Bucharest to host 1 mln international inbound tourists in 2015

London remains the No. 1 destination for travelers in 2015 with an estimated 18.82 million international visitors, shows the annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index (GDCI).

London & Bangkok expect nearly identical numbers of travelers (18.82 million to 18.24 million), but guests will spend less in the home of Pad Thai (USD 12.4 billion compared to USD 20.2 billion).

Paris keeps the third step of the podium for the second year in a row with 15.56 million international visitors in 2014 and 16.06 million visitors expected in 2015. New York ranks fifth with 12,27 million visitors expected this year.

Bucharest ranks 81 in GDCI 2015, and regionally, at European level, it occupies the 28^th place, one place higher compared to last year. Thus, it is estimated that Bucharest will host 1.02 million international inbound tourists, up 5.2 percent compared to 2014. They will spend during their stay an estimated USD 287 million, up 2.4 against the previous year. In average, a visitor spent USD 281 in Bucharest last year.

Istanbul is the only city in the top 10 list to see double digit visitor growth from 2014 (an 11.4 percent increase).

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The top three cities for visitor spending (in USD) are London (USD 20.2 billion), New York (USD 17.4 billion) and Paris (USD 16.6 billion).

Seoul is the 9^th most popular city for travel, but average spend will reach USD 15.2 billion – more than some higher-ranked cities.

Based on a thorough understanding of travel patterns, Global Destinations Cities Index provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities in the world. The index offers a detailed perspective of the way people travel and address the importance and quality of world’s cities as residences, destinations and growth engines.

Staff