Jerusalem ranked among the top ten best cities in the world in the World’s Best Awards 2026

According to Travel + Leisure, more than 207,000 readers participated in the survey, casting over 661,000 votes on more than 10,088 hotels, cities, cruise lines, airlines and other travel destinations. The cities were judged on criteria including attractions, culture, cuisine, tourist friendliness, shopping and value for money.

Jerusalem took seventh place in the world rankings, ahead of Tokyo, Florence, Prague, Seoul, Cape Town and many other cities popular among tourists. In addition, the capital of Israel was recognized as the best city in the region of Africa and the Middle East.

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico took first place in the world rankings. It is followed by Kyoto in Japan, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Hoi An in Vietnam and Oaxaca in Mexico.

Jerusalem’s achievement comes as inbound tourism to Israel continues to recover after a sharp decline caused by the war.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, about 1.3 million tourists visited Israel in 2025 – more than in 2024, but significantly less than in the pre-war years. For comparison, in 2019 (before the coronavirus pandemic and before the war), more than 4.5 million tourists visited Israel. In 2025, the main countries from which tourists arrived in Israel were the USA (400 thousand people), France (159 thousand) and the UK (95 thousand) – they accounted for about 55% of the incoming tourist flow. Average expenses of independent (not group) tourists increased to $1,622 (excluding air tickets).