Mainland China and U.S. continue to drive global travel

Mainland Chinese are traveling overseas for business and leisure in greater numbers than ever before, and Mastercard’s newest edition of its Global Destination Cities Index continues to bear this out. Special report Global Destination Cities Index: Origins, released today, turns its lens on where international travelers originate. Mainland China has jumped from No. 7 in 2009 to No. 2 today, behind only the United States in terms of the number of travelers to overseas destinations.

Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index: Origins specifically ranks where the most people travel internationally from, and their top destinations. Globally, the industry contributed a record US$8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs in 2018, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council – and insights like these can help shape local decision-making on how to best attract and serve travellers from around the world.

This year, the United States is the No. 1 origin market followed by mainland China, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Travel from across Asia-Pacific also surged; the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, which were not in the top 10 a decade ago, rose to No. 6 and No. 10 respectively. The top origin markets are:

• United States of America

• Mainland China

• Germany

• United Kingdom

• France

• Republic of Korea

• Japan

• Canada

• Russian Federation

• Taiwan