Wondering where your next destination should be? Consider the cities that have attracted the most number of international overnight visitors in the world, as shown in a study called the Mastercard Destination Index.
Bangkok came out on top
Topping the list is Bangkok, which saw 19.41 million overnight visitors in 2016. This is the second year that the Thai capital edged out second-placer London, which had 19.06 million last year.
London came in second place
Other top cities were Paris (15.45 million), Dubai (14.87), Singapore (13.11), New York (12.7), and Seoul (12.39). Interestingly, Kuala Lumpur was in eighth place with 11.28 million overnight visitors, more than Tokyo (11.15) and Istanbul (9.16). It also beat Hong Kong (8.86), a city that serves as the Asia headquarters of many multi-national companies.
Paris was in third place
Travelers who went to Dubai in 2016 spent the most, with a total of US$28.5 billion. This was followed by visitors to New York (US$17.02 billion), London (US$16.09 billion), and Singapore (US$15.69 billion).
New York came in sixth
The amount travelers spent in Bangkok was good enough for fifth place (US$14.08 billion) followed by Paris (US$12.03 billion), Tokyo (US$11.28 billion), Taipei (US$9.91 billion), Seoul (US$9.38 billion), and Barcelona (US$8.90 billion).
