Asia dominates list of most popular destinations: report
Hong Kong and Singapore retained their top spots as the most popular international destinations, receiving the most foreign visitors in 2012.
That’s according to London-based market research firm Euromonitor International, which compiled a list of the top 100 cities in terms of international tourist arrivals.
Dominating the list is Asia: six of the top 10 cities are located on the continent.
The only Western cities to crack the top 10 list were -- in order of appearance -- London, New York, Antalya, Turkey and Paris.
Overall, a third of the top 100 destinations are found in Asia-Pacific. Western Europe emerges as the second most popular region.
Hong Kong cemented its lead as the most popular destination for international arrivals thanks to visitors from China, who accounted for 64 percent of all inbound visitors.
Singapore’s largest source markets for foreign tourists are Malaysia and Indonesia, followed by China.
Analysts also attribute the wild popularity of 2012 Chinese film “Lost in Thailand,” for nudging Bangkok into third spot and knocking London down a rung from 2011 to 2012.
On the flipside, though Chinese visitors were highly mobile in 2012, factors like a stronger yuan and pollution fears seem to have dissuaded international travelers from visiting China -- particularly true of Canadians and Russians, the report points out.
Over in the Middle East, 2012 saw a modest recovery from the after-shock of the 2011 Arab Spring, with cities like Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh posting a spike in international visits.
Tunisia, meanwhile, showed a significant boost in visitor numbers, mainly from France which has an historic tie with the country.
In 2012, the top five countries for international departures were Germany, the US, the UK, China and Russia.
Analysts also predict that Thailand will enjoy strong growth in the future among affluent and mobile Chinese and Russian travelers, thanks to its proximity and attractions.
Here are the top 10 destinations for 2012:
1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2. Singapore, Singapore
3. Bangkok, Thailand
4. London, UK
5. Macau, Macau
6. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
7. Shenzhen, China
8. New York City, USA
9. Antalya, Turkey
10. Paris, France
