Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have been named among the top 10 cities in the Middle East and Africa by readers of the prestigious American tourism magazine Travel + Leisure.
More than 186,000 people took part in the annual survey and were asked to rate each city on a scale of one to five according to the categories of attractions, culture, food, friendliness, shopping and value for money.
Jerusalem came in third with a score of 87.25, and Tel Aviv came in eighth with a score of 82.46. While these two Israeli cities have frequently been included on the prestigious list in recent years, their inclusion on this year’s list is notable due to the ongoing war and the resulting decline in tourism to Israel.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, only 500,000 tourists will visit Israel in 2024, compared with 2 million for the same period in 2023.
Topping the list was Marrakech, Morocco with 89.17 points, followed by Cape Town, South Africa with 88.87 points. Jerusalem rounded out the top three with 87.25 points.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ranked fourth with a score of 86.14, while Kigali, Rwanda, ranked last among the top five cities with a score of 85.93. The remaining cities on the list are Fez, Morocco; Essaouira, Morocco; Tel Aviv, Israel; Luxor, Egypt; and Cairo, Egypt, with a score of 81.40.
The travel magazine also released a list of the top 25 best cities in the world. First place went to San Miguel de Allende, also known as San Miguel in Mexico. Second place went to Udaipur in India, and third place to Kyoto in Japan.
