Which cities attract the most international visitors? This page tracks the world’s most visited cities using official tourism statistics — figures published by city tourism boards, national statistics offices and ministries, each with its source and reference year. It starts with a first cohort of 10 cities (2024/2025 data) and will grow to cover all cities on this site.
| # | City | Country | Intl. visitors | Year | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangkok | Thailand | 30.3 M | 2025 | international arrivals (city) |
| 2 | Tokyo | Japan | 24.79 M | 2024 | foreign travelers visiting Tokyo |
| 3 | Paris | France | 22.6 M | 2024 | international tourists, Greater Paris Region (Île-de-France) |
| 4 | London | United Kingdom | 20.9 M | 2024 | inbound overseas visits |
| 5 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 19.59 M | 2025 | international overnight visitors |
| 6 | Mecca | Saudi Arabia | 18.5 M | 2024 | foreign pilgrims (Hajj + Umrah) |
| 7 | Guangzhou | China | 5.01 M | 2024 | inbound overnight visitors (incl. Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan; foreigners: 2.05M) |
| 8 | Da Nang | Vietnam | 4.1 M | 2024 | international visitor arrivals |
| 9 | Ha Long | Vietnam | 3.5 M | 2024 | international visitors, Quang Ninh province (Ha Long is the provincial hub) |
| 10 | Chennai | India | 0.79 M | 2024 | foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) via Chennai airport, port-of-entry statistic |
How to read this table
City tourism statistics are not directly comparable: some cities count international overnight visitors (Dubai), some count all inbound visits (London), some report at regional level (Paris = Île-de-France; Ha Long = Quang Ninh province), Mecca’s figure counts foreign Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, and Chennai’s counts arrivals through its airport as a port of entry. That is why every row carries its own metric and year — we rank by the officially reported headline figure, and the metric column tells you what was measured. Bangkok’s figure is Euromonitor’s 2025 city-arrivals estimate, the one widely cited figure for the world’s most visited city; all other rows come from official statistics.
Key findings (2024/2025 data)
- Bangkok remains the world’s most visited city, with 30.3 million international arrivals in 2025 (Euromonitor).
- Tokyo recorded 24.79 million foreign travelers in 2024 — a post-pandemic record, driven by Japan’s tourism boom (36.8 million country-wide).
- Paris reached a record 22.6 million international tourists in its Olympic year 2024 (Paris Region figure).
- Dubai logged its third record year in a row: 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025.
- Mecca is the world’s largest religious-travel destination: 18.5 million foreign pilgrims performed Hajj or Umrah in 2024 (GASTAT).
- Fast-growing mid-size destinations: Da Nang (+36% to 4.1 million) and Guangzhou (+33% to 5.0 million inbound overnight visitors) in 2024.
Methodology & sources
We collect each city’s most recent official figure — from city tourism boards (Dubai DET, Da Nang Department of Tourism), national statistics offices (ONS/VisitBritain, GASTAT, India’s Ministry of Tourism, Guangzhou’s Statistical Communiqué) and metropolitan governments (Tokyo). Where no official city figure exists, we cite the most authoritative published estimate and label it. We do not estimate, interpolate or model any number ourselves; fields without a reliable source stay empty. Each city page shows the figure with its source in the Key Facts module. Details: About TN Cities & Methodology.
Data stories from this dataset
- Tourists per Resident — which cities carry the most tourism pressure.
- The Fastest-Growing City Destinations — year-on-year growth from official statistics.
- The Most Visited Cities Nobody Writes About — Johor, Zhuhai, Batam & Muğla — travel’s invisible giants.
- Asia vs. Europe: City Tourism Since 2019 — who passed pre-pandemic levels, and who did not.
- Religious Travel Giants — Mecca, Medina, Karbala and the Kumbh in numbers.
Changelog
- 2026-09-01: Page launched with the first cohort of 10 cities (2024/2025 official figures).