Bangkok Ranked World’s Most Visited City

Bangkok has been ranked World’s Most Visited City by international overnight visitor arrivals in 2016, according to the sixth annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index. More than 132 most visited cities around the world were provided by the Index. It projects visitor volume and spending estimates for the 2016 calendar year, while delivering a deeper understanding of how people travel and spend around the world.

The Index forecast that Bangkok is set to receive 21.47 million international overnight visitors in 2016, a strong growth from 15.8 billion in 2012, and followed by London (19.8 million), Paris (18.03 million) and Dubai (15.27 million). It projects that 85.6 per cent of the international overnight visitors to Bangkok will be for leisure and 14.4 per cent for business. Peak months for visiting are April and January.

In terms of spending, Bangkok is also projected to be the top-ranked city in the Asia-Pacific at USD 14.84 billion, but fourth on the overall ranking. The Index reported Asian cities that make up the top five global cities are Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul. While the top 5 fastest growing destination cities are Osaka, Chengdu, Colombo, Tokyo, Taipei, Xi’an and Xiamen.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn commented, “These forecasts are extremely good news for us. I pay tribute to the people of Bangkok and especially all those who work in the travel and tourism sector for continuing to provide the high standards of products, services and facilities that attract so many visitors year after year.”

Download the full report here: http://news.mstr.cd/2di8S31