Paris Tourism Economy Rated World’s Most Valuable At $36 Billion

An international tourism industry association named Paris the world’s “most powerful tourist destination” in its annual study of the global travel industry.

The World Travel & Tourism Council studied visitor trends in 195 countries in the most recent report conducted with Oxford Economics. Paris’ tourism industry generated the most money of any city.

However, the WTTC added a note of caution: Paris is projected to drop to 3rd place over the next decade, though the association forecasts the economic value of its tourism industry to rise to $49 billion.

Beijing and Shanghai are expected to see an explosion in tourism.

While Beijing is currently ranked 2nd behind Paris at $33 billion, that number will grow to $77 billion over the next 10 years, vaulting it past Paris, according to the WTTC. Likewise, Shanghai sits at No. 4 with a sector worth $30 billion in 2022. But the WTTC expects that to rise to $71 billion by 2032, placing it second.

“Major cities such as London, Paris and New York will remain global powerhouses but over the next few years, Beijing, Shanghai, and Macau will be moving up the list of top city destinations,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, in a statement. “Tourists will always have favorite cities that they will return to, but as other countries prioritize Travel & Tourism, we are going to see new and emerging destinations challenging the traditional favorites.”

Overall, the top 10 was dominated by US and Chinese destinations:

1. Paris: $35.65 billion

2. Beijing: $32.62 billion

3. Orlando: $31.1 billion

4. Shanghai: $29.69 billion

5. Las Vegas: $22.99 billion

6. New York: $21.09 billion

7. Tokyo: $17.97 billion

8. Mexico City: $16.7 billion

9. London: $14.92 billion

10. Guangzhou: $13.15 billion

Still, Paris can celebrate its strong year. According to the Observatoire de l’Office du tourisme de Paris, the city attracted 34.5 million tourists in 2022, a big jump from the 19 million visitors in 2021 when Covid lockdowns and restrictions were still in place for parts of the year, according to The Local.