Bangkok beats London as travel hotspot
Thailand’s capital Bangkok has been declared this year’s global travel hotspot by Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2013, the credit card firm announced on May 27.
According to the index, which looked at the highest international visitor numbers in 2013 so far, Bangkok is leading the pack closely ahead of London and followed by Paris, Singapore and New York.
“Bangkok brought with it great momentum from last year,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic adviser for Mastercard Worldwide and author of the report.
“Its ascent to number one is not only a first for Asia, it’s emblematic of the rise of the Global South, which encompasses much of Africa and Asia as well as South America,” he added.
A noticeable trend in this year’s report was the dominance of the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 132 cities ranked, 42 are in Asia, where Bangkok is followed by Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and five of the top 10 in 2013 are in the Greater China region.
“With the rise of the Asia-Pacific region, this year’s index reflects the rebalance that the globe is undergoing in large part because of the rise of emerging markets,” said Ann Cairns, president of international markets, Mastercard Worldwide.
With regards to other global regions, London continues to rank first in Europe in international visitor arrivals, followed by Paris, Istanbul, Barcelona, and Milan. Istanbul’s growth rates were such that it could well surpass Paris in 2016.
Led by Mexico City, the lineup of the top 10 destination cities in Latin America remains unchanged. But this apparent stability masks rapidly changing growth dynamics when looking at the top five destination cities. Lima is gaining traction as the fastest-growing city, followed by Sao Paulo. If this growth trend continues, Sao Paulo could surpass Mexico City and Buenos Aires in 2017, and Lima could overtake Buenos Aires in 2018.
The hotspot in the Middle East and Africa is Dubai which retains its number one rank in the region by a large margin.
In North America, New York retains its top ranked destination city in the region, followed by Los Angeles and Miami. Toronto comes in fourth overall and is trending up as the fastest-growing air travel connectivity spot in North America.
Thailand's capital Bangkok has been declared this year's global travel hotspot by Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index 2013, the credit card firm announced on May 27. According to the index, which looked at the highest international visitor numbers in 2013 so far, Bangkok is leading the pack closely ahead of London and followed by Paris, Singapore and New York. "Bangkok brought with it great momentum from last year," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic adviser for Mastercard Worldwide and author of the report. "Its ascent to number one is not only a first for Asia, it's emblematic of the rise of...
Thailand’s capital Bangkok has been declared this year’s global travel hotspot by Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2013, the credit card firm announced on May 27.
According to the index, which looked at the highest international visitor numbers in 2013 so far, Bangkok is leading the pack closely ahead of London and followed by Paris, Singapore and New York.
“Bangkok brought with it great momentum from last year,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic adviser for Mastercard Worldwide and author of the report.
“Its ascent to number one is not only a first for Asia, it’s emblematic of the rise of the Global South, which encompasses much of Africa and Asia as well as South America,” he added.
A noticeable trend in this year’s report was the dominance of the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 132 cities ranked, 42 are in Asia, where Bangkok is followed by Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Tokyo and five of the top 10 in 2013 are in the Greater China region.
“With the rise of the Asia-Pacific region, this year’s index reflects the rebalance that the globe is undergoing in large part because of the rise of emerging markets,” said Ann Cairns, president of international markets, Mastercard Worldwide.
With regards to other global regions, London continues to rank first in Europe in international visitor arrivals, followed by Paris, Istanbul, Barcelona, and Milan. Istanbul’s growth rates were such that it could well surpass Paris in 2016.
Led by Mexico City, the lineup of the top 10 destination cities in Latin America remains unchanged. But this apparent stability masks rapidly changing growth dynamics when looking at the top five destination cities. Lima is gaining traction as the fastest-growing city, followed by Sao Paulo. If this growth trend continues, Sao Paulo could surpass Mexico City and Buenos Aires in 2017, and Lima could overtake Buenos Aires in 2018.
The hotspot in the Middle East and Africa is Dubai which retains its number one rank in the region by a large margin.
In North America, New York retains its top ranked destination city in the region, followed by Los Angeles and Miami. Toronto comes in fourth overall and is trending up as the fastest-growing air travel connectivity spot in North America.
