Every year, a number of adventurous individuals give in to the exhilarating idea of visiting new places or re-visiting already toured sites. As a result, cities across the globe play host to a large number of foreign tourists visiting for business, recreation and other purposes.
Taking an annual survey of traveling and tourist activities in countries across the globe, MasterCard recently released its ‘2015 Global Destination Cities Index,’ predicting tourist traffic into cities in terms of total international overnight visitor arrivals and cross-border spending.
From the survey, here are the top 10 cities in the world with the highest international visitors for 2015.
- London- England
Although London is a very old city, which many people have been opportune to visit, the city still remains king in playing host to visitors yearly. The good old city of London remains one of the world’s most popular cities and the world’s most visited city for the second year in a row. According to travel projections, the city will receive a total of 18.82 million international visitors in 2015.
- Bangkok– Thailand
The popular Capital of Thailand came in second on the list with an estimated number of18.24million international visitors. The city, which is home to fascinating tourists spots like the opulent Grand Palace and sacred Emerald Buddha temple, lost its first place ranking to London in 2013, due to the political unrest that rocked the town during that period.
- Paris – France
The popular city of love, art and fashion scooped the third place in the 2015 travel survey. With very engaging tourist attraction sites like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, which is the most visited art museum in the world, as well as the Musée d’Orsay, housing a collection of French Impressionist art, Paris is expected to 16.06 million international visitors in 2015.
4. Dubai – United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates’ pride has fast become one of the 21st century’s hottest tourist spots. Rising from a small desert land, Dubai toady is home to many breathtaking technological wonders. As such, the country is expected to receive a total of 14.26 million international visitors in 2015.
- Istanbul – Turkey
The beautiful city of Istanbul has for many years remained one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. In 2012, the Turkish capital received 11.6 million foreign visitors just two years after it was named a European Capital of Culture. However, taking a significant jump from that figure, the estimated number of international visitors to arrive Istanbul is 12.56 million.
- New York City – U.S.A
Home to the very popular Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Times Square the ‘Big Apple’ as it is popularly called, is very popular on the list of tourists. With the electrifying excitement tied to its daily hustling and bustling mode, New York will receive a total of 12.27 million international visitors in 2015.
- Singapore
Globally recognized for its high ratings with regards to economic growth, healthcare system and standard of living, Singapore, has captured the heart of tourists. According to the 2015 projections, the island city-state will receive 11.88 million.
- Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia
In most recent years, Malaysia has gained popularity as one of the choicest tourist destination. The city, which is home to British colonial-era landmarks such as the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, is expected to receive a total 11.12 millioninternational visitors.
- Seoul – South Korea
Millions of tourists troop to the very busy South Korean city, Seoul yearly to visit its popular Buddhist temples, palaces and street markets. With its growing visitors profile, Seoul will welcome 10.35 million international visitors in 2015.
10. Hong Kong – China
With its tower-studded skyline, the popular city of Hong Kong remains a compulsory stop for tourists visiting China. The interesting Chinese culture and activities will pull an estimate of 8.66 million international visitors into Hong Kong in 2015.
