Paris is a city beloved for fine food, fine art and fine fashion.
But a new index from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) also says that Paris is the world’s most powerful city for tourism.
The WTTC, a nonprofit travel industry body based in the UK, analyzed tourism data from the year 2022 to see where travelers were spending the most money.
The overall list of most powerful tourism cities didn’t only take museum tickets and hotel rooms into account, though. The other factor was how much local and national governments and businesses are investing in these cities as tourist destinations.
Take list-topper Paris for example: the city is preparing to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Although fewer than 5% of the facilities will be newly built for the Games, the city is pouring resources into infrastructure, security and other measures that will help them get ready to host the world.
By that accounting, the French capital’s overall tourism total came to $35.6 billion.
So, who else made the list?
The United States of tourism
Two countries each had three cities on the WTTC list. One was the United States, with Orlando, New York City and Las Vegas representing the nation.
While each city makes a significant chunk of cash from tourism, they cater to different kinds of travelers – Orlando is popular with families visiting the city’s theme parks, Las Vegas is an internationally known gambling and nightlife hub and New York attracts foodies and art lovers, among others.
Of this group, Orlando was the highest earner, raking in $31 billion for 2022. That’s a whole lot of Mickey Mouse ears.