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The results were compiled from a survey of over 207,000 readers worldwide, based on criteria including scenery, cultural value, cuisine, quality of service, and overall visitor experience. Leading the ranking of the world's best cities this year is San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, followed by other Asian and Latin American cities.
Jacqui Gifford, Editor-in-Chief of Travel + Leisure, noted that this year's winning destinations all possess distinct identities, are memorable, and deeply connected to the lands they belong to.
This isn't the first time Hoi An has been honored by Travel + Leisure; it's the third consecutive year that this ancient town has been included in the list of top global cities according to the magazine's readers' poll. In 2024, Hoi An ranked 4th in the world and 2nd in Asia. In 2025, its ranking dropped slightly to 6th in the world and 5th in Asia, but the city was still inducted into the Hall of Fame, a category honoring destinations that consistently receive excellent reviews from international readers.
Returning to the top 5 best cities in the world in 2026 shows that Hoi An's appeal is not only maintained but also continues to strengthen year after year.
Hoi An ranks among the top 5 in the world in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2026.
Notably, this award comes just over a month after Hoi An was ranked by Travel + Leisure as one of the world's best cities for remote workers, thanks to its reasonable cost of living, diverse cafes, stable internet infrastructure, and growing expatriate community.
Earlier in 2026, the online booking platform Booking.com also named Hoi An the friendliest destination in Vietnam at the 14th Traveller Review Awards, based on over 370 million reviews from travelers worldwide.
Hoi An's allure stems from the combination of its almost perfectly preserved heritage architecture and authentic local experiences. Besides strolling through the old town admiring the moss-covered tiled roofs, visitors can cycle through the suburban fields, visit Tra Que vegetable village, explore the Bay Mau coconut forest by basket boat, learn pottery making in Thanh Ha village, or discover traditional carpentry in Kim Bong village.
For those wishing to stay longer, local cooking classes and hands-on lantern-making experiences are also popular choices among international tourists.
Cuisine also plays a significant role in captivating Travel + Leisure readers. Cao Lau, Quang noodles, and Phuong bread have long been synonymous with Hoi An in international media. Located about 20 km from the ancient town center, Cham Island offers additional options for sea-loving tourists with activities such as snorkeling to admire coral reefs and explore diverse marine ecosystems, encouraging longer stays instead of just day trips.
International tourists stroll through Hoi An's ancient town under the evening lantern light.
For Da Nang and the Central region's tourism industry, Hoi An's continued presence in the top 5 best cities in the world provides a favorable basis for promoting the destination to the international market, especially in the context of increasingly fierce competition to attract tourists among Southeast Asian countries.
Travel + Leisure's list of Asia's best cities this year features 15 representatives, with many destinations in Thailand, Japan, and Cambodia making the list, showing that Hoi An is facing direct competition from established tourism brands in the region.
Experts believe that achieving this distinction for three consecutive years signals the need for the locality to continue investing in heritage conservation infrastructure, while also effectively managing the issue of tourist overcrowding, a problem that has plagued many other heritage destinations worldwide after receiving widespread recognition. While international recognition brings attention, maintaining a high-quality visitor experience in the long term is the decisive factor for Hoi An's continued presence in prestigious rankings in the coming years.
