Market research company Euromonitor International releases today the Top 100 City Destination Ranking for 2014 international arrivals, in which Kuala Lumpur is ranked 10th with 11.6 million arrivals in 2014.
For the sixth consecutive year, Hong Kong is the top city destination in the world, with 27.8 million international visitors in 2014, followed by London, which moves up to the second position, overtaking Bangkok and Singapore.
The new ranking shows:
- Rio de Janeiro registers the strongest increase in international arrivals at 46.6% in 2014, thanks to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while the Olympic Games 2016 are expected to drive further growth
- Due to geopolitical tensions, Kiev exits the ranking for the first time, while Saint Petersburg and Moscow record double digit decline
- 2014 represents a record year for tourism in Greece, with an all-time high in international arrivals. Three Greek cities enter the ranking, including Athens with double digit growth
- London remains the top European city destination, followed by Paris with 2% fall between 2013 and 2014
- With seven cities each, China and the US dominate the ranking. While American cities, with the exception of Miami, show little dynamism, both arrivals and departures from Chinese cities keep growing
Euromonitor International’s Travel analyst, Wouter Geerts comments, “The rising number of outbound Chinese travellers has a strong influence on the city ranking. Thanks to the geographical vicinity to China, Asia remains the dominant region for city travel, compromising over one third of the top 100.
“European cities also benefit from this trend, but are nowhere near the increases seen by Asian destinations, and less than a third of the top 100 cities are now in Europe.”
The top 10 city destinations are:
1 – Hong Kong
2 – London
3 – Singapore
4 – Bangkok
5 – Paris
6 – Macau
7 – Shenzhen
8 – New York City
9 – Istanbul
10 – Kuala Lumpur
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/01/124461/kuala-lumpur-top-10-city-destinations-list
