The world’s top 100 cities revealed — Los Angeles and Orlando move up the rankings

What is it about La Place Belle, a global city that will attract more than 18 million tourists in 2025 alone?

Paris has just been named the world’s most attractive city for the fifth year in a row. The French capital has once again taken the undisputed number one spot in data analysis firm Euromonitor International’s ranking of the top 100 urban destinations.

It’s been another good year for visitors to the City of Lights, thanks to the newly opened Notre Dame Cathedral and an influx of soccer fans coming to watch the trophy after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League title for the first time.

The city was more than prepared, thanks to its tourism policy and infrastructure, the report said.

The index examines major cities around the world and ranks them based on criteria such as tourism, sustainability, economic performance, and health and safety.

Europe once again dominated the 2025 rankings, with six cities in the top 10. Madrid are in second place, Rome and Milan are in fourth and fifth place, Amsterdam is in seventh place and Barcelona has moved up two places to eighth place.

London fell from outside the top 10 to 13th last year, and the downward trend has continued since then. It currently ranks 18th on the list, between Hong Kong at 17th and Kyoto at 19th.

Although London ranks fourth in the world for tourism infrastructure, it lags behind in tourism policy, health and safety, and sustainability.

The Asia-Pacific region performed well, with Tokyo rising to 3rd place, Singapore to 9th place, and Seoul to 10th place. Tokyo also ranks third in the world in terms of tourism infrastructure, and Tokyo has solidified its position with huge investments in Narita International Airport. Plans include a third runway and a second extension, which is expected to double passenger capacity by 2039.

New York again ranks sixth, making it the only American city in the top 10. Los Angeles was the next highest, moving up five spots to No. 13. Orlando, Florida, is a world leader in tourism, centered around strong domestic travel. This was boosted by the May 2025 opening of Epic Universe Theme Park at Universal Orlando Resort and major upgrades to Sea World and Disney World. Orlando also hosted six FIFA Club World Cup matches this year.

Bangkok is once again a top city in terms of tourism policy and attractiveness, and will once again be the world’s number one city in terms of international arrivals in 2025. Euromonitor International predicts a whopping 30.3 million international tourists will visit in 2025.

Hong Kong ranks second in terms of international arrivals, with an estimated number of 23.2 million travelers. London ranks third with 22.7 million people, while Macau (a popular gambling spot known as “Chinese Vegas”) ranks fourth with 20.4 million.

Euromonitor International notes several trends for 2025. To tackle the problem of overtourism, cities are restructuring their tourism strategies to focus on value rather than quantity. That means targeting visitors who stay longer, spend more time and engage more responsibly with the local environment and culture.

Euromonitor International said the decision by several destinations to revise entrance fees and accelerate the introduction of electronic travel authorization systems was driven by “heightened security concerns, increased tourist arrivals, overtourism and inflationary pressures”, which would impact on cities’ long-term tourism attractiveness.

The UK and US will raise fees in 2025, while the EU is preparing to introduce a new European Travel Authorization System with increased fees next year. Japan is also considering a series of changes, including higher visa fees and a new electronic travel authorization system that could be introduced by 2028.