The 100 best tourism destinations: Buenos Aires is the most visited in South America

Buenos Aires is among the top 100 most-visited cities in the world, and the number one in South America, according to Euromonitor’s The Top 100 City Destinations 2019 ranking.

According to the ranking, the most visited cities in the world are: Hong Kong, Bangkok, London, Macao, Singapore, Paris, Dubai, New York, Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul.

Internationally, Buenos Aires is placed 85th, making it the most visited city in South America, above Lima and Rio de Janeiro. In wider Latin America, Buenos Aires comes second place after Cancun in Mexico.

The report, which uses statistics from 2018, arrives in the middle of a tourist boom for Buenos Aires: the city experienced a record first half and forecasts suggest total visitors for 2019 will reach a record 3 million.

Fernando Straface, the city’s general secretary and secretary for international relations said: “This recognition confirms the boom that we’re experiencing in Buenos Aires. Tourism is an engine for socioeconomic development all over the world. This is why cities are increasingly planning long-term tourism strategies and competing to attract international visitors.”

Euromonitor’s full index covers 400 cities and highlights the 100 most popular based on numbers of international arrivals in 2018. Asia is the continent with the most cities in the top 100 (43 cities), followed by Europe (32), the Americas (13) then Africa and the Middle East (12).

Gonzalo Robredo, president of the Buenos Aires City Tourist Board, said: "Buenos Aires is one of the most attractive urban destinations in the southern hemisphere and the numbers confirm that. Travellers are discovering that few other cities in this part of the world can offer the variety of cultural expressions that we have in our city.”

The report highlights a forecast internationally of a 4.2% increase in international tourism  el in 2019, reaching 1.5 billion journeys. The top 100 city destinations account for around 47% of international arrivals.

In November, Buenos Aires was chosen by Frommer’s, one of the world’s biggest tourism publications, as one of the 20 best destinations to visit in 2020. Meanwhile, a report from the Buenos Aires City Tourist Board, has forecast a 20% increase in the number of cruises stopping at the city, with 127 due to dock in 2019/20 compared to 98 in 2018/19. At the same time, the number of passengers has also increased 43% over the last four seasons, with 420,000 people expected to pass through the cruise terminal in 2019/20.

December 2019