Daily Times

New York is no longer among the most-visited cities in the world, according to a new report. The Big Apple has slipped to 11th place in a ranking based on visitor arrivals – the first time since 2013 that it has fallen out of the top 10.

Despite unrest, Hong Kong remains at the top of the most-visited list with 26.7million visitors followed by Bangkok with 25.8million and Macau with 20.6million. The ranking has been revealed by Euromonitor in its Top 100 City Destinations 2019 report using international arrival data for the year of 2018 in conjunction with estimated part-year data for 2019. The rest of the top 10 comprises Singapore in fourth with 19.7 million visitors and London in fifth with 19.5 million visitors. Paris is in sixth place with 19.1million visitors and Dubai is seventh with 16.3million visitors.

Rounding out the top 10 are Delhi, Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur. The report explains that 11th-place New York is still the most popular urban city destination in the U.S but ‘requires massive infrastructure improvements and increased availability of affordable lodging’.

It says: ‘The number of short-term rentals has been growing rapidly but a proposed law aiming to curb the explosion of short-term rental listings may put off millennials.’ In addition, it notes that as ‘trade tensions escalate between the U.S. and China’, arrivals to New York from China are expected to decline. Top-ranked Hong Kong’s ability to attract international arrivals is down to ‘its proximity to China, vibrant shopping scene and strong cultural heritage’, the report says. More than 50 per cent of all visitors to Hong Kong come from mainland China. The report says the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge as well as the commissioning of the high-speed rail link connecting Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Guangzhou have led to ‘consistent growth in arrivals from China’.

Meanwhile, fifth-placed London is still the most-visited city in Europe but the report warns that Paris ‘aims to capitalise on the emerging opportunity Brexit creates, not only in terms of leisure tourism but also business travel’.