It’s not hard to see why Paris is the world’s biggest tourism destination. From its staggeringly huge selection of museums and plethora of gorgeous parks to its globally-adored restaurants and the fact that each street simply seems to reek of character and history, there are few cities that can compete with the French capital in terms of its range of stuff to see, do, eat and drink.
But according to one study, another city is set to soon overtake Paris as the world’s biggest tourism destination. Researchers at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reckon that the Chinese capital of Beijing will soon surpass Paris as the world’s single biggest travel and tourism destination.
The report examined stuff like travel’s contribution to GDP and employment, as well as forecasts for traveller spending, to come to its conclusions. While the pandemic and travel restrictions temporarily slowed the popularity of Chinese cities for travellers, the WTTC says that Beijing is back on track to becoming the world’s biggest tourist destination.
The value of Paris’ tourism and travel sector currently stands at about $36 billion, with Beijing currently sitting at $33 billion. However, the WTTC says that Beijing’s travel industry will soon surge to a whopping $77 billion.
And Beijing isn’t the only city set to overtake Paris. Shanghai could also soon become a much bigger destination, with its travel sector set to double in value to $60 billion over the next ten years.
In other words, a huge shake-up in global travel could well be on the cards! You can find out more about the WTTC’s predictions with the full report here. Then have a peek at our best city breaks in Europe for 2023.
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