Over 12 million people expected to visit Singapore in 2016: Mastercard

SINGAPORE - Nearly eight in ten visitors to Singapore travel to the Lion City for leisure or personal purposes, according to estimates in a global ranking by Mastercard.

With a projected 12.11 million visitors in 2016, Singapore is now ranked second in Asia and sixth in the world by international visitor arrivals, according to Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index.

Bangkok topped the list of 132 cities, while London, Paris, Dubai and New York rounded out the rest of the top five.

The index ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international overnight visitor arrivals and cross-border spending by these visitors in the destination cities.

International visitor spending in Singapore is projected to reach US12.5 billion (S$17 billion) this year, with large proportions dedicated to local services, accommodation and shopping.

The Mastercard index also showed that Singapore maintained its position as a travel hub, faring strongly as both an origin and feeder city in the region.

In fact, 87 per cent of visitors to Singapore originate from the region, with Jakarta being the city state's top feeder city and contributing over 1.4 million visitors.

Meanwhile, Singapore also contributes strongly to arrivals in other Asian cities, contributing the most visitors to both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

"Singapore has once again proved itself to be one of the most popular travel destinations in the world," said Deborah Heng, country manager for Mastercard Singapore.

She added that Singapore's position can be credited to improving infrastructure and immersive cultural experiences.

seanyap@sph.com.sg