7 Indian cities find place on world's most popular city destinations in 2019

India’s tourism sector is set for a major boost as seven of its cities made to the Top 100 City Destinations in 2019. India, in a UK-based global market research company report, has come up as one of the strongest emerging destinations in Asia. The reason behind such emergence is “its strong cultural resources, diversity of experiences and price competitiveness”. India’s yoga retreats and Ayurveda practices have been a major driving force to help grow the tourism sector.

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Delhi as a top destination

According to the report published by Euromonitor International, all seven cities in the Top 100 list improved their rankings during 2019. Currently, Delhi is at 11th position but predicted to rise to 8th position at the end of the year. The rapid development in its tourism infrastructure, a world-class airport and focus on luxury, medical, sports and cultural tourism has helped the rankings. Its extensive connectivity to important locations across North India has given a major boost to inbound arrivals.

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Another key performer, in the report, was Mumbai which jumped seven positions from 21st in 2018 to 14th in 2019. It is expected that tourism in financial capital will grow over the next five years due to Bollywood and world-class airport facilities. Both Delhi and Mumbai are in Asia’s top 10 city destinations. Bengaluru was the new entrant to the list and made it to top 100 for the first time. Jaipur, Agra, and Kolkata were the other three destinations that made to the list.

“Cities like Chennai and Bangalore averaged a growth rate around 25%, with Delhi having an average annual growth of over 25%,” said the report.

Hong Kong still at the top

Asia continues to be the leading region, with 43 cities in the Top 100 City Destination ranking. The region also posted the fastest growth in the number of international arrivals globally. Despite months of violent protests, Hong Kong maintained the top position in Asia's city destinations. But more than 5 per cent of all visitors to Hong Kong come from mainland China. Bangkok, Macau, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were the other major city destinations in Asia.

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