NEW YORK, Sept 26 — With about 20 million international overnight visitors recorded in 2017, Bangkok has emerged the top global destination on Mastercard’s annual Global Destination Cities Index.

Of the 162 cities studied in the report, the Thai capital received the highest number of international, overnight visitors last year according to Mastercard numbers, with another 10 per cent growth predicted for 2018. 

On average, visitors tend to spend about five days in Bangkok and spend US$173 (RM716) a day.

After Bangkok, London edged out Paris by about 2.4 million overnight international visitors, attracting 19.83 million tourists.

The commonalities shared by the most popular international cities? Robust infrastructure, business and leisure attractions and strong local culture, says Mastercard.

When it comes to spending, however, another picture emerges.

For while Bangkok may attract the highest number of visitors, it’s Dubai that nets the highest spenders: US$29.7 billion last year or US$537 a day on average. Dubai is followed by Makkah, Saudi Arabia (US$18.45 billion) and London (US$17.45 billion).

Here are the top 10 most popular cities:

1. Bangkok

2. London

3. Paris

4. Dubai

5. Singapore

6. New York

7. Kuala Lumpur

8. Tokyo

9. Istanbul

10. Seoul — AFP-Relaxnews