Prague drops out of top 20 most visited cities worldwide ranking

To be counted,
people must visit for at least 24 hours and staying in paid or
unpaid, collective or private accommodation. Arrivals count all
purposes of visit, such as business, leisure, ans visiting friends
and relatives. People who visit multiple times are counted each time.

London had the most
visitors in Europe, 19.23 million, and was in third place globally.
In Europe, London was followed by Paris, Istanbul, Antalya, and Rome.
Concerns over Brexit impacted London’s tourism growth, as it was
down 3.0% compared to Paris’s 10.9% growth.

The world leader was
Hong Kong, with 29.26 million visitors in 2018 — though is expected
to drop 8.7% in the next ranking due to turmoil there.

Brexit is expected to impact on London again in the next ranking. The city is expected to lose its place among the top three cities, and be overtaken by Macau and Singapore. “Paris is expected to benefit from any shift of European visitors from the United Kingdom, for both business and leisure,” Euromonitor stated.

“Europe is the second fastest growing regional destination after Asia and has the largest number of inbound arrivals globally. Intra-regional travel remains the largest source of tourism, with nearly 80% of the travelers from the region. This is due to a strong regulatory framework and travel policies favoring free travel within the European Union and the Schengen Area, comprising 26 European states,” Euromonitor said.

European travel
infrastructure is among the strongest globally, with 853 airports in
the region. Extensive rail and road networks also help boost
intra-regional tourism.

“While travel from
within Europe remained steady, arrivals from Asian source markets
such as China and Japan outpaced growth of visitors from within the
region,” Eurostat added.

People reacting to overtourism in some European locations will also cause a shift in the future. “While traditional locations such as Milan, Berlin, and Vienna have declined in the ranking, due to lower appeal among visitors and shifts of visitors towards Egypt, Turkey and Asian destinations, upcoming destinations such as Croatia, Slovenia, and Sweden have moved up,” Euromonitor stated.

“They are proving popular as travelers seek newer, more localized experiences and less crowded locations. The popularity and increased number of low-cost carriers to these destinations has also favored growth of previously less-explored destinations,” Euromonitor added.