London has been voted as the top-ranked international travel destination out of 132 most visited cities around the world.
For the fifth time in seven years, the UK’s capital heads the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index. The report estimates that London will receive 18.82 million visitors by the end of 2015, just ahead of Bangkok, with 18.24 million.
Visitors to the 132 cities are expected to spend US$360 billion during their visits over the course of 2015 (based on public data not MasterCard volumes or transactional data). To maintain a high-ranking in terms of global visitors, countries must ensure they invest in growth, innovation and sustainability, says MasterCard’s President of International Markets, Ann Cairns.
Top Ten MasterCard Global Destinations Cities and projected number of visitors in 2015
To find out what it’s like to live as an expat in these fast-growing, influential cities, simply click on a city link above for information on moving, housing, working, money, family, healthcare, transport and lifestyle.
1. London – 18.82 million
2. Bangkok – 18.24 million
3. Paris – 16.06 million visitors
4. Dubai – 14.26 million visitors
5. Istanbul – 12.56 million visitors
6. New York – 12.27 million visitors
7. Singapore – 11.88 million visitors
8. Kuala Lumpur – 11.12 million visitors
9. Seoul – 10.35 million visitors
10. Hong Kong – 8.66 million visitors
Regional trends
The Asia Pacific region is home to three of the fastest-growing destinations over the six year period from 2009-2015 – Colombo, Chengdu and Osaka.
Istanbul receives half of its visitors from the most ‘feeder’ cities – 33 in total.
Lima, the Peruvian capital, is now the top-ranked city in Latin America –out-performing second-ranked Mexico City by 50 percent in terms of over-night visitors.
In the Middle East and Africa (MENA), Dubai continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the global top ten while Abu Dhabi is the third fastest growing destination city overall between 2009 and 2015.
Houston is North America’s fastest growing city, and the only city to show double-digit growth.
