Hong Kong has topped the list of world’s most visited city, according to data from research firm Euromonitor, welcoming 26.6 million people that spent at least one night visiting the city in 2017.

This is the ninth year in a row that Hong Kong has held onto the title. The city’s impressive figures – 5.4 million travellers more than second-place Bangkok – were largely due to incoming visitors from mainland China. In October last year – when China’s “Golden Week” holiday surge occurs – the city saw a significant 6.6 per cent increase in visitors, according to The South China Post.

Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destinations Ranking data considered only visitors who spent at least one night visiting a city, not just those transiting through the city.

Asian cities in general dominated the rankings, with the region accounting for six of the top 10 most-visited cities. Bangkok was second with 21.2 million visitors, followed by London with 19.2 million. Singapore and Macau followed with 16.6 million and 15.4 million visitors, respectively.

Asia is home to some of the world’s busiest airports. In 2016, eight of the world’s 20 busiest airports were in Asia, according to industry group Airports Council International.

Meanwhile, aviation industry analyst OAG’s Punctuality League 2018 report showed that eight of the world’s 10 busiest international airline routes were also within Asia, half of which were either to or from Hong Kong.

euromonitor.com