Top 100 City Destinations Index 2021

January 2022

Smart cities are expected to spearhead urban development, as they rally their resources towards digitising and integrating innovative city operations. Key trends in urbanisation are likely to stem from sustainability-centric consumer demand, alternative mobility options and increased focus on health and safety. The Top 100 City Destinations Index highlights the attributes which will attract international investment and support resilience in time of adversity.

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Key Findings

Economic and Business Performance

Measures city performance and development across key macroeconomic and demographic parameters. The pillar aims to capture the impact of economic development on tourism performance, and the economic ability of cities to support tourism growth. Demographic factors are also accounted for under the pillar, given that trends such as migration levels and labour market indicators also impact broader economic growth and labour force participation in the tourism sector.

Tourism Performance

Aims to encompass overall tourism demand in the city from international and domestic tourists, as well as value generated by these visitors. While, traditionally, many leading cities have been focused on boosting international travel, the pandemic has highlighted the need to focus on and develop the domestic travel sector.

Tourism Policy and Attractiveness

The role of favourable tourism policy is critical to the development and enhancement of the travel sector for cities. The importance of this is reflected in the emergence of city tourism boards in the last two decades. The pillar explores regulatory aspects, such as ease of travel, the price stability of a destination and social media presence, as these contribute to the attractiveness of a city destination, given changing consumer lifestyles.

Tourism Infrastructure

Measures the presence of physical infrastructure and attractions needed to support visitor growth in a city. Transportation, lodging, entertainment venues, cultural sites and educational facilities are typically key decision factors for city visitors. Diversifying traveller experiences through public-private partnerships is becoming prominent in tourism strategies.

Health and Safety

The importance of health and safety for cities has been further underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, where not only are political stability and social safety relevant, but so is safety against diseases and epidemics. These factors influence many of the tourism policy directives, including visa policies and traveller immunisation, with many of the protocols expected to be integrated more explicitly post-pandemic.

Sustainability

With the increased impact of climate change and its wider ramifications for the environment and society, not only are governments putting sustainability on their policy agendas but private sector players in the tourism industry are also investing in sustainable business practices. The pillar looks at city performance on aspects such as pollution and levels of over-tourism, as these can determine tourist preferences for destinations.

About the report
About Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destination Index
Top 100 City Destinations Index ranks cities across six key pillars
Global Performance
Developed markets ahead of the curve
Top 10 City Destinations 2021
Health and safety: key for cities and governments
The r ole of the pillars in city performance
Health and safety gain significant prominence among consumers
Economic and Business Performance
Tourism Performance
Asia and the Americas lead globally
Tourism Policy and Attractiveness
The dominance of European destinations
Tourism Infrastructure
Paris: securing strong competitive position
Health and Safety
Vienna: the rising star in the higher echelons
Sustainability
Sustainability-driven strategies show results in the city ranks
Americas
American cities benefit from domestic tourism, though challenges remain
Asia
Tokyo’s performance hurt by “no spectators” ruling at Olympics
Thai government redirects tourism from Bangkok to northern cities
Europe
European destinations ascending to the top of the rankings
Cities with lower virus exposure become new travel hot spots
Middle East and Africa
Success stories in the Gulf, Egypt and Israel stand out in the wider region
Vaccination and safety protocols lead Dubai and Abu Dhabi to carry on tourism aspirations
Smart mobility to revolutionise future city appeal
Riding the bicycle wave: Seoul
Inclusivity and accessibility: unlocking value in a time of uncertainty
The city of learning and activities: Moscow
Harnessing the power of digital innovation to boost competitiveness
Smart automation to the rescue against over-tourism: Amsterdam
Sustainability to be the new wealth in the post-COVID-19 world
Sustainability at the heart of transformation: Lisbon
The rebooting of urban living
Top 100 City Destinations ranked by Performance pillar (1)
Top 100 City Destinations ranked by Performance pillar (2)
Top 100 City Destinations ranked by Performance pillar (3)
Top 100 City Destinations ranked by Performance pillar (4)
Top 100 City Destinations ranked by Performance pillar (5)
Methodology and definitions
Geographical coverage
Pillar 1: Economic and Business Performance
Pillar 2: Tourism Performance
Pillar 3: Tourism Infrastructure
Pillar 4: Tourism Policy and Attractiveness
Pillar 5: Health and Safety
Pillar 6: Sustainability
Glossary of terms

Travel

Travel encompasses several categories including tourism flows, lodging, travel modes, in-destination spending and booking.

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