It’s easy to see why…

It’s gearing up for one of the biggest events the UAE has ever seen next year, so it’s no wonder Dubai has been ranked as one of the world’s top 10 cities to visit in 2020.

The annual list published by Lonely Planet is compiled by their team of travel experts, and ranks Dubai as the 9th best city to visit in the world in 2020.

Why?

“The future is now in Dubai” begins the listing. The six month long Expo 2020, which will kick off on October 20, 2020, is listed as the primary reason to visit the city next year. But Lonely Planet also goes on to reference other “boundary pushing” projects including the impending opening of Museum of the Future and The Heart of Europe on the World Islands, which will boast “only-in-Dubai phenomena [such] as underwater bedrooms and year-round snow” as reasons to visit.

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Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel guides are annual listings of the best places around the world to visit, split between Top 10 Countries, Top 10 Cities, Top 10 Regions and Top 10 Value.

Dubai features ninth in the Top 10 Cities guide.

Taking the top spot is the Austrian city of Salzburg, who will be hosting the 100th edition of classical music festival, Salzburg Festival, in the summer of 2020.

Elsewhere in the list, Cairo features third thanks to the opening of the projected 2020 opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza and the Irish city of Galaway, ranked 5th, cements itself as a must-visit city thanks to the region’s role as a 2020 European Capital of Culture.

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Images: Getty