New York City has secured the top spot in the 2026 Global Tourism City Attractiveness Index, signaling its continued dominance as a destination for international travelers and reinforcing its appeal for hotel owners and investors seeking growth opportunities.
Developed jointly by Yanolja Research, Purdue University’s CHRIBA Institute in the United States, and Kyung Hee University’s H&T Analytics Center in Seoul, the index uses global social media data across 14 languages provided by Brandwatch. The released 2026 ranking covers 200 cities and is designed to go beyond conventional supply-side tourism indicators by capturing what travelers actually talk about, remember, and emotionally value.
The framework is built on two complementary pillars: cognitive awareness and affective attractiveness. Cognitive awareness measures global buzz volume and destination salience — whether a city is visible and recognizable. Affective attractiveness measures emotional responses and perceived qualitative value — whether travelers feel a destination is memorable, satisfying, and worth recommending. The model is informed by the Push-Pull Motivation Framework and Destination Image Theory.
This approach uses 419 keywords across four core dimensions: urban aesthetics and natural scenery; culture and history; experiential tourism content; and hospitality.
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Top 10 Global Cities
New York led the overall ranking, reflecting a rare combination of global visibility and deeply favorable visitor sentiment. Paris ranked second, followed by Osaka, Kyoto, and Seoul to complete the top five. The remainder of the global top 10 includes London, Rome, Bangkok, Okinawa, and Chicago.
Japan showed exceptional strength on affective attractiveness, with Osaka and Kyoto ranking first and second, respectively, in that specific dimension. Okinawa, Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Yokohama also appeared among the leading global cities.
Korean destinations also showed meaningful global visibility. Seoul ranked fifth overall and fourth in affective attractiveness, while Busan, Jeju, Incheon, and Daegu were also included in the global top 100. Thailand performed strongly as well, with Bangkok ranked eighth and Chiang Mai twenty-seventh overall.
United States and Asian Markets
The United States delivered the broadest upper-tier presence in the 2026 index, with 16 U.S. cities in the global top 50 and 19 in the top 100. Beyond New York’s No. 1 position, Chicago ranked No. 10, Los Angeles No. 13, Miami No. 15, Washington, D.C. No. 18, Boston No. 22, Dallas No. 23, Tampa No. 24, San Francisco No. 26, and Houston No. 28.
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This breadth suggests that the U.S. tourism portfolio is not dependent on a single gateway city, but is supported by a diverse ecosystem of cultural, business, entertainment, leisure, and lifestyle destinations. Atlanta, Seattle, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, Denver, San Diego, Nashville, and New Orleans also performed strongly.
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,” said Dr. SooCheong (Shawn) Jang, Professor at Purdue University and Director of Yanolja Research.
The full report for the top 150 cities across all regional tiers can be accessed on the official Yanolja Research website.