The world's most stressful travel destinations revealed
According to the Daily Mail , a new study analysing 51 of the world's most-visited cities has revealed which ones test tourists' patience the most.
Researchers factored in weather discomfort, crime rates, tourist density, and visitor reviews mentioning stress. And the results were surprising, with a South African city even featuring in the top 20.
The results showed that Paris, France, was the most stressful travel destination, attracting more than 47.5 million tourists annually, all packed into just 105km².
That makes the French capital 10 times busier than New York in terms of tourists per square kilometre. While its weather and crime levels were relatively average, the overwhelming crowds earned Paris the top spot.
Second place went to Hanoi, Vietnam. The city's sweltering humidity made it physically uncomfortable for visitors, ranking highest in weather-related stress.
Add in the high number of reviews mentioning stressful experiences, and Hanoi leaves many travellers hot, bothered, and overwhelmed.
In third place was Shanghai, China, which sees a staggering 300 million visitors each year – 47 318 people per km².
Shanghai also made the top 20 for both crime and stress-related reviews, sealing its position as one of the world's most challenging destinations to navigate.
According to the study, these were the top 20 most stressful travel destinations: City Overall rank Negative reviews Crowds Crime Weather Paris, France 1st 24th 1st 5th 14th Hanoi, Vietnam 2nd 4th 38th 24th 1st Shanghai, China 3rd 19th 15th 33rd 20th Berlin, Germany 4th 30th 30th 25th 30th Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 5th 11th 45th 23rd 9th Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 6th 26th 10th 4th 37th London, United Kingdom 7th 22nd 33rd 7th 24th Hong Kong, China 8th 17th 17th 49th 10th Cairo, Egypt 9th 3rd 41st 12th 47th Rome, Italy 10th 40th 21st 21st 18th Amsterdam, Netherlands 11th 36th 8th 42nd 3rd Los Angeles, United States 12th 1st 16th 9th 35th New York City, United States 13th 23rd 11th 8th 38th Auckland, New Zealand 14th 9th 50th 28th 4th Cape Town, South Africa 15th 21st 49th 2nd 13th Singapore, Singapore 16th 41st 23rd 39th 2nd Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 17th 48th 42nd 1st 7th Florence, Italy 18th 18th 7th 29th 29th Phuket, Thailand 19th 35th 26th 31st 11th Toronto, Canada 20th 5th 32nd 26th 5th
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