Mumbai, Chennai among top 20 tourist destinations in Asia Pacific

Mumbai and Chennai have ranked among the top 20 tourist destinations in Asia Pacific Region as per the Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017.

• This is the second edition of Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index. It is an offshoot of the annual Global Destination Cities Index. The rankings are based on data which has been sourced primarily from National Tourism Boards.

Rankings have been compiled for following three parameters:

1. International Overnight Arrivals
2. Total Nights Stayed by International Tourists
3. Total Expenditure by International Tourists

Highlights of Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017:

Tourism sector accounted for 5% of Asia Pacific’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 8.7% of its total employment in 2016.

• International overnight arrivals to the 171 Asia Pacific (APAC) destinations in year 2016 stood at 339.2 million. Bangkok which attracted 19.3 million visitors has ranked top on this parameter.
• During 2016, international visitors to the region stayed for a total of 1,768.7 million nights.On this parameter too, Bangkok ranked first with 87.6 million nights.
• In terms of total expenditure by international tourists, Singapore hosted the highest spending visitors at $254 per day. For the entire APAC region, overall tourism expenditure stood at $244.9 billion
• Chennai attracted 2 million international overnight arrivals and ranked 14^th. Mumbai ranked 15^th with 4.9 million overnight arrivals.
• During 2016, international visitors to Mumbai  stayed for a total 30.7 million nights whereas in Chennai visitors stayed for 29.6 million nights. Mumbai ranked 13^th and Chennai ranked 15^th on this parameter.
• International visitors spent $4.6 billion in Chennai and $4.4 billion in Mumbai. Chennai ranked 13^th and Mumbai ranked 15^th on this parameter.
• On a sub-regional basis, Northeast Asia dominated the index with 11 destinations in the top 20 followed by Southeast Asia with 6 destinations.

Top 20 tourist destinations in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region: