Japan Cleans Up in World’s Best Cities List: US and China Do Well; Air Canada Expands South America, Europe and Mexico Service

Japan rules the tourism world.

A new look at the world’s best cities gives the top spot on the podium to Osaka, with Kyoto in the bronze medal spot and five Japanese destinations/cities in the top 12 in the world.

Yanolja Research recently published its Global Tourism City Attractiveness Index, which it says “objectively measures the attractiveness of global tourism cities from the perspective of tourists—the actual demand side of tourism.”

Osaka,Japan. Jeremy Santana/Unsplash Photo

This index directly reflects how tourists perceive and evaluate the appeal and popularity of tourism cities. It is derived through sentiment analysis and the measurement of positive and negative buzz volumes associated with specific keywords, based on social media data collected in 14 different languages. The analysis covers 191 cities worldwide, offering a comprehensive, data-driven insight into global tourist perceptions.

Yanolja, which is based in South Korea, looked only at countries with 30 million residents or more, and only considered cities with 3 million residents or more. That definitely leaves some worthy candidates out of the picture, but the company said it then added cities it deemed necessary to evaluate based on qualitative judgment.

I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I love a good list, so I’m producing the top 50 in order here. As I noted, Japan clearly dominates the listing. And there are tons of other Asian destinations, so it’s not one of those “Rome, Paris, London” sort of lists we often see.

(It’s interesting to see Japan perform so well. Skyscanner sent me a note this week to say that searches from Canada to Japan in December 2025 were up 37% compared to the same period in 2024, highlighting a significant year-over-year increase in interest among Canadian travellers. Note, also, that Air Canada in December of this year will begin flying from Vancouver to Sapporo, Japan. They were advertising flights the other day from as little as $806 CAD return.)

The U.S. performed pretty well in this study, with four cities in the top 20 (New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago), six in the top 25 and ten in the top 50.

China also had a strong presence on the list. Hong Kong was 19^th, Shanghai 28^th and Beijing 38^th.  Other Chinese cities in the top 150 were Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

Canada fared relatively poorly, with only two cities in the top 50 (Toronto at 46 and Vancouver at 49).

I was surprised to see some very popular cities way down the list. Beautiful Salzburg only managed to reach the 137th spot, which I can’t figure out. Zurich, a great city in Switzerland, was 101st.

Here’s their full top 50, with a few notable US and Canadian cities outside the top 50 also highlighted.

The famous Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. JIM BYERS PHOTO

1. Osaka
2. Paris
3. Kyoto
4. New York City
5. Seoul
6. London
7. Bangkok
8. Rome
9. Dubai
10. Okinawa
11. Fukuoka
12. Tokyo
13. Washington D.C.
14. Los Angeles
15. Singapore
16. Jeju (S. Korea)
17. Chicago
18. Sapporo
19. Hong Kong
20. Chiang Mai
21. Boston
22. Berlin
23. Busan (S. Korea)
24. San Francisco
25. Barcelona
26. Delhi
27. Miami
28. Shanghai
29. Madrid
30. Jerusalem
31. Nha Trang (Vietnam)
32. Venice
33. Sao Paulo
34. Florence
35. Sydney
36. Las Vegas
37. Milan
38. Beijing
39. Da Nang (Vietnam)
40. Bali
41. Hanoi
42. Brussels
43. Istanbul
44. Nice
45. Santiago
46. Toronto
47. Seattle
48. Orlando
49. Vancouver
50. Jakarta

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.

    Other, notable U.S. and Canadian cities

56. New Orleans
57. Montreal
58. Honolulu (much too low in my opinion)
59. Ottawa
60. Calgary

AIR CANADA BUMPS UP SOUTH AMERICA AND EUROPE FLIGHTS FOR WINTER, PLUS MEXICO (FROM CALGARY)

More South America. More Europe. And more Mexico from Calgary.

Air Canada has announced a strategically expanded winter program for later this year, including the addition of Quito to its network, year-round service to Manchester and Copenhagen, two sun destinations from Calgary, and increased winter services to Latin America destinations. These winter route expansions follow the airline’s plans announced earlier this month to launch the only non-stop flights from North America to Sapporo.

Manchester is a great city to explore in England. JIM BYERS PHOTO

 “With a comprehensive network spanning all six inhabited continents, Air Canada’s expanded winter schedule further cements our hubs as premier global gateways facilitating fast, convenient travel. These exciting new additions and enhancements are a catalyst to facilitating tourism, trade and connectivity, and deliver more compelling opportunities for our customers and Aeroplan Members to travel almost anywhere in the world to, from or via Canada,” said Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, and President of Cargo at Air Canada.

 “We are continuing our strategic expansion into Latin America, taking advantage of continued demand strength and cargo opportunities, while leveraging a new Airbus A321 XLR base at our Toronto-Pearson global hub to enable year-round service to Copenhagen and Manchester. We are also capitalizing on growing demand and Vancouver’s unique geography to add our first-ever service to Sapporo, the only non-stop from North America to this world-recognized winter leisure destination, while bringing two new options for our brand loyal customers in Calgary seeking out the warmth of Mexico’s beaches,” he said.

 Flights are available for purchase now at aircanada.com

Quito, the capital of Ecuador and a city known for its rich history, will be served three times per week from Montréal, and one flight per week from Toronto, both starting in early December onboard a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with a choice of Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. 

A cyclist in the hills of Bogotá, Colombia. JIM BYERS PHOTO

In South America, Air Canada is expanding its schedule to Brazil, Peru and Chile, with earlier starts and more frequencies on services to Rio and Lima as well as its newly-launched flights between Montreal and Santiago. Into Colombia, Air Canada’s flights to Bogota (a great destination in Colombia) will operate onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet featuring a three-cabin configuration offering the airline’s industry-recognized Signature Class cabin with lie-flat seating.

Flights from Toronto to Manchester (an underrated British city in my opinion) and Copenhagen (beautiful, with an amazing food scene) will become year-round as of October, further building scale at Air Canada’s primary global hub.

Air Canada’s customers in Calgary will now be able to fly non-stop to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta as of December. Operated with Air Canada Rouge’s fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, featuring premium and economy cabins, free beer, wine and premium Canadian snacks for all customers, plus fast, free wi-fi for all Aeroplan Members, flights to Cancun will be offered four times per week, with three flights a week to Puerto Vallarta. 

SAINT KITTS  TOURISM JUMP

 St. Kitts closed out 2025 with strong tourism performance, strategic marketing execution and increased global visibility, reinforcing the destination’s position as one of the Caribbean’s most compelling and in-demand destinations.

A couple on the beach in St. Kitts. Photo Courtesy St. Kitts Tourism

St. Kitts recorded a total of 168,838 arrivals in 2025, representing a six per cent increase compared to 2024. Performance was particularly strong in the first four months of the year, with January through April outperforming expectations and signalling sustained demand across key source markets. Total air capacity also increased year over year, reflecting growing confidence in the destination and expanded opportunities for travellers to access the island.

PORTER AIRLINES ADDS NEW DESTINATIONS FOR SUMMER, INCLUDING MORE CANADA AND MEXICO

Porter Airlines has announced its 2026 summer schedule with new destinations, new routes, added frequencies and the continuation of popular winter markets.

Porter’s U.S. network continues to expand with new flights to Nashville out of Toronto City Airport. Boston also will be serviced from both Toronto Pearson and Montreal Trudeau airports.

Boston, Massachusetts. Ozzie Stern/Unsplash Photo

Further enhancing service across Canada, Porter is introducing six new routes across Toronto Pearson, Hamilton and Ottawa. Starting May 1, service to Sudbury and Windsor moves to Ottawa from Toronto City, providing travellers with non-stop access from these cities to Porter’s growing hub in the national capital and greater connectivity across North America.