World’s top 10 fastest growing tourism cities all in Asia

Singapore: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched new city tourism impact data which shows that the world’s top 10 fastest growing tourism cities are all in Asia.

‘Asia Pacific City Travel & Tourism Impact’ is one of a series of reports by WTTC which looks at the contribution of Travel & Tourism to city economies and job creation. The study covers 65 cities, 21 of which are in Asia Pacific.

The data shows that Asian cities are at the forefront of tourism growth over the next 10 years. Chongqing (14% growth per year) heads the table, followed by Guanghzhou (13.1%), Shanghai (12.8%) and Beijing (12%). The other cities on the top 10 list are Chengdu (11.2%), Manila (10.9%), Delhi (10.8%), Shenzhen (10.7%), Kuala Lumpur (10.1%) and Jakarta (10%).

With the world average growth rate at 4% per year, and Asia Pacific at 5.8%, these cities are significantly outpacing both the regional and global average.

Asia Pacific also includes some of the world’s largest travel and tourism cities. Shanghai, with an annual tourism GDP contribution of $30 billion is the largest in the world; followed by Beijing ($27 billion). Tokyo ($20 billion) is ranked 6th in the world.