The Star E-dition

Top 10 most popular places to visit according to travellers

ZAMANDOSI CELE zamandosi.cele@inl.co.za

THE list of the most visited countries worldwide is out and features many beautiful cities. This list was compiled by Stressfreecarrental.com before the pandemic, and according to their research and data, more than 90 million tourists worldwide flock to these top 10 global holiday locations every year.

Barcelona, Spain

Spain’s most popular tourist attraction is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. According to Statista and Spain Guides, this famous landmark was the top Spanish destination for holidaygoers in 2021 and looks to continue this way in 2022.

Barcelona pulled in 7 million visitors in 2019.

New York, US

Again, probably not the most surprising result but the US’S most popular destination each year, with 14 million visiting the city in 2019. Sites such as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building draw in millions alone each year.

Paris, France

Over 19 million people visited Paris in 2019, with attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Élysées drawing visitors from all across the globe. Paris is also renowned as the most romantic city in the world.

Rome, Italy

For overall visitor numbers, Rome saw nearly 11 million in 2019, with some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. People flock to spend the day looking around the

Colosseum or at the Vatican City.

Athens, Greece

Greece has a fairly even spread of numbers across its major cities, but Athens comes out on top with 6.3 million visiting in 2019. Greece has perhaps the biggest mix of historical sites and party destinations in the world, and this is reflected in the distribution of tourism numbers.

Lisbon, Portugal

On Portugal’s Tagus Estuary, Lisbon overlooks much of the Portuguese coast from its hilltop perch. It is one of the prettiest cities in Europe, and pre-pandemic drew in 3.64 million tourists.

Berlin, Germany

In 2021, Berlin had the most visitors among German cities with 5.1

million tourist arrivals, down from 6.1 million pre-pandemic. Berlin has some of the most historically interesting sites in Europe, including the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial, very close to one another.

Sydney, Australia

New South Wales reported the largest number of foreign visitors pre-pandemic of any Australian state. Its capital, Sydney, is the most famous city in Australia, home to the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach, attracting a huge number of visitors during the summer months.

Toronto, Canada

Hailed as one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, Toronto is also Canada’s most visited city, seeing 4.7 million visitors in 2019. A two-hour drive from Toronto finds Niagara Falls, one of the most famous attractions in the world, in some years seeing more than 12 million visitors.

Istanbul, Turkey

It is close between the iconic Istanbul and Antalya, representing the European/asian side of Turkey and the Mediterranean side. It is Istanbul that takes the top spot, narrowly, with just a million more visitors, pre-pandemic.

With historical sites such as the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, it is hardly surprising that Istanbul is so popular.

Lifestyle

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2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

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