Bangkok was the most visited city by international travellers in 2018, new data has revealed.
Thailand’s capital recorded the most international arrivals last year with 22.43 million, followed by Greater London (19.09 million) and Singapore (18.51 million), according to GlobalData.
The report noted that tourism-friendly policies, low-cost connectivity and weak currencies played a vital role in attracting international visitors to Asia last year, with six out of the top 10 cities for international visitor arrivals belonging to the region.
Check out the full list below:
Among the top 10 cities, Tokyo exhibited the sharpest growth in international arrivals between 2014 and 2018 with 60.5 per cent, while Hong Kong held a 91 per cent occupancy rate – the highest on the list.
GlobalData found that New York City visitors had the highest average daily rate in (ADR) in 2018 at US$292 (approximately $432), while Bangkok had the lowest.
Furthermore, global destinations also witnessed a huge influx of Chinese visitors with the country’s outbound tourism growing in line with a rise in personal disposable income, GlobalData found.
According to China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), outbound travel has grown by 262 per cent since 2008 and is expected to reach 166 million departures by 2019.
GlobalData has observed that India has huge potential as a key source market.
The Indian outbound visitors’ number has been growing at an average annual rate of 9.2 per cent since 2008. According to the estimates by The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 50 million Indian tourists will visit global destinations by 2020.
