Incheon vs Xi'an
Incheon and Xi'an are level on the CIRA Index at 71. Incheon grades better on 9 measures, Xi'an on 5; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- CIRA Index: Incheon 71, Xi'an 71
- OECD: Incheon 69, Xi'an 65
- UN Tourism: Incheon 78, Xi'an 79
- UNDRR: Incheon 69, Xi'an 66
Theme by theme
- Demand and seasonality: Incheon 54, Xi'an 60
- Economy and jobs: Incheon 88, Xi'an 75
- Climate and hazards: Incheon 55, Xi'an 35
- Water and environment: Incheon 81, Xi'an 88
- Community and housing: Incheon 88, Xi'an 100
- Access and continuity: Incheon 79, Xi'an 71
Where Incheon is stronger
- Nights in the three busiest months: 27.6 % of annual nights (Korea Tourism Organization (Korea Tourism Data Lab), 2024). At or below 30: grade 4/4.
- Income per head: 52,423 GDP per capita, USD PPP (Statistics Korea, Regional Accounts / Regional GDP Statistics, 2024). Between 45,000 and 60,000: grade 3/4.
- Extreme heat days: 2 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
- Country disaster risk: 2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4.
- Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4.
- Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Incheon Metropolitan City & Incheon International Airport Corporation, 2024–2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
- Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (Ministry of the Interior and Safety & Incheon Metropolitan City, 2024–2026). Grade 4/4.
- Government effectiveness: 91 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4.
- Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4.
Where Xi'an is stronger
- Recovery against 2019: 101.7 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Xi'an Municipal Bureau of Statistics, 2024 Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development of Xi'an, 2024). Between 100 and 110: grade 3/4.
- Average length of stay: 3.4 nights per visitor (Xinhua Net / Xi'an Datang Everbright City / Culture and Tourism Authorities, Spring Festival 2025). Between 2.8 and 3.5: grade 3/4.
- Municipal waste per resident: 186.2 kg per resident per year (country figure) (Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, Report on the State of the Ecology and Environment in China 2024 & National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2024). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
- Rent growth: -1.5 % change in rents over the last 12 months (China Index Academy (via Moomoo), H1 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4.
- Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan tested in an exercise or a real event, with lessons published (CCTV News (央视网), 2024). Grade 4/4.
Country context (World Economic Forum)
- South Korea: #12 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
- China: #8 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
Incheon in full · Xi'an in full
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