Jerusalem Outranks Tel Aviv in New Global Tourism Ranking for 2026
A new global tourism index analyzing social media discussions in 14 languages has ranked New York as the most attractive city for tourists in 2026, followed by Paris and Osaka. Jerusalem achieved a notable 48th place out of 200 destinations, placing it in the top tier of the ranking and earning it the 10th spot worldwide in the culture and history category. In contrast, Tel Aviv ranked 120th overall and was placed in the third tier of the ranking.
The index, published by the Yanolja Research Institute in collaboration with Purdue University and Kyung Hee University, used Brandwatch to analyze 419 tourism-related words and phrases across four categories: urban aesthetics and natural landscapes, culture and history, tourism content and experiences, and hospitality. Unlike traditional rankings that focus on visitor numbers or infrastructure, this study measured cities’ recognition and the positive impressions they leave on travelers.
Jerusalem ranked 39th in city awareness and 63rd in visitor experience, with its strongest performance in culture and history. It also placed 52nd in urban aesthetics, 65th in hospitality, and 93rd in tourism experiences. This achievement complements another recent accolade from July, where Jerusalem was ranked seventh globally and named the best city in Africa and the Middle East by Travel + Leisure magazine.
Tel Aviv’s rankings were less impressive, with 96th in awareness and 195th in visitor experience. It scored 93rd in hospitality, 118th in culture and history, 124th in tourism experiences, and 136th in urban aesthetics. The study highlighted that cities like Osaka and Kyoto, despite lower awareness rankings, outperformed New York in visitor experience, emphasizing the importance of distinctive and memorable experiences over mere global recognition.
The research also noted a strong presence of Asian cities in the top experience rankings and a broad representation of U.S. cities among the top 50. According to Professor Su-Chong Jang of Purdue University, leading tourist cities are those that convert global recognition into meaningful visitor experiences. Jerusalem’s strong showing is particularly significant given that inbound tourism to Israel remains below pre-war levels, with 1.3 million visitors in 2025 compared to 3 million in 2023 and 4.5 million in 2019. A Ministry of Tourism survey found high visitor satisfaction and recommendation rates despite the lower numbers.
The index does not measure absolute visitor numbers, prices, accessibility, or infrastructure quality but focuses on how cities are perceived and discussed in global tourism conversations.
