Under the latest Euromonitor International’s 100 Top City Destinations Ranking (2017 edition) released on November 8 at World Travel Market (WTM) in London, Ho Chi Minh City has been ranked 36th while the ranking for Hanoi is 52^nd.^.
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are among Vietnam’s most attractive destinations. Ho Chi Minh City is estimated to welcome 5.5 million foreign tourists this year while the number in Hanoi is 4.3 million.
According to the Euromonitor International’s report, Asian cities dominate the global destination rankings thanks to the unstoppable rise of Chinese outbound tourism demand. Hong Kong is the most visited city in the world, followed by Bangkok, which overtook London in 2015.
“Asia Pacific is the standout region driving change in travel. We expect the region to continue growing in the coming decade with Singapore overtaking London as the third most visited city in the world by 2025, giving the podium fully to Asia,” Wouter Geerts, Senior Travel Analyst at Euromonitor International, said.
On the contrary, the performance of European cities has been hampered by the Eurozone and migrants’ crisis, as well as Brexit and terrorist attacks. Despite the uncertainty, some European destinations, in particular Greece, Italy and Spain, have profited from unrest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the report stated.

Hanoi is estimated to welcome 4.3 million foreign tourists this year.

Performance in the MENA region has fluctuated greatly in recent years, however, Euromonitor forecast data shows a recovery for the region in 2017 and beyond. While MENA’s main challenges remain wars and border disputes, Sub-Saharan Africa is looking to do the reverse: opening borders and enhancing collaboration with the African Union for a plan towards seamless borders.
In stark contrast to Africa, the plans towards stronger border controls might weigh heavily on America’s tourist arrival growth. According to Euromonitor International’s Travel Forecast Model, if the US drops out of NAFTA and imposes a 35 percent tariff on Mexican imports, followed by Mexican retaliation, the impact on inter-regional travel would be considerable. New York, the most visited city in America and the only US city in the top ten most visited city ranking, has revised its 2017 forecast, expecting a potential fall of 300,000 visitors as a worst case scenario.
“This report highlights why some cities are performing better than others and how emerging trends are going to reshape the travel industry and disrupt the ranking up to 2025,” Geerts concludes.
Euromonitor International is the world’s leading provider for global business intelligence and strategic market analysis.