2015 GLOBAL DESTINATIONS CITIES INDEX

London has retained its position as the top-ranked international tourist destination for the fifth time in seven years, according to the annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index released today.

Driven by insights into travel patterns, the Global Destination Cities Index provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities worldwide. More than just a travel tracker, the index provides an in-depth understanding of how people move around the world and highlights the value and importance of the world’s cities as homes, destinations and engines of growth.

According to the study, London is expected to receive 18.82 million international tourist arrivals in 2015, slightly ahead of second-placed Bangkok. Both cities have topped the index in their five-year history. 2015_MC_GDCI_OnePagers_Overviewe Overnight Visitor Forecast for Rest of Top 10 Cities Including:

Bangkok – 18.24 million Paris – 16.06 million visitors Dubai – 14.26 million visitors Istanbul – 12.56 million visitors New York – 12.27 million visitors Singapore – 11.88 million visitors Kuala Lumpur – 11.12 million visitors – 11.12 million visitors – Kool-H3.6 million visitors
“MasterCard understands the importance of cities around the world to travelers and those who live there,” said Ann Cairns, president of international markets, MasterCard. “This year’s study helps us understand how interconnected the world’s cities are with the critical role they play in connecting and empowering more people than ever before.”

Intellectual Insights: Understanding What Drives Global Cities.
In 2015, it is expected that international visitors will make approximately 383 million overnight trips between the index’s 132 cities, representing a huge demand for goods, services and experiences as they spend total time during their visits. spend US$360 billion.

According to the United Nations Report on World Urbanization Prospects, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. By forecasting the number of overnight international travelers, the Global Destination Cities Index shows that infrastructure is needed to meet the expectations of locals. visitors

Businesses and governments can use the insights from the study to identify areas – from transit to cultural experiences to infrastructure – that need investment for continued growth, innovation and sustainability.

“This index is just the beginning. Through a powerful combination of insight, innovation and experience, MasterCard is partnering to help build the smart cities of the future,” said Cairns.

Infrastructure innovation and customer experiences
Major cities like London and Chicago are building an open, interoperable transit system facilitated by MasterCard contactless and mobile payments. Streamlined operations support investment in other infrastructure.

MasterCard also developed consumer marketing programs to support the important role cities play as centers of human interaction. In fact, six of the top 10 global destination cities are also Invaluable Cities, a one-of-a-kind global platform that creates unique experiences, privileged event and attraction access, and exclusive trade offers.

Destination Cities: Detecting Trends
Around the world, a few key trends stand out, including:

Asia/Pacific – The region is home to three of the top four fastest growing cities between 2009 and 2015 – Colombo, Chengdu and Osaka.
Europe – Istanbul is the most diverse destination, with 50% of its international overnight visitors coming from 33 feeder destinations.
Latin America – Lima is both the top and fastest-growing city in the region, with nearly 50 percent more international overnight visitors than second-place Mexico City.
Middle East and Africa – Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the global top ten while Abu Dhabi is the third fastest growing city overall between 2009 and 2015.
North America – Houston has been the fastest growing city in North America since 2009 and the only destination city in North America with double-digit growth.

About the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index

The MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index ranks cities by their total number of international overnight visitors and cross-border spending by those same visitors in destination cities, and by visitor and passenger growth for 2015. Gives predictions.

Public data is used to derive international overnight visitor arrivals and their cross-border spending in each of the 132 destination cities using a customized algorithm. Paying special attention to eliminating the hub effect of destination cities like Singapore, Dubai, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

This index and accompanying reports are not based on MasterCard volume or transaction data.