Bangkok will retain its leading position
among Asia-Pacific cities this year, despite an 11-per-cent decline in visitors
due to the political unrest that plagued Thailand since the last quarter of
last year, according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.
However,
Singapore will take over Bangkok's top spot for international visitor spending
in Asia-Pacific, with revenue up 7.6 per cent to US$14.3 billion from last
year.
The
city-state's projected visitor arrivals expenditure per city resident stood at
$2,600, beating out London's $2,378 and second only to Dubai.
"This
forecast is based on Thailand's political situation last year before the
coup," Matthew Driver, president, Southeast Asia MasterCard said
yesterday.
He said
these estimates may change following the political change in the country and
the efforts of most of Thailand's tourist organisations, both private and
public, to boost the confidence of international visitors.
The top
10 Asia-Pacific countries are Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong,
Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai and Beijing. Bangkok fell to second in
the world, behind London. London will post an 8-per-cent increase in visitors
in the first five months of this year from the same period last year.
About
42 per cent of the visitors to Bangkok are from outside the region. The top
five feeder cities to Bangkok by international overnight visitors are
Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.
Southeast
Asian cities also show promising growth rates with Jakarta projected to see
18.8 per cent followed by Hanoi at 15.1 per cent and Manila at 14.3 per cent.
Kuala Lumpur, despite a marginally lower projected growth rate of 13.1 per cent,
makes it into Asia-Pacific's top 10 for international visitors by sheer arrival
numbers. The Malaysian capital also boasts the second-highest growth rate in
the global top 20.
Matthew
Driver, president of Southeast Asia at MasterCard, said yesterday that this
index serves as a gauge for understanding the global economy and travel-driven
connectivity and capacity across the world.
The
prominence of Southeast Asian cities on the index demonstrates the importance
that trade and tourism play in these economies, all of which have clearly
benefited from a deliberate and ongoing investment in travel capacity and
infrastructure.
Yuwa
Hedrick-Wong, global economic adviser to MasterCard, said international
visitors and their spending are powerful transformational forces in destination
cities from the business, social and culture perspectives.
Somluck
Srimalee
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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