Mexico City, among the “most powerful” cities in the world for tourism in 2022. What is the top 10?

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(CNN) — According to a new index from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Paris is the most powerful city in the world for tourism and Mexico City is in the top 10 of the lists.

The WTTC, a UK-based non-profit travel industry body, analyzed tourism data for the year 2022 to see where travelers were spending the most money.

However, the overall list of the most powerful cities for tourism did not only take into account museum tickets and hotel rooms. The other factor was how much local and national governments and companies invest in these cities as tourist destinations.

Paris, for example, tops the list: the city is preparing to host the 2024 Olympic Games. Although less than 5% of the facilities will be newly built for the Games, the city is investing resources in infrastructure, security, and other measures to help to prepare to welcome the world.

In total, tourism in the French capital amounted US$35.6 billion.

What other cities appear on the list?

Two countries each had three cities on the WTTC list. One of them was the United States, with Orlando, New York, and Las Vegas as representatives of the nation.

Although each city makes a significant sum of money from tourism, they cater to different types of travelers: Orlando is popular with families visiting its theme parks, Las Vegas is an internationally known gaming and nightlife hub, and New York attracts lovers of gastronomy and art, among others.

Of this group, Orlando brought in the most revenue, bringing in $31 billion in 2022. That’s a lot of Mickey Mouse ears.

China on the rise

Three Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou) are listed in the top 10 in 2022.

Other Chinese destinations are making their way up the index. In particular, Sanya, a beach getaway on the sunny southern Chinese island of Hainan, and Macau are listed as destinations to look out for in the future.

China has invested heavily in tourism and is advertising for international travelers now that its border has reopened. Macau is the only city in China where gambling is legal, and most tourists find it easier to go visa-free, unlike in mainland China.

The WTTC predicts that by 2032 China will dominate its ranking.

“Big cities like London, Paris and New York will remain global powers, but in the coming years, Beijing, Shanghai and Macao will move up the list of top urban destinations,” Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO, said in a statement.

Other highlights

Of course, there are more than two countries represented on the WTTC list. Tokyo, Mexico City, and London rank seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, to complete the list.

In a way, it was just as interesting to see who wasn’t on the list.

Two surprising omissions occurred in the Middle East, whose popularity has skyrocketed in the past decade.

Although luxury-packed Dubai and World Cup host Doha topped the list of cities with the most tourism revenue, they did not score quite as well in the other categories and fell outside the top 10.

Amsterdam, Barcelona and Singapore were also victims of the same phenomenon: they scored highly in the amount of money spent by visitors, but did not make the overall “most powerful” list.

This is how the top 10 of the most powerful cities for tourism in 2022 remained

Paris France

Beijing, China

Orlando, FL, USA

Shanghai, China

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

New York, New York, USA

Tokyo Japan

Mexico City, Mexico

London, United Kingdom

Guangzhou, China

Source: CNN