallen behind. Factors such as high inflation, price increases, and the soaring cost of living in the country have also affected local tourism. In 2023, the number of domestic trips was about ** percent less compared to the peak figures in 2018. In relation to this, the number of overnight stays of domestic travelers has been generally following a negative trend in the last few years. Local tourists recorded roughly *** million nights at accommodations in 2023, still below the pre-pandemic levels.