Bangkok, Singapore, Tokoy rank top 3 Asia-Pacific destinations: Mastercard

Bangkok, Singapore and Tokyo have been ranked as the top three most popular destinations in the Asia-Pacific region for international tourists, according to the results of the inaugural MasterCard Asia Pacific Destinations Index released here on Wednesday.

The MasterCard Asia Pacific Destinations Index polls 167 destinations, including island resorts as well as towns and cities across the region, by total number of international overnight arrivals, cross-border spending, and the total number of nights spent at each destination. These 167 destinations represent 90.1 percent of all international overnight arrivals within the region.

According to the index, Thailand's capital city Bangkok topped the survey, with international overnight visitors breaking the 20 million mark for the first time last year. Thailand also dominated the top 10 destinations, taking three of the top 10 rankings, with Phuket securing fifth place and the coastal city of Pattaya coming in at eighth place.

Following Bangkok is Singapore and Tokyo, which both welcomed 11.8 million international overnight visitors last year. Other top 10 cities include Seoul, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Osaka.

Chinese tourists have become the tower of strength in the growth of international tourists for the Asia Pacific region, which contributed to about one-third of the total growth in number of tourists from 2009 to 2015, at least five times higher than that from the second country, South Korea, according to Matthew Driver, Group Executive, Global Products & Solutions, Asia Pacific of MasterCard.

Of the top 20 destinations by total expenditure per day, Shanghai welcomed the biggest spenders with 269 U.S. dollars spent daily, followed by Beijing, Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong.

However, in terms of total expenditure by international tourists, Bangkok again seized number one at 15.2 billion U.S. dollars on the top 20 destinations.

Tourists growth has been strong in the Asia Pacific region, with half of the top 10 destinations saw 10 percent growth or more in international overnight visitor numbers between 2014 and 2015, according to the index.

Asia Pacific's tourism industry is also the largest in the world by total contribution to GDP, having overtaken Europe in 2014. Tourism contributed 2.27 trillion U.S. dollars to Asia Pacific economies and 153.7 million jobs in 2015, according to "Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2014 -- Asia Pacific" by World Tourism and Travel Council.

"The tourism industry in Asia Pacific is continuing to show robust growth with an increasing number of destinations receiving well over 5 million visitors a year, driven by increased consumer wealth, particularly from China. Providing in-depth analysis of overnight arrivals in 167 Asia Pacific destinations, the APDI can help businesses and governments better understand the underlying components of in-bound tourism demand, so they can plan investment to ensure the sustainable development of the tourism industry. This is becoming increasingly important as tourist numbers continue to rise, as at current growth rates, Asia Pacific will have more than 500 million tourist arrivals by 2020," said Driver. Enditem