Most Visited Cities in the world, Forbes 2014

1. MOST VISITED CITIES IN THE
WORLD
FORBES 2014

2. whether it draws vistors for business or pleasure, London regained the top rank this year
in the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, with an 8% growth in visitors-
1. LONDON

3. political unrest seems to be hurting Thai tourism. Bangkok only
slipped one rank since last year, but experienced an 11%
decline in visitors. Shown here: the city's world-famous
landmark,Wat Arun on the Chao Phraya River-
2. BANGKOK

4. 3. PARIS
never mind that Paris has a slow growth rate in the number of
visitors -- just 1.8%. It's still a favorite city of many travelers-

5. with a population of less than 5 million, Singapore expects 12.47 million visitors this
year -- a 3.1% increase over last year. Although it is a melting pot of cultures,
including Indian, Chinese and Malay, English is the dominant language, and
Westerners do not tend to experience the culture shock there that occurs elsewhere
in the region-
4. SINGAPORE

6. 5. DUBAI
sometimes called the shopping
capital of the Middle East, Dubai
Shows strong growth, increasing
their arrival numbers by 10.9% in
2013 and 7.5% in 2014-

7. in terms of overnight vistor spending, New York switched places with
London in 2014. Visitors are expected to spend $18.57 billion in New
York, versus $19.27 in London -- perhaps a function of the strength of
the British pound right now. Shown here: the landmark Statue of Liberty
against the New York City skyline-
6. NEW YORK

8. as a travel destination, Istanbul is a rising star, with sights like
the Hagia Sophia mosque shown here. Last year's Mastercard
survey project that If all top 10 destination cities maintain their
current rates of growth in the next few years, then by 2016,
Istanbul will surpass Singapore, New York and Paris in terms of
international visitor arrivals-
7. ISTANBUL

9. a construction boom has altered the cityscape of the downtown area of Kuala Lumpur,
capital city of Malaysia. It expects 10.81 million visitors in 2014, making it No. 3 of the
top 10 Asia/Pacific destination cities (after Bangkok and Singapore)-
8. KUALA LUMPUR

10. its majestic harbor beckons, with 8.84 million visitors expected this year. It's also the
third most expensive city in the world, according to another survey. If you're thinking of
taking public transit into town from the airport (or even if you aren't)-
9. HONGKONG

11. visitor spending pumps money into Seoul's economy; visitors are expected to spend
$11.5 billion there in 2014 – an increase of 6.3% over the previous year.
10. SEOUL

12. for the second consecutive year, Barcelona outranks Madrid in popularity with visitors.
Barcelona's old world charm and Gaudi architecture will lure 7.37 million international
travelers in 2014.
11. BARCELONA

13. with its scenic canals, meandering cobble stone streets and inventive architecture,
Amsterdam can satisfy the most ravenous explorer or jaded traveler. It's also an
important hub city for travel to other European destinations-
12. AMSTERDAM

14. with slightly more visitors than Rome, Milan ranks No. 13 on the list-
13. MILAN

15. it hasn't lost any of its charm, but Rome ranks behind Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.
Are economic forces at play? If you're thinking of buying an apartment there, check out
our story
14. ROME

16. the capital of the Republic of China,
Taipei ranks No. 15 in both the
number of visitors and spending-
15. TAIPE

17. count Shanghai among the new and dynamic destination cities. Once a fishing and
textiles town, it's now a major financial center, the showpiece of Asian economic
development and is expected to get 6.09 million international visitors this year-
16. SHANGHAI

18. with a rank of No. 17 in the top 20
worldwide, Vienna is also one of
Europe's top 10 destination cities. It
expects 6.05 million visitors this year
-- a 6.8% increase over last year-
17. VIENNA

19. the Saudi Arabian capital expects 5.59 million visitors
this year. Shown here: An evening view of the city-18. RIYADH

20. the shrinking value of the yen is good news for international travelers to Japan. Tokyo,
which is a major transportation hub, expects 5.38 million visitors in 2014. Shown here:
Shinjuku, a major commercial and administrative center, at night-
19. TOKYO

21. lima is not itself a spectacular place for sightseeing. (The Plaza Mayor or
Plaza de Armas, shown here, is a highlight.) But it’s the international gateway
for visitors to Machu Picchu, the 15th century “Lost City of the Incas-20. LIMA

22. THANK YOU