Paris takes second place and London sixth as global study measures which destinations travellers notice, enjoy and recommend

New York has been named the world’s most attractive tourism city in a global ranking based on what travellers say about destinations online.

The Big Apple finished ahead of Paris, Osaka, Kyoto and Seoul in the 2026 Global Tourism City Attractiveness Index.

London placed sixth, followed by Rome, Bangkok, Okinawa and Chicago.

Unlike rankings based mainly on visitor numbers, hotel capacity or transport links, the index examines how prominently cities feature in global travel conversations and how positively people describe their experiences.

Researchers looked at whether destinations were seen as memorable, enjoyable and worth recommending, as well as how widely recognised they were.

Yanolja Research said New York claimed first place because it combined unrivalled international recognition with strong positive sentiment among travellers.

The United States had more highly ranked cities than any other country, with 16 in the global top 50 and 19 in the top 100.

Chicago ranked tenth, followed by Los Angeles in 13th place, Miami in 15th and Washington DC in 18th.

Boston was 22nd, Dallas 23rd, Tampa 24th, San Francisco 26th and Houston 28th.

Atlanta, Seattle, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, Denver, San Diego, Nashville and New Orleans also appeared among the world’s top 100 destinations.

Researchers said the results showed that America’s tourism appeal extended across cultural, business, entertainment and leisure destinations rather than being centred on a single gateway city.

Asian destinations performed particularly strongly when travellers’ emotional responses were measured.

Osaka and Kyoto ranked first and second respectively for emotional appeal, while Seoul placed fourth on that measure and fifth overall.

Japan also placed Okinawa, Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Yokohama among the leading global destinations.

South Korea had five cities in the top 100: Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Incheon and Daegu.

Thailand also performed strongly, with Bangkok eighth overall and Chiang Mai in 27th place.

Dr SooCheong Jang, professor at Purdue University and director of Yanolja Research, said: “The 2026 index shows that the most competitive tourism cities are no longer simply the most visited or most heavily promoted places.

“They are cities that successfully convert global awareness into emotionally meaningful visitor experiences.

“New York’s No. 1 ranking demonstrates the power of combining unmatched global recognition with strong experiential appeal.

“At the same time, the rise of Asian destinations such as Osaka, Kyoto, Seoul and Okinawa shows that emotional attractiveness is becoming a decisive source of tourism competitiveness.”

The index was developed by South Korea’s Yanolja Research with Purdue University’s CHRIBA Institute and Kyung Hee University’s H&T Analytics Center.

Researchers used social media data supplied by Brandwatch to examine conversations about 200 cities in 14 languages.

The study measured two aspects of a city’s appeal. The first was how visible, recognisable and prominent it was in international travel conversations.

The second was the strength of positive emotions associated with the city, including the perceived quality of visits and whether travellers considered their experiences memorable or recommendable.

The analysis used 419 keywords covering urban appearance and natural scenery, culture and history, tourism experiences and hospitality.

Yanolja Research said the index could help tourism boards, governments and travel companies identify whether a destination needed stronger promotion, better visitor experiences, new attractions or a broader change in how it presents itself.

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