Posted on 10/16/2018 2:44:32 PM PDT by Simon Green
Milions of people are taking international trips each year — even after an increase in passport fees.
Mastercard analyzed 162 global cities to rank the top travel destinations and found that tourists are making their way to Bangkok more than any other city. The Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index ranked 162 cities based on visitor volume and spend for the 2017 calendar year, growth forecast for 2018, the average length of stay and amount spent per day.
With just more than 20 million international overnight visitors, MasterCard predicts Bangkok will remain in the top spot with 9.6% growth expected in 2018. The analysis also found that on average, visitors tend to stay in this Southeast Asian city for 4.7 nights and spend around $173 per day.
Following behind Bangkok comes London, Paris and Dubai. London trails not too far behind Bangkok, with 19.83 million visitors, and although people are staying 5.8 nights on average, most only spend $153 per day and the index predicts only a 3% growth in 2018. The report also indicated that Dubai remains in a top spot based off how much visitors are spending each day. In 2017, travelers in Dubai racked up $29.70 billion spent — averaging roughly $530 per day.
Top 10 Cities for Total International Visitors:
Bangkok
London
Paris
Dubai
Singapore
New York
Kuala Lumpur
Tokyo
Istanbul
Seoul
Sioux Falls SD
Carthage Mo
Scottsbluff Ne
Staunton Va
Granbury Tx
Dayton Tn
Grand Marais Mn
Dalhart Tx
Wausau Wi
Centralia Il
Just went by Dalhart in the snow on Sunday. Lovely.
Grand Marais is always worth a visit. Try the Cascade Lodge just south of town and see Root Beer Falls.
Thailand?
You beat me to it. LOL
Sex tourism
Interesting that no Chinese cities are on the list.
The Manboy and Sex-change Tour?
Surprising. Growing fast but still not in the big-league of First-World nations.
And by now, Thailand may be China's most popular Spring Break destination for all I know.
Only four of the cities make much sense to me: London, Tokyo, Paris, and New York. I might have expected to see Rome (Vatican City), Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Cairo (pyramids, Sphinx, etc.).
Not just that. The seedier stuff is there but is confined to one area of the city.
Bangkok is a great place to visit. There is a lot of English spoken. There are lots of interesting sights, shopping and places to eat. It is also fairly safe without a lot of violent crime. It was, at least at the time, also cheap compared to HK.
When we lived in Hong Kong we used to take the kids to Bangkok or Phuket once or twice a year for a weekend get-a-way
Oh yeah, Phuket.
Bangkok, oriental city, but the city don’t know what the city is getting...
“Not just that.”
Maybe, but if someone tells me they are taking a vacation to Bangkok, I’m immediately going to be suspicious.
You can’t just innocently visit Thailand anymore without raising some eyebrows...
Where did you find the “Least Visited” list?
SF at #10?! Really? Not long ago it must have been near the top.
Do you say the same about New York or San Fagcisco? They are worse than Bangkok
Phuket is a wonderful place to visit as is Chiangmai.
Don’t fall for the stereotypes
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