In the saying, “a thousand days at home are good, but a day out is challenging”. For tourists who are new to a foreign land, the warmth and hospitality of the locals can directly impact their travel experience, thus affecting their likelihood of returning. According to a new ranking, Taipei has been named the “Friendliest City in Asia” in 2024.
To determine the most popular cities in Asia, the language learning website Preply compared various Asian cities based on their English language proficiency, safety ratings, tourist return rates, friendliness towards foreign visitors, number of countries accepting visa-free or visa-on-arrival, and other indicators to come up with the top 20 friendliest cities in Asia ranking.
According to the ranking, Taipei emerged as the friendliest city in Asia, scoring high marks in the “Acceptance of Foreign Visitors” category with a score of 89.
The survey revealed that Taipei not only welcomes visitors with an open attitude but also boasts some of the best street food in Asia, convenient public transportation systems, and striking historical landmarks.
Following Taipei, Delhi, Seoul, and Chennai respectively secured the third, fourth, and fifth positions as the friendliest cities in Asia.
The vibrant capital of India, Delhi, has a high visitor return rate, tying with Bangkok at the top, with 18% of visitors reporting multiple visits.
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, ranked fourth with a friendliness score of 4 out of 5 and a safety score of 75.57 out of 100. Chennai in India came in fifth place with a high return rate of 16% and a visitor acceptance score of 163 out of 200.
In addition, Hong Kong ranked 16th in the list, scoring 3 out of 5 for “Friendliness towards Foreigners”. Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, which are popular destinations among Hong Kong residents, secured the 11th, 17th, and 19th positions, respectively.
The survey also included a ranking of the “10 least-friendly cities in Asia”. The top three least-friendly cities were Mandalay in Myanmar, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and Jakarta in Indonesia, with Beijing and Shenzhen in China both being named as the “Least-Friendly Cities in Asia”.