Bangkok is the most popular city for international visitors. This is the first datum that catches the eye from the analysis of the Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index, who has been studying trends in international travel and consumer spending for more than ten years.
The index ranks the 132 most visited cities in the world based on visitor volume and spending in 2016, and then provides a view of growth in the following year. If Bangkok remains stable in first place, with 19,41 million visitors in 2016, followed immediately by London (19,06 million visitors), Paris and Dubai are confirmed respectively in third and fourth place, with 15,45 million visitors registered in the French capital and 14,87 for the Arab city. The GDCI also offers interesting information and curiosities about particular destinations. Here is the number of visitors registered in 2016 in the other cities of the top ten:
· Singapore – 13,11 million
· New York – 12,70 million
· Seoul – 12,39 million
· Kuala Lumpur – 11,28 million
· Tokyo – 11,15 million
· Istanbul – 9,16 million
Rome ranks 16th among the top 20 most visited cities in the world with 7,12 million visitors, beaten by Milan which has 7,65 and ranks fourteenth.
In terms of visitor spending, the ranking changes slightly: Dubai leaps to the top of the Top 20 on government estimates, Mastercard researchers specify. Second is London followed by New York, Bangkok and Paris.
The GDCI also offers interesting information and curiosities about particular destinations. According to the index presented by Mastercard, in the past year there has been a general increase in the number of arrivals of international visitors staying overnight in the ten cities already in the rankings in 2015. For 2017 the trend is expected to continue, except that for New York, where there was a 2,4% drop in visitors. Tokyo, on the other hand, is the city where the highest growth rate is expected in the coming year (+12,2%).
If, as mentioned, Bangkok leads the ranking with 19,4 million visitors, immediately after we find London, Paris and Dubai. The Top 10 mainly includes Asian cities such as Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo.
As far as spending power is concerned, according to Mastercard, cities represent the driving force behind economic growth: almost all the cities in the top ten of the index have in fact recorded an increase in spending equal to or greater than the growth in GDP.
Real GDP grew globally by 21,8% compared to 2009, and spending on international visitors increased by 41,1%.
“The ranking of the most visited cities in the world was drawn up by Mastercard which assumes responsibility for it: FIRSTonline limited itself to reporting it like many other press bodies. Despite the useless insults, thanks instead for reporting our mistake: the 7,65 million tourists are obviously not daily, but yearly. We have already corrected the original text”.
But who writes these articles?! Do you at least re-read them?? 7,65 million daily tourists??! Milan with more tourists than Rome?! What drugs are you taking?! Great page of journalism congratulations