Lagos, Dakar and Kampala were named among the top destination cities in Africa, following the release of MasterCard’s 2017 Global Destination Cities Index.
Based on visitor volume and spend for the 2016 calendar year, the in-depth analysis also provides a forecast for growth in 2017, insight on the fastest growing destination cities, and a deeper understanding of why people travel and how they spend around the world.
“We are partnering closely with cities around the world to ensure they have insights and technologies to improve how they attract and cater to tourists while preserving what makes them so special in the first place,” said Miguel Gamino, executive vice president at MasterCard.
Strong local culture was cited as a key reason why tourists flocked to Lagos, Kampala and other cities on the list. that makes the top five Sub-Saharan cities of Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal), Kampala (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya) and Accra (Ghana).
“Lagos is the top spot in sub-Saharan Africa this year, with roughly 1.5 million international overnight visitors,’‘ read part of the report that ranks 132 top destination cities in the world.
- Lagos: 1.5m visitors, 7 nights average stay, $57 average spend
- Dakar: 0.8m visitors, 2.3 nights, $165
- Kampala: 0.5m visitors, 7 nights, $168
- Nairobi: 0.4m visitors, 13 nights, $50
- Accra: 0.4m visitors, 10.5 nights, $132
For the second year in a row, the capital of Thailand, Bangkok is destined to be the most popular city in the world for international travelers, while Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, continues to be the top ranking destination city based on overnight visitor spending.
The MasterCard report projects that Bangkok will receive up to 20.2 million international overnight visitors this year, while visitors in Dubai spend an average of $537 per day.
