Euromonitor, one of the leading independent organizations providing global strategic intelligence on sectors, countries and consumers around the world, has announced the list of cities with the highest number of direct or transit visitors in 2024.

According to the study conducted in partnership with Euromonitor, Data Bank and Lighthouse, Bangkok tops the list of the world's top 10 tourist destinations in 2024 with an increase of 37 percent and 32.4 million people. 2nd is Istanbul with a 14 percent increase and 23 million tourists. 3rd is London with a 7 percent increase and 21.7 million tourists. 4th is Hong Kong with a 19 percent increase and 20.5 million tourists. 5th is Mecca with a 20 percent increase, 19.3 million visitors. 6th Antalya, up 17 percent to 19.3 million. 7th Dubai, up 8 percent and 18.2 million visitors. 8th Macau, up 26 percent and 18 million visitors. 9th Paris, up 2 percent to 17.4 million visitors. 10th Kuala Lumpur, up 73 percent and 16.5 million visitors.

According to Euromonitor analysts, there was a 19 percent increase in tourism worldwide in 2024, with tourism spending reaching 1.9 trillion US dollars. Europe remained the most popular region with 794 million international trips. I would like to emphasize once again that we have a very small share from Europe. Bangkok, which took the 1st place with more than 32 million visitors, surprised us, this was the surprise of the year in terms of numbers. The 73 percent increase in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is remarkable, but there must be a reason. Mecca reaches these numbers due to pilgrimages and Macau due to casino visitors. Some of the cities on the list also have high visitor numbers due to transit.

The study underlined that the US, Turkey and China will experience the highest increase in tourists by 2030, i.e. in the next 5 years. This can also be analyzed from the post-pandemic World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports. In 5 years, they predict that the average tourism expenditure will be 1264 dollars (1171 dollars in 2023). Per capita tourism spending is projected to remain below 10 percent in the next 5 years. The countries with the highest travel expenditures in 2024-2030 are the Netherlands, China and Poland. In other words, these countries will lead the way in the increase of the countries sending the most tourists. Netherlands and Poland are in Antalya's top 5.