Bangkok ranked world's top tourist destination

BANGKOK, May 28 (TNA) - A latest survey shows that Bangkok has now become the world's number one destination where international tourists opt to visit, beating last year's champs, including London, Paris, Singapore and New York. The recent survey on 132 major tourist destinations worldwide, conducted by the Master Card Global Destination City Index, found that Bangkok has come first in 2013, in terms of the number of foreign tourist arrivals, at 15.98 million so far, and the total amount of their spending during their stays in the Thai capital. Dr. Yuwa Heddrick-Wong, a senior economic adviser of Master Card Worldwide, told journalists on Monday, when the result of the survey was publicly released, that the Asian Pacific region has become a world outstanding tourist destination with the increasing number of international visitors, thanks to emerging markets in the region and the global economic recovery. The senior economic advisor pointed out that 42 out of the 132 major tourist destinations worldwide are in Asia, while the strong Thai baht since early this year has not caused any serious impact on the regional tourism, as it has been in the same direction of several other currencies in the region. Besides, the senior advisor acknowledged, Bangkok has high potential in attracting international visitors. According to the survey, the number of international tourist arrivals in Bangkok has grown by 9.8 per cent so far this year, retaining the Kingdom on the world's top five tourist destination list, although the figure dropped from last year's 18.7 per cent. The survey also found that Bangkok has been ranked the world's 4th top destination where international tourist arrivals have spent in their largest amounts on tourism-related activities, after New York in the United States, London in the United Kingdom and Paris in France. (TNA)