Rome2rio’s report highlights the connectivity between cities using direct flight data from the global travel search engine. Paris is second with connectivity to 291 destinations followed by Frankfurt (278) and Amsterdam (242). The most internationally connected city in North America is Toronto with 154 different destinations (mostly within the US).
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Rome2rio, the global, multimodal search specialist, has partnered with leading social commentator and KPMG partner, Bernard Salt, to produce the inaugural Global Connectivity Ranking
The ranking, which utilises data from the global search engine, measures the connectivity of a city via the number of direct flights it offers to international destinations. It includes a top 20 global ranking and also shows the most connected cities by region, highlighting a city’s changing global importance.
London is the world’s most connected city with 351 direct international flights, beating New York, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo.
Speaking about the report Mr Salt states. “This measurement provides insights beyond mere passenger counts per airport; it is a proxy for real business activity and changes in consumer confidence using data about global travel routes.
The market for global connectivity is growing strong, only a minority of cities (201) experienced falling connectivity while the vast majority (724) increased their global connections. The strength of the Global Connectivity Ranking is its ability to quickly identify cities on the move. Politicians and business operators should access the Global Connectivity Ranking to identify which cities and regions are on the rise.”
Other key insights from the ranking include:
- Paris is second with connectivity to 291 destinations followed by Frankfurt (278) and Amsterdam (242)
- The most internationally connected city in North America is Toronto with 154 different destinations (mostly
- within the US).
- New York with its three airports connects with 137 different international destinations. New York’s airport connectivity is dominated by internal linkages as opposed to external linkages. New York isn’t as ‘global’ as are 20 other, mostly European, world cities.
- The second most connected city in the English speaking world is in fact Manchester with 162 international connections.
- Istanbul’s connectivity jumped 20 percent with 40 new destinations. Istanbul is the most globally connected city in the Muslim world. Its business activity, as well as its rising middle class, are demanding new destinations.
- The city that seems to have suffered the greatest reduction in connectivity since 2014 is the Ukraine’s Kiev down to 60 global connections today from 83. There are no flights between Kiev and at least seven regional destinations in Russia that did exist before the Crimean conflict.
- The most globally connected cities in Asia are Hong Kong which connects with 147 cities (includes mainland China), then Seoul with 141, Bangkok 131 and Singapore 129.
- However these shifts in global connectivity pale in comparison with the globalisation of China’s second tier cities. Since 2014 Beijing has connected with 22 new global cities; Shanghai has added 17 cities and Guangzhou has added 12.
The Global Connectivity Ranking is the first in a series of transportfocussed reports to be produced by Rome2rio and Mr Salt.
Rome2rio CEO, Rod Cuthbert adds, “Rome2rio is in a unique position to produce analysis of this nature. Each month we attract millions of users from around the Zglobe, all planning journeys that might include air, rail, road or ferry components. Analysing that data, particularly when upcoming reports factor in the impact of highspeed rail networks, is going to throw a bright light on economic activity and trends that should be of wide interest to both industry and the research community”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
