JAKARTA - Bali claimed first place in TripAdvisor's 2026 global destination rankings, displacing London and ending Dubai's three-year run at the top.

TripAdvisor announced the Travelers' Choice Best of the Best winners on January 13 based on millions of reviews submitted between October 2024 and September 2025. London held the top spot in 2025 after Dubai dominated from 2022 to 2024. The Indonesian island also won the honeymoon category and placed in the top 10 for both culture and solo travel destinations.

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, ranked seventh globally and fourth for food destinations. Indonesia’s neighbour Singapore took first place in the culture category, while Bali dropped to tenth.

Vietnam had three cities recognized across the categories. Quy Nhon, a coastal city in central Vietnam, ranked fourth among trending destinations. Hanoi placed in the top 10 for culture and solo travel. Hue finished sixth for honeymoons. Galle, Sri Lanka came in fifth for honeymoon destinations.

The rankings come as Southeast Asian tourism continues to surge. Vietnam reached 21 million visitors in 2025, a 21 percent increase from the previous year. Malaysia recorded 28.2 million tourists in the first eight months of 2025, surpassing Thailand as ASEAN's most-visited country.

Indonesia welcomed 13.98 million foreign tourists in 2025, up 10.44 percent from 12.66 million in 2024. Bali is projected to have reached nearly 7 million international arrivals by year-end 2025, up from 6.33 million in 2024.

Elsewhere on the annual list, the Portuguese island of Madeira led the trending destinations category, Dublin topped solo travel rankings, and London was named the leading food destination. New York City also ranked first among U.S. destinations for the second consecutive year.

But Bali’s success has come at a cost, which built up over the past few years. The “Island of the Gods” is facing growing strain from overtourism as visitor numbers surge and outpace local infrastructure, which damages the environment and local culture through overcrowded hotspots, water shortages, waste problems and rising rents that are pushing residents out of their communities.

Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister at the time, Sandiaga Uno, said in 2024 that heavy visitor clustering in key areas has driven pressure on local resources and infrastructure.