World’s ‘most powerful’ tourist city unveiled
(CNN) — Paris is a city appreciated for gastronomy, fine arts and refined fashion.
But a new index from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) also indicates that Paris is the most powerful city in the world for tourism.
The UK-based travel industry non-profit WTTC analyzed tourism data from the year 2022 to see where travelers were spending the most money.
The overall list of the most powerful tourist cities did not only take into account museum tickets and hotel rooms. The other factor was the amount of local and national government and corporate investment in these cities as tourist destinations.
According to this accounting, the total tourism of the French capital amounted to 35.6 billion dollars.
So who else made the list?
United States of tourism
Las Vegas’ total tourism revenue was $23 billion, according to the WTTC.
DMITRY VINOGRADOV/lucky-photo/Adobe Stock
Two countries each had three cities on the WTTC list. One was the United States, with Orlando, New York and Las Vegas representing the nation.
Although each city earns a significant share of tourism dollars, they cater to different types of travelers – Orlando is popular with families visiting the city’s theme parks, Las Vegas is a center for gambling and internationally acclaimed nightlife and New York attracts foodies and art lovers. , among others.
Of this group, Orlando was the biggest earner, raking in $31 billion for 2022. That’s a lot of Mickey Mouse ears.
China on the rise
Three Chinese cities – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou – landed in the top 10 for 2022.
Other Chinese destinations are progressing in the index. In particular, the seaside getaway of Sanya – on the sunny island of Hainan in southern China – and Macau have been cited as places to watch in the future.
The WTTC predicts that by 2032, China will dominate its ranking.
“Major cities such as London, Paris and New York will remain global powerhouses, but over the next few years Beijing, Shanghai and Macau will move up the list of top city destinations,” said Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the WTTC. A declaration.
Other stars
Of course, there are more than two countries represented in the WTTC list. Tokyo, Mexico City and London placed seventh, eighth and ninth respectively to complete the ranking.
In some ways, it was just as interesting to see who didn’t make the list.
Two startling omissions have occurred in the Middle East, which has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade.
Although Dubai and FIFA World Cup host Doha topped the list of highest tourism revenue, they did not fare as well in other categories and ended up outside the top 10.
Amsterdam, Barcelona and Singapore also fell victim to the same phenomenon, scoring high for the amount of money visitors spent but not appearing on the overall ‘most powerful’ list.
Beijing was second to Paris on the WTTC list.
SeanPavonePhoto/Adobe Stock
The most powerful cities in the world for tourism 2022
1. Paris, France
2. Beijing, China
3. Orlando Florida
4. Shanghai, China
5. Las Vegas, Nevada
6. New York, New York
7. Tokyo, Japan
8. Mexico City, Mexico
9. London, UK
ten. Guangzhou, China
