Euromonitor International has just released its Top 100 City Destination Ranking report. The travel trends assessment is now in its 10th year and says ‘cities are not only a major catalyst for economic and tourism growth but are also hotbeds of innovation, new business models and start-ups. We have therefore decided to combine our cities research with travel trends to provide the most forward-looking perspective on the future growth in the travel industry.’ The rankings are based on the number of international arrivals that spend 24 hours or more in a city and based on part-year data for 2017. Globally, the top two cities are located in Asia: Hong Kong and Bangkok.

The report shows inbound arrivals and outbound departures in Asia (including Asia Pacific and Australasia) showed healthy growth of 8.5% and 8.0%, respectively, in 2016.

Click here to download the Top 100 City Destination Ranking report. 

Airline sales recovered from their decline, helped by increased outbound and domestic trips taken by the Chinese in particular.

Intermediaries registered a bumper year in 2016, with online travel agencies performing particularly well. Mobile OTA sales increased by 48% in Asia in 2016. The main contributor to this growth is Chinese OTA Ctrip, which bought Skyscanner in December 2016 for GBP1.4 billion and is interested in entering the European and American markets.

Hotels struggled with their performance, especially when compared to short-term rentals, which continued their strong rise in the region. While performance in China remains timid, other Asian countries and Australia registered strong growth in 2016.

Asia Pacific is the standout region that has driven change in the travel landscape over the past decade and is expected to continue doing so in the future. In 2010, 34 cities from Asia Pacific were present in our Top 100 Ranking; this jumped to 41 cities in 2017 and is expected to grow to 47 cities in 2025. The impact of inter-Asian travel, predominantly from China, in particular, cannot be underestimated.

Hong Kong remains the largest arrivals city worldwide, benefiting from its strategic location and relationship with China. However, it saw growth dip in 2017 as relations with mainland China were strained, but this will be short-lived and growth will pick up again from 2018–2025.

Bangkok has seen strong performance in recent years, with limited impact from the banning of "zero-dollar tours"—cheap tour packages targeted at Chinese first-time travellers.

Seoul closes out the top 10 in Asia, but with an expected double-digit decline in 2017; because of the tensions between South Korea and China, the city is not expected to hang on to this position in 2017.

Indonesian cities are expected to benefit from a Chinese influx, boosted by the waiving of visa requirements. Denpasar, the gateway to Bali, is expected to see the strongest growth.

South Korean cities are expected to perform the worst in the region, as the strained relationship with China takes its toll. Jeju registered very strong growth in the past years due to its proximity to China, visa-free entry allowance and the rapid growth of low-cost carrier Jeju Air, but this reversed in 2017.

Japanese cities are a victim of their own success; with the strong influx of Chinese tourists in recent years, hotel rates in Tokyo and neighbouring Chiba have skyrocketed, driving travellers away. Chiba registered a decline, with Tokyo a mere slowdown.

Click here to download the Top 100 City Destination Ranking report. 

For more information or to discuss the report email Caroline Bremner from Euromonitor International.

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