Despite political unrest and protests in the country, Hong Kong is expected to be the most-visited city in the world in 2019, according to Euromonitor International.
The finding was part of the market research group’s Top 100 City Destinations 2019 report, which showed Asian countries continue to top other regions in terms of international visitors, accounting for 42 of the top projected 100 cities.
Euromonitor International researched over 400 cities and their international tourists. Military personnel, transportation crew, domestic visitors, same-day visitors, cruise passengers and displaced people were excluded from the data. The 2019 data are estimated figures based on part-year data.
Europe has the second-highest projected total number of cities, with 32 in the ranking. Leaving the Americas with 13 and the Middle East and Africa with 13.
So, which countries are expected at the top of the list behind Hong Kong?
Bangkok, Thailand, is projected as second, and Macau, China, as third most visited city in 2019.
The rest of the projected top 10 are as follows: Singapore (4); London (5); Paris (6); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (7); Delhi, India (8); Istanbul (9); and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (10).
New York City, the only U.S. city to make the 2018 top 10, is projected to fall to No. 11 most-visited on the worldwide list, but it will still be the top-visited city in the Americas, followed by Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.