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MasterCard Global Destination Index Names Bangkok the #1 Destination

Recent decades have proved one important thing – people want to explore the world and see new destinations despite all troubles and financial crises. For years, MasterCard has been publishing its Global Destination Cities Index that ranks more than 200 cities around the world based on the number of visitors and spending data.

An interesting fact – the number of international overnight visitors has added 76% over the last decade. This year’s data reveals that Bangkok has retained its position as the No. 1 destination in the world. Hotels in Bangkok definitely do not stand empty and hoping for more guests! The city welcomed 22 million international overnight visitors. The No. 2 and 3 cities have flipped their positions this year. Paris is the second and London is the third most visited city with both of them attracting more than 19 million visitors.

Overall, almost all cities in the top 10 rank had more international guests in 2018 than a year ago. London is the only exception as the number of visitors to this city decreased by nearly 4%. The forecast for this year is optimistic and, naturally, Tokyo hotels may be the biggest beneficiaries as this city is expected to get the largest uptick in the number of guests. In terms of the dollar spent, Dubai is the No. 1 destination as visitors spend US$553 a day on average in this city. Makkah remains the No. 2 for the second consecutive year, and Bangkok occupies the third place.

The report provides some interesting data. For example, more people travel each year and their spending grows as well. Even though travelers become more interesting in smaller cities, the list of top destinations is almost unchanged every year. For example, Bangkok has been the No. 1 destination during six of the past seven years. The top three cities, Bangkok, Paris, and London – have been unchanged since 2010.

Asia-Pacific is currently the fastest-growing travel source market. The number of international travelers from this region has added 9.4% since 2009. Europe is the second fastest-growing source market with an increase of 5.5%. The top 10 destinations for international travelers in 2018 are the following: Bangkok (22.78 million international overnight visitors), Paris (19.10 million visitors), London (19.09 million visitors), Dubai (15.93 million visitors), Singapore (14.67 million visitors), Kuala Lumpur (13.79 million visitors), New York (13.60 million visitors), Istanbul (13.40 million visitors), Tokyo (12.93 million visitors), and Antalya (12.41 million visitors).

07.09.2019

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