Cartagena and Florianópolis Join a Widening Wave of the Americas’ Fastest- Growing Tourist Cities

Written By: Ankita Neogi Khan

Ankita Neogi Khan

With over 15 years of experience in digital media, I bring a strong foundation in language, journalism, and storytelling to travel reporting. A graduate in English (Honours) from Presidency College with a Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Calcutta, I began my career as a content curator before transitioning into travel journalism. I specialise in aviation, tourism trends, destination news, and industry insights, combining meticulous research, accuracy, and compelling storytelling to deliver credible, engaging, and insightful content for a global audience.

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September 14, 2026 11:39 GMT+5:30

The Americas’ fastest-growing tourist cities are no longer defined only by visitor totals. A broader tourism shift is emerging across 12 urban destinations, where air connectivity, hotel investment, international demand and new attractions are advancing together. Cartagena has recorded particularly strong gains, while Florianópolis has crossed a new international aviation threshold. Medellín continues to expand its overseas visitor base, and Montréal posted 7.3% visitor growth in 2025. Mexico City and Lima stand out for their hotel construction pipelines, while Curitiba is converting major events into measurable visitor spending. The comparison shows why travellers should look beyond established gateways when choosing their next city break.

A New Map of Tourism Momentum

Tourism growth across the Americas is becoming increasingly fragmented. Established gateways still command enormous volumes, but smaller destinations are attracting airlines, developers and travellers at a faster clip. That shift matters because growth momentum can reveal tomorrow’s major destination before visitor totals do.

For this comparison, 12 cities were assessed across tourism growth, hotel development, aviation capacity, international interest, investment and attractions. The result is not a simple arrival league table. Instead, it examines whether several demand signals are moving in the same direction.

The regional hotel market reinforces that picture. Latin America had 759 hotel projects and 111,340 rooms in the pipeline at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Of those, 284 projects were already under construction. Another 172 were scheduled to begin within 12 months.

This approach also avoids a common statistical trap. Airport passengers, hotel guests, international tourists and total visitor movements measure different things. They therefore cannot be treated as interchangeable.

Cartagena Leads the Breakout Pack

Cartagena currently presents one of the clearest examples of converging tourism signals. The Colombian Caribbean city received 5.5 million passengers through air, land and cruise channels by November 2025. Its air traffic also reached 7.5 million passengers in 2024, a 16.5% annual increase.

The latest connectivity figures are even more striking. Cartagena now has more than 16 airline partners, 21 direct destinations and 547 weekly flights. Direct services to Houston, Washington and Buenos Aires are also due to strengthen the network further.

The city’s cruise economy is expanding alongside aviation. The 2025-26 cruise season was expected to bring 182 ship calls and more than 446,000 visitors. That represented a 12.3% increase in calls, while estimated economic impact reached US$53.5 million.

For travellers, this creates a practical advantage. More direct links can reduce dependence on regional hubs and make short Caribbean breaks easier to plan. It also gives Cartagena a broader source market than a destination dependent on one nationality.

Florianópolis Finds Its International Wings

Florianópolis offers a different version of rapid tourism expansion. The Brazilian island capital crossed one million international airport passengers in 2025, joining a small group of Brazilian airports at that level.

The airport’s international traffic has expanded dramatically. Officials project about 1.2 million international passengers for 2025, representing growth of up to 580% compared with 2022. Santiago led international traffic, followed by Buenos Aires, Lisbon and Panama.

The wider aviation picture supports the destination’s rise. Florianópolis handled about five million total passengers in 2025, with passenger numbers 52.6% above 2022 levels.

The hotel market is responding too. During the 2024-25 summer season, hotels in Jurerê recorded a 44% rise in foreign guests. Overnight stays increased 40%, while accommodation spending climbed 50%.

That combination makes Florianópolis one of the most compelling leisure-growth stories in southern Brazil.

Medellín Turns Global Demand Into Volume

Medellín’s ascent rests on a different proposition. The Colombian city has developed a strong international profile around leisure, entertainment, business events and urban experiences.

During the first half of 2025, Medellín received 954,600 tourists, up 12.4% year on year. Foreign visitors accounted for 546,000 arrivals, an 11.8% increase.

The longer-term trajectory is even more revealing. Between 2014 and 2024, more than 10.18 million passengers entered through the José María Córdova airport migration point. That represented a 234.9% increase over the decade.

The United States remained the leading overseas source market in 2025, with 310,517 travellers. Panama followed with 152,373, while the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru also supplied sizeable flows.

This diversification matters. A destination becomes more resilient when growth does not depend on a single foreign market.

Mexico City and Lima Win the Hotel Race

If air connectivity reveals traveller accessibility, hotel construction reveals something different: developer expectations.

Mexico City currently leads the Latin American urban hotel pipeline. The latest mid-2026 figures show 25 projects and 2,737 rooms in development. Lima follows with 18 projects and 2,402 rooms.

Earlier 2026 data showed an even larger pipeline for Mexico City, with 29 projects and 3,290 rooms. The movement between reports highlights why hotel pipelines should be treated as live indicators rather than permanent rankings.

Mexico City also shows strong current demand. Official city statistics estimated 15.5 million hotel tourists between October 2024 and September 2025, a 4.9% increase. Associated tourism spending reached roughly 157 billion pesos, up 16%.

Hotel occupancy reached 70% in July 2025, compared with 63.2% in July 2024. That suggests new supply is arriving into a market where demand remains substantial.

Lima’s aviation position strengthens its investment case. Jorge Chávez airport recorded 13.73 million arriving passengers in 2025, up 5.4% year on year and 8% above 2019.

Montréal Proves Mature Markets Can Accelerate

Montréal demonstrates why the fastest-growing cities cannot be identified solely through emerging-market metrics.

The Canadian city welcomed 11.8 million visitors in 2025, up 7.3%. Domestic travel increased 10%, while overseas markets grew 2%. US visitation finished 5% lower, showing that the overall increase came despite weakness in a major source market.

The city also recorded 11.8 million visits to its official tourism website, up 14.5%. That provides a useful digital-interest signal alongside physical visitor numbers.

Business tourism added another layer. Montréal hosted 477 business events in 2025, attracting more than one million business visitors. Those events generated an estimated C$438 million in economic impact.

Investment remains significant. Montréal International supported 54 foreign investment projects worth C$2.6 billion in 2025. Those projects created or retained 3,720 jobs.

For travellers, this means Montréal is not merely a summer leisure destination. Events, conferences, festivals and major sporting fixtures create year-round demand.

Vancouver Shows the Power of Scale

Vancouver enters the comparison from a position of considerable maturity. Destination Vancouver reports 11.3 million overnight visitors in 2025, alongside C$8.8 billion in tourism revenue.

Airport statistics add further scale. Vancouver International handled about 26 million passengers in 2025, up 2.7% year on year. Montréal’s airport, by comparison, recorded 21.5 million passengers.

Vancouver therefore illustrates a different form of momentum. Its growth is less explosive than Florianópolis or Cartagena, but its visitor economy already operates at exceptional scale.

That distinction matters when comparing cities. A 3% increase on a massive visitor base can generate more economic activity than a much higher percentage increase from a smaller destination.

Buenos Aires Regains International Reach

Buenos Aires benefits from a wider national tourism recovery. Argentina recorded 3.12 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of 2026, while arrivals from non-bordering countries reached a 25-year record of 1.43 million.

The United States, Spain and Peru were among the country’s leading source markets during the period. That broader international recovery should support Buenos Aires, the country’s principal urban gateway.

Hotel demand is also improving nationally. Argentina recorded 4.0 million hotel and parahotel overnight stays in November 2025, up 5.3% year on year. Non-resident overnight stays rose 6.8%.

Buenos Aires therefore has a powerful established base. Its opportunity lies less in discovering tourism and more in converting renewed international demand into longer stays, higher spending and stronger hotel performance.

Recife and Curitiba Build Event-Led Growth

Recife demonstrates the commercial power of major cultural events. Its 2026 Carnival attracted more than 3.7 million people and generated R$2.8 billion in economic activity. Hotel occupancy reached 97%, while the airport handled more than 500,000 passengers during the celebration.

The city’s airport also finished 2025 with 9.94 million passengers, 3.59% above 2024 and 14.05% above 2019.

Curitiba is developing a different event model. Its 2025 Christmas programme attracted 3.09 million spectators, 35% more than the previous year. Economic impact reached R$722 million, up 80%.

More importantly, 469,800 tourists visited Curitiba during the Christmas programme. Their spending covered hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions and retail.

These figures demonstrate how cities can manufacture tourism demand outside traditional peak seasons.

The Twelve-City Momentum Board

The ranking below should be read as an editorial momentum assessment, not a statistical league table. It rewards cities showing several simultaneous growth signals rather than simply the largest visitor base.

The lower positions do not imply weak destinations. Instead, the available comparable evidence is less decisive across all six indicators. Guadalajara, Salvador and several other cities deserve continued monitoring as more complete 2026 data emerges.

What The Numbers Mean For Travellers

The most useful finding is that tourism growth now comes in several forms. Cartagena is adding routes and cruise capacity, while Florianópolis is expanding its international aviation footprint. Medellín is broadening its overseas visitor base, while Curitiba and Recife are using events to create concentrated demand.

Hotel growth also carries a practical implication. More rooms can improve choice, but it can also create intense competition during peak periods. Mexico City and Lima’s large development pipelines therefore deserve attention from travellers seeking new accommodation options.

Air connectivity may be even more important. New direct flights can reduce journey times and eliminate connections. However, travellers should check whether a route operates year-round or only during a seasonal schedule.

A Smarter Way To Read Tourism Growth

Search interest adds another layer, but it requires caution. Google Trends can show whether international curiosity is rising, yet it does not measure confirmed bookings.

A more reliable reading combines search behaviour with airport traffic, hotel occupancy and actual visitor arrivals. When all four move upwards, the evidence for genuine destination momentum becomes considerably stronger.

The same principle applies to investment. A large hotel pipeline signals confidence, but projects can be delayed, redesigned or cancelled. Travellers should therefore treat announced developments as future supply rather than guaranteed openings.

This methodology also explains why the article avoids declaring one city universally superior. Tourism growth is not a single phenomenon. It is an ecosystem involving airlines, hotels, events, infrastructure, destination marketing and traveller behaviour.

Where The Next Boom May Emerge

The emerging pattern across the Americas is clear. The strongest destinations are increasingly those where accessibility and experience reinforce one another. Cartagena has the flights, beaches, heritage and cruise economy to compound demand. Florianópolis has international aviation growth and a powerful leisure proposition.

Medellín combines international demand with a diversified urban offer. Montréal pairs leisure travel with conferences, events and major investment. Mexico City and Lima have the accommodation pipelines to support sustained urban visitation.

For travellers, the message is equally useful. The next major destination does not always announce itself through record visitor totals. Often, the earliest signs appear in new airline routes, rising hotel occupancy, construction cranes, stronger international searches and larger events.

That makes these 12 cities worth watching well beyond 2026. Their trajectories show where the Americas’ next generation of tourism powerhouses could take shape.