Stuck as second: Singapore still sidelined as tourists’ favorite Asian city

Find out who the top seed is.

Despite the country’s best efforts, Singapore remains stuck in second place when it comes to tourists’ favorite Asian destinations. Bangkok claimed the top spot with 16.42m visitors in 2013, while Singapore is a far second with just 12.42m visitors.

Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2014 revealed that Bangkok is just second to London in terms of global tourist arrivals. In third place is Paris, while Singapore claims the fourth spot.

Ironically, Singapore is Bangkok’s largest feeder city, which shows that the country is a major gateway hub for other countries to reach Bangkok.

But a consolation prize for Singapore is the fact that the country trumped Bangkok in terms of visitor spending. Tourists spent $14.34bn in Singapore in 2014, while visitors spent $13.04bn in Bangkok.

The other top cities in Asia include Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai, and Beijing.