Bangkok peaks as world’s top travel destination

MANILA, Philippines - In launching its third annual Global Destination Cities Index, MasterCard announced that Bangkok is this year’s number one city for travel. 

While London reached the top spot in 2012, it was edged by the slimmest of margins with only about 25,000 visitors separating the two — a difference of about one percent. 

The study looked at the highest international visitor numbers in 2013, with London, Paris, Singapore, and New York rounding out the top five.

A noticeable trend in this year’s report was the dominance of the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 132 cities ranked, 42 are Asian countries. 

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 of MasterCard Worldwide.

“This shift is further underscored by electronic payments, which are enabling more people from more places to participate in the global economy than ever before,” Cairns added.

Of the 20 highest-ranked destination cities for 2013, four of the top five are MasterCard Priceless Cities: London, Paris, Singapore, and New York with Los Angeles coming in at 20. Not only are these cities attracting international visitor arrivals, they are top spots for residents as well.