Bangkok Overtakes London as Most Visited International Destination in 2016
Photo Credit: Asia is experiencing extreme growth in international visitation. Osaka, Japan, pictured here, was ranked the fasted growing city by international visitation in 2016, due to increased visitation from Chinese vacationers. Flickr / liu yu cheng
Skift Take
The Asia-Pacific region is continues to grow as a powerhouse of international travel destinations. But the global cities enjoying the most spending from international travelers remain the usual suspects.
Increased economic activity in Asia and the Middle East looks to bring a windfall in visitation and spending to the two regions.
Bangkok has overtaken London as the most visited destination for international travelers, according to the latest Global Destination Cities Index produced by Mastercard. London had edged out Bangkok for the top spot in 2015.
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Asia Pacific is the most dynamic region for international travel growth, followed by the Middle East and South America. Osaka, Japan, and Chengdu, China, posted the highest compound annual growth rates among global destinations from 2009 to 2016, followed by Abu Dhabi and Colombo, Sri Lanka.
In fact, the first destination on the growth list not from Asia or the Middle East is Lima, Peru, which saw the 15th highest growth rate among destinations.
