The latest Best Cities report by city and country branding specialist Resonance found desire to travel worldwide is becoming more polarised.
“People increasingly want to travel to the same places – Paris, Tokyo, London,” said Chris Fair, chief executive of Vancouver-based Resonance, the authors of the 2026 report unveiled at WTM London.
"The issue of people wanting to visit off the beaten track locations may be true, but the majority want to visit the same places. It’s a concern with respect to overtourism.”
He cited Barcelona and Venice as cities that were “starting to see demand exceed supply”.
Fair said Venice had introduced a “token” charge for visitors, which had had little effect. Bhutan, by contrast, had taken more stringent measures.
“Bhutan is now $200 a day, so that’s a tipping point that will influence behaviour," he said.
However, Fair warned “gated” cities that use tourism taxes would “inevitably" become "less accessible to the broader population”
He added social media was also “reinforcing the loop” of overtourism.
'Great stories waiting to be told'
The report showed global desire to travel to key European destinations was now at 45%, an increase from last year’s 41%, with Paris top of the list.
The research surveyed more than 300 cities and included a list of cities where the perception outweighed the experience. These were topped by Izmir, Naples, Seville and Antalya.
In contrast, those where performance exceeded perception were headed by Nuremburg, Sheffield, Hanover and Sofia, with the report saying these had a “great story waiting to be told”.
London topped the list of 100 global cities ranked for liveability, "loveability" and prosperity for the 11th consecutive year. It was followed by New York, Paris and Tokyo.
Fair said: “It’s London versus New York. I can see where New York could tip it in the next few years if perception changes. People are still looking at the US as the country they most want to visit; they are just not visiting now.”
He added the likely prompt would be “a change in administration”.
