The world’s most visited holiday destination is just a short flight from the UK
A beautiful city in Turkey has been named as the world's most visited destination.
Istanbul in Turkey was the most visited city in 2023, according to a report from Euromonitor International.
The metropolis beat other leading destinations such as London and Dubai to claim the top spot on the list.
There were more than 20 million trips to Istanbul by international tourists in 2023, marking a 26 percent rise in visitors from the last year.
The Big Smoke took second place on the list with 18 million international visitors in 2023, a rise of 17 percent on the year before.
Last year marked the first year since the pandemic where the majority of destinations no longer had travel restrictions in place.
Dubai was last year’s third most visited destination and the Middle Eastern hotspot was also named the world’s best holiday in a Tripadvisor ranking.
Antalya, another Turkish hotspot, was the world’s fourth most visited city. The Turkish city is located on the country’s Turquoise Coast.
Paris, expected to have a bumper tourism year with the upcoming Olympics, was the world’s fifth most visited destination.
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While the world’s leading destinations have plenty to attract tourists, overcrowding has become a concern in several hotspots.
A resident in Malaga recently told Express.co.uk that the high number of visitors had threatened to ruin the city’s sense of community.
Why not escape the crowds by visiting one of Europe’s least crowded city break destinations?
World’s most visited cities
- Istanbul
- London
- Dubai
- Antalya
- Paris
- Hong Kong
- Bangkok
- New York
- Cancun
- Mecca