Economy

Bangkok Most Visited Destination for Travelers, According to Mastercard List

John Harrington

Published: September 26, 2017 10:50 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 7:48 am

Bangkok was the most visited destination for travelers in 2016, according to Mastercard’s annual Mastercard Destination Cities Index list.

Thailand’s capital attracted 19.41 million visitors, followed by London (19.06 million), Paris (15.45 million) and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, (14.87 million).

As to where the tourists spent the most, Dubai was first with $28.5 billion in tourist dollars last year. New York was second ($17.02 billion) and London was third ($16.09 billion) in tourist income over the course of 2016.

Six of the top 10 cities visited by tourists were in Asia: joining Bangkok and Dubai were Singapore (13.11 million visitors); Seoul (12.39 million visitors); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, (11.28 million visitors); and Tokyo (11.15 million visitors).

In its findings, Mastercard also referenced the “cities of tomorrow,” which the credit card company believes will be on the itineraries of travelers in the years to come. With the exception of Lima, Peru, all these cities are in Asia: Osaka, Japan; Chengdu, China; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Jakarta, Malaysia; Tokyo, Japan; Hanoi, Vietnam; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Taipei, Taiwan.