Bangkok is certainly known for its nightlife, but this year it is also known for its nighttime arrivals. Recent figures from the annual Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index shows the Thai capital is the top-ranked destination city by international overnight visitor arrivals.
Mastercard’s Index, which provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world, projects visitor volume and spend estimates for the 2016 calendar year. It also aims to deliver a deeper understanding of where people travel to and how they are spending around the world.
According to the survey, Bangkok is projected to receive 21.47 million international overnight visitors this year, seeing it beat out several more high-profile locations including London, Tokyo and New York City to name a few. The UK capital finished second on the list with 19.88 million expected overnight visitors. Other cities to finish in the top five include Paris, Dubai and New York.
The research also revealed that the difference between the global top ten and the fastest growing top 10 destination cities suggests that Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa are continuing to grow in popularity and are becoming more important to the global economy. Other ASEAN cities to crack the top ten include Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
In terms of growth, Osaka has shown the strongest increase in international visitors, 24.15 percent, over the past seven years. Other cities that made the forecasted top ten fastest growing list from Asia include Tokyo and Taipei as well as the Chinese cities of Xi’an and Xiamen.
The report also revealed that cross-border travel and spending continues to grow at a faster pace than the world GDP. This could be a sign that the world’s cities will continue to be engines of broader economic growth.
