Bucharest recorded a 10 percent increase in visitors in 2011 to reach 2.35 million arrivals over the year. The figures, despite being for 2011, come from the latest data on the world's city destinations from research company Euromonitor. Bucharest was the 56th most visited city in the list of 100 cities around the world.

At the top of the 2011 listing of most visited cities was Hong Kong with nearly 22 million arrivals, which was an 8.8 percent increase on 2010. As in previous years, the majority of arrivals were from mainland China, but there were a growing number visitors from elsewhere in Asia, according to Euromonitor. Asian cities dominated the top ten, with London the highest placed European city at number three. Istanbul was the only other European city in the top 10, while at number nine, New York was the only other non-Asian city among first 10 places.

The 10 percent increase in visitor numbers to Bucharest was among the largest rises among the European cities, but the region's star was Warsaw in Poland, which recorded a 35 percent advance in arrivals in 2011. Warsaw had over 3.3 million arrivals in 2011, putting the city in 36th place in the rankings.

Euromonitor predicts further increases in visitors for 2012, but foresees the highest growth rates outside Europe. “Because uncertainty in the global economy still exists, especially in the US and Europe, future growth will be driven by Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America,” reads the Euromonitor report. Reductions in visa restrictions are given as another driver for growth in visitor numbers to the world's cities.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com