Japan’s second city claims the crown in a surprise upset driven by emotion, experience, and good old-fashioned hospitality.
It’s official: Osaka has knocked its refined and venerable cousin Kyoto off the global tourism throne, claiming top billing in the freshly launched Yanolja Attractiveness Index. This new global ranking puts the heart before the high-rise.
Released with a scholarly flourish in Seoul on 2 July 2025, the index is the brainchild of a rather brainy trio: Yanolja Research (a Korean tourism think tank), Purdue University’s CHRIBA Institute, and Seoul’s Kyung Hee University. Their methodology? No dreary spreadsheets on hotel rooms or train stations—this index delves into how tourists feel about a place. In short, it’s less about where you can go and more about where you want to go.
And everyone wants to go to Osaka.
In a coup worthy of a kabuki drama, Osaka climbed two spots to seize the global number one position, displacing last year’s champion, Kyoto, which graciously bowed down to third. Paris snuck into second—because, let’s face it, the City of Light always turns up for a photo finish.
Japan, it seems, is having a moment. Again.
Six of its cities cracked the Top 20: Osaka (1st), Kyoto (3rd), Okinawa (10th), Fukuoka (11th), Tokyo (12th), and Sapporo (18th). Not bad for an island nation barely the size of California, but with more cherry blossoms, vending machines, and bullet trains than most continents can manage.
But this wasn’t a matter of bento boxes and bullet points. The index is built not on infrastructure spreadsheets but on the sentiment swirling through 14 languages on global social media, sourced via UK-based digital sleuths Brandwatch. Think hashtags, praise, travel snaps, and dreamy sighs uploaded by real people (and hopefully not too many AI bots).
As Professor SooCheong Jang from Purdue—who heads up Yanolja Research—put it:
“This is the first time we’ve properly measured how cities feel to tourists. It’s about the emotion, the perception—the why behind the wanderlust.”
And that’s where Osaka has excelled. The city ranked highly across four warmly human categories: its natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, immersive experiences, and that ever-important intangible—hospitality. Or, as any Osaka local might tell you with a laugh and a plate of takoyaki, “We know how to welcome you and feed you at the same time.”
Kyoto, of course, is no slouch. It still enjoys global reverence for its temples, traditions, and tranquillity, but it seems tourists are now also craving something livelier, more immersive. Osaka delivers just that with neon chaos, street food wizardry, and the sort of candid, welcoming energy that wraps around you like a warm ramen broth.
Meanwhile, other Asian cities have also muscled their way into the spotlight. Bangkok vaulted from 16th to 7th, proving that pad thai, rooftop bars, and river markets still hold global sway. Chiang Mai leapt a whopping 41 places, now sitting pretty at 20th. Southeast Asia, it seems, is no longer just a backpacker’s playground—it’s become the emotional heartland of tourism.
Europe’s old guard held steady—Paris (2nd), London (6th), and Rome (8th) maintained strong reputations. But cities like Madrid and Barcelona saw their rankings dip (17th to 29th and 19th to 25th respectively), perhaps due to over-tourism, economic pinch points or the simple fact that some travellers are tired of yet another queue outside the Prado or the Sagrada Família.
New York (4th) continues to flex its global magnetism in the Americas, although it remains the lone U.S. city cracking the top tier. The Big Apple, as ever, still delivers the month’s flavour—even if you can’t get a decent coffee without navigating three different app menus.
So, what’s the real takeaway from this shiny new index?
Emotion now trumps logistics. Travellers are less swayed by five-star infrastructure and more compelled by how a city makes them feel. A kind smile from a local, a lantern-lit alleyway, or a spontaneous dance in a plaza might now count for more than an efficient metro system.
As Professor Jang noted,
“To lead in global tourism today, cities must discover and express their unique emotional appeal. That’s what resonates in today’s market.”
It’s a call to arms—or rather, a call to hearts—for cities chasing tourist dollars. Forget megaprojects and tower hotels for a moment. If you want to win the tourism game 2025, give people something to feel. Give them the sort of story they’ll tell at dinner parties long after the luggage tags have faded.
In that light, Osaka’s victory is no accident. It’s a reward for a city that dances boldly between tradition and pop culture, temples and takoyaki, sumo and karaoke. It’s a city that’s not trying to impress—just being itself. And that might be the greatest asset of all in this era of emotional tourism.
For those wanting to examine the full results—or perhaps see if their hometown made the cut—the full analysis is available on the official Yanolja Research website: www.yanolja-research.com.
One thing’s clear: in 2025, the most powerful passport a city can hold might be a warm heart, a good story, and a camera-ready smile.
By Alison Jenkins
