TORONTO — Every traveller wants to discover hidden gems that are ‘off the beaten path.’ But a lot can be said about tried and true destinations, the ones that are swarming with tourists throughout the year. They continue to be ranked among the world’s most popular places for one simple reason: they’re just awesome.
Earlier this month, Mastercard released its Global Destination Cities Index, which ranks the 132 most visited cities around the world. Measured by the number of international overnight visitors, the study predicts which countries will be the most visited in 2016.
So which city came in at #1? Drumroll please…
No surprise here, Thailand’s bustling and beautiful capital city – Bangkok – beat out all other cities in 2016!
Here is the complete list:
- Bangkok, Thailand (21.47 million international visitors)
- London, England (19.88 million international visitors)
- Paris, France (18.03 million international visitors)
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates (15.27 million international visitors)
- New York City, USA (12.75 million international visitors)
- Singapore (12.11 million international visitors)
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (12.02 million international visitors)
- Istanbul, Turkey (11.95 million international visitors)
- Tokyo, Japan (11.70 million international visitors)
- Seoul, South Korea (10.20 million international visitors)
- Hong Kong, China (8.37 million international visitors)
- Barcelona, Spain (8.20 million international visitors)
- Amsterdam, Netherlands (8 million international visitors)
- Milan, Italy (7.65 million international visitors)
- Taipei, Taiwan (7.5 million international visitors)
- Rome, Italy (7.12 million international visitors)
- Osaka, Japan (7.02 million international visitors)
- Vienna, Austria (6.69 million international visitors)
- Shanghai, China (6.12 million international visitors)
- Prague, Czech Republic (5.81 million international visitors)