Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia currently going through major renovation and construction, is visited by 9.5 million tourists in the Last 9 Month, says tourism commission of the city.
The Commissioner of the Addis Ababa City Administration Tourism Commission, Hunde Kebede, stated that in the last nine months, more than 9 million tourists—consisting of 1.1 million foreign visitors and 8.4 million domestic visitors—have visited the capital.
He made the remark speaking to a local media – NBC Ethiopia. he said that the number of foreign and domestic visitors to Addis Ababa has been increasing over time. The Commission indicated that this represents an increase in tourist flow compared to the previous year.
UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer shows that Africa welcomed 81 million international tourists in 2025. North Africa posted particularly strong results, with arrivals up 11%. Based on 2025 world tourism data, top African cities are experiencing a, tourism boom. Leading cities attracting international visitors include Cairo (Egypt), Marrakech (Morocco), Cape Town (South Africa), and Johannesburg (South Africa).
These African destinations are followed by Casablanca, Morocco: Major entry point and trending destination. Nairobi, Kenya: Leading East African destination. Accra, Ghana: Ranked highly for business and leisure tourism. Port Louis, Mauritius: A top destination for island leisure travel. Algiers, Algeria: Growing in popularity. Tunis, Tunisia: Strong Mediterranean destination, often paired with rapid growth.
Commissioner Hunde noted that the hosting of sports events, health-related gatherings, various festivals, and international conferences in the city, along with the development of new tourism destinations and the renovation of existing ones, has opened doors for more international tourists.
The Addis Ababa Tourism Commission further highlighted that the Corridor Development projects and the expansion of infrastructure are playing a significant role by creating a comfortable environment for both domestic and foreign visitors.
At the global level, the number of international tourists reached 1.52 billion. This represents a 4% increase from 2024, or 60 million additional international arrivals. Based on Euromonitor International data for 2025, Bangkok holds the top spot as the world’s most-visited city, followed by Hong Kong and London. The 2025 ranking is dominated by Asian and Middle Eastern destinations, highlighting a strong tourism surge in these regions.
The top 10 Most Visited Cities in 2025 (International Arrivals) were Bangkok, Thailand welcoming 30.3 million visitors, followed by Hong Kong – 23.2 million visitors, and in the 3rd place London, United Kingdom visited by 22.7 million visitors.
Macau, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, located on the southern coast, roughly 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Hong Kong across the Pearl River Delta, was visited by 20.4 million visitors, accompanied by Istanbul, Turkey (Turkiye) – 19.7 million visitors, and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – 19.5 million visitors. During the year Mecca of Saudi Arabia has attracted 18.7 million visitors, followed by Antalya of Turkey – 18.6 million visitors, Paris, France – 18.3 million visitors, and Kuala Lumpur, of Malaysia – 17.3 million visitors.
