Skip to main content
Culture

Tunis, Istanbul top Middle East city rankings for 'mindful travelers'

Nine cities from the broader Middle East and North Africa region, including four in Turkey, made it into a ranking of the world's top cities for “mindful travelers."

wimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. - Istanbul, a historic megalopolis of 16 million people resting between two continents and two sea, does not bring to mind immediate images of a beach resort. But just like the locals of New York, Beirut and a handful of other global cities, Istanbulites can swim all summer long and return home on the metro with salt layering their skin, sand trapped under their sandals. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN K
Swimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. — OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

There are only a few cities that appeal to “mindful travelers” in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to a recent index. Tunis, Istanbul and Tel Aviv are the top three.

Travel website Kayak.com released its “2023 City Index for Mindful Travelers” last week. It ranks 167 cities worldwide based on 28 diverse factors linked to sustainability, including the destination's popularity, accommodation and transportation availabilities, air quality and cost.

In the Middle East and North Africa region, only a handful of cities have managed to qualify for the list and Tunis stands as the top for mindful travelers, the index shows. 

“Tunis, Tunisia, landed a very attractive first place in our rankings for this region, and for many good reasons,” the website reads, citing various factors including relatively cheap flights depending on the season and a wealth of local markets. 

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish