These are the top 10 most welcoming cities in the world, ranked

Sure, every destination likes to market itself as friendly. But which cities actually make visitors feel welcome?

A new report from travel eSIM provider Holafly set out to answer that question, ranking 200 cities around the world based on factors including English proficiency, tourism and visitor information services, safety, visa openness, social support and online search interest related to friendliness and hospitality.

The winner? Singapore, which earned an overall score of 81.83 to claim the title of the world's most welcoming city.

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The city-state scored particularly well thanks to its high safety rating (77.7), perfect English proficiency score and generous visa policies, allowing travelers from 164 countries and territories to enter without getting a visa in advance. It also welcomes more than 17 million international visitors annually, proving it's equipped to handle newcomers.

London came in second, buoyed by an abundance of visitor assistance services and a reputation as one of the world's most diverse cities. Sydney rounded out the top three, earning praise for its high English proficiency, strong safety score and traveler-friendly atmosphere.

The U.S. notched two cities in the global top 10: Boston landed at No. 6, while New York City followed closely behind at No. 7.

Beantown edged out the Big Apple thanks in part to a stronger safety score, while both cities received top marks for English proficiency. Although New York attracts tens of millions more visitors each year, Boston's combination of accessibility, visitor resources and overall traveler experience helped it finish slightly higher in the rankings.

The Netherlands also had an impressive showing, with both The Hague (No. 4) and Utrecht (No. 8) making the top 10. Hong Kong, Penang Island in Malaysia and Denmark's Aarhus rounded out the list.

Holafly compiled the ranking by analyzing 200 cities using data from sources including the EF English Proficiency Index, the World Happiness Report, OpenStreetMap, Numbeo, the Henley Openness Index, search trends and LGBTQ+ equality metrics. Each factor was normalized and weighted to create the final score.

Here are the world's 10 most welcoming cities for travelers in 2026.

1. Singapore
2. London
3. Sydney
4. The Hague
5. Hong Kong
6. Boston
7. New York City
8. Utrecht
9. Penang Island
10. Aarhus