Hanoi has jumped 41 places to 76th on the list of the world's most searched-for cities in Summer 2023, compiled by leading travel analytics company ForwardKeys.

According to ForwardKeys, Hanoi ranks fourth behind Taipei (Taiwan, China), Hong Kong (China), Seoul (Korea), and Tokyo (Japan). Along with Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City is also a high-ranking destination on the list, moving up 30 places to 52nd.

Foreign tourists visit the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hai/ The Hanoi Times

This puts Hanoi in the top ten of the list, based on a survey of the 100 most popular city destinations this summer and their flight search data.

The ForwardKeys list shows that destinations in the Asia-Pacific region are attracting the attention of global travelers this summer. Bangkok, Thailand is the most popular city for this year's Summer travel season, surpassing Paris, France and London, England.

"The fact that 19 Asian cities are among the top 100 most interested cities for Summer 2023 is a clear sign that the tourism industry will experience a 'normal' summer for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic," said Olivier Ponti, an expert at ForwardKeys.

The ForwardKeys study also shows a shift in demand for leisure travel, with beaches not as dominant as they were when the tourism industry began to recover from the pandemic.

Compared to last Summer, urban, nature, and shopping destinations have seen a growth rate in air ticket bookings of 42% and 53%, respectively, this Summer, while beaches have just seen a 22% increase.

Hanoi received 2 million foreign tourists in the first half of 2023, meeting nearly 70% of the year's target. 

Hanoi has also jumped 20 places in the list of the world's most livable cities in 2023, which was compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). With the increase of 20 places, Hanoi has become one of the top ten cities with the largest increase in ranking in 12 months.

At the beginning of June, Hanoi was among the top ten most searched domestic destinations by Vietnamese tourists for the summer of 2023, up four places from last year, according to data from online travel platform Booking.com.