Source: Mastercard. Report cover.
Although Bangkok, Thailand remains the top spot for visitors in the Asia Pacific, the latest Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017* shows that Singapore outpaces the Thai capital in total tourist spending.
Singapore experienced an 18% increase in visitor spending between 2015 and 2016. As one of just five destinations in the top 20 for overall expenditure to hit a minimum daily spend of US$200, Singapore drew in the biggest spenders at US$254 per day. Trailing behind were Beijing, mainland China (US$242), Shanghai, China (US$234), Hong Kong (US$211), and Taipei, Taiwan (US$208).
From 2015 to 2016, half of the top 20 most popular Asia Pacific destinations saw international overnight arrivals climb by over 10%. Destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia reaped the most significant rewards from this surge. These included Seoul, Korea (32.7%), Osaka, Japan (23.8%), Bali, Indonesia (22.5%), Tokyo, Japan (22.2%), Hokkaido, Japan (21.9%), Chiba, Japan (21.5%), and Pattaya, Thailand (20.6%).
This expansion offers substantial advantages for governments, tourism organizations, and businesses, including increased economic activity, cultural interchange, and infrastructure upgrades.
In 2016, overnight arrivals** across 171 Asia Pacific destinations totaled 339.2 million (a 9.8% CAGR from 2009 to 2016), with Bangkok leading the way with 19.3 million visitors. Singapore (13.1 million) secured the second position, trailed by Tokyo (12.6 million), Seoul (12.4 million), and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (11.3 million). China emerged as the biggest source of outbound travelers in the Asia Pacific, sending 55 million international overnight visitors to the region last year, representing 16.2% of the total.
The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by international overnight arrivals:
Bangkok – 19.3 million
Singapore – 13.1 million
Tokyo – 12.6 million
Seoul – 12.4 million
Kuala Lumpur – 11.3 million
Phuket, Thailand – 9.1 million
Hong Kong – 8.9 million
Pattaya – 8.1 million
Osaka – 7.4 million
Taipei – 7.4 million
Visitors are not only frequenting Asia Pacific destinations more often but also extending their stays. Visitors to the region logged a total of 1,768.7 million nights in 2016, reflecting an 8.1% CAGR from 1,023.1 million nights in 2009. Bangkok claimed the top spot with 87.6 million nights, while Sydney followed closely with 87.5 million. Kuala Lumpur secured third place with 76.7 million.
Sydney’s second-place ranking for total nights stayed is noteworthy, especially when compared to its position in overnight arrivals. Landing in 20th place for arrivals, Sydney’s impressive ratio of average nights stayed to overnight arrivals is mirrored by fellow Australian destinations Melbourne and Brisbane on the Index. Since many tourists face long journeys to reach Australia, they tend to stay longer, maximizing their travel investment.
The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by total nights stayed:
Bangkok – 87.6 million
Sydney – 87.5 million
Kuala Lumpur – 76.7 million
Tokyo – 74.3 million
Melbourne – 62.9 million
Bali, Indonesia – 62.4 million
Singapore – 60.7 million
Seoul – 56.0 million
Brisbane – 51.8 million
Taipei – 47.8 million
Fueled by the burgeoning middle class in Asia Pacific, overall tourism expenditure in the region surged from US$141.5 billion in 2009 to US$244.9 billion in 2016, marking an 8.2% CAGR. Furthermore, the top 20 source markets in Asia Pacific generated US$201.5 billion in tourism revenue for the region in 2016.
The influx of travelers from Northeast Asia played a key role in this earnings boost. The Index highlighted China (17.7%) and South Korea (8.8%) as the biggest spenders on tourism in the Asia Pacific. These two markets also emerged as primary sources of tourism dollars for Singapore (with Chinese visitors as the top tourist segment), Bangkok (China ranked first), and Tokyo (Korea took first place, followed by China), the region’s top destinations for visitor expenditure. Renowned globally for shopping and dining, these cities are magnets for affluent Chinese and South Korean tourists in search of fresh retail therapy and culinary experiences.
The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by expenditure:
Singapore – US$15.4 billion
Bangkok – US$12.7 billion
Tokyo – US$11.1 billion
Taipei – US$9.9 billion
Seoul – US$9.4 billion
Bali – US$8.7 billion
Phuket – US$8.3 billion
Kuala Lumpur – US$7.3 billion
Sydney – US$6.8 billion
Hong Kong– US$6.6 billion
Interested?
Download the Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017 report
_*_The Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index is a specialized branch of Mastercard’s yearly Global Destination Cities Index. In recent years, cities within the Asia Pacific have dominated the ranks of the world’s fastest-growing and most frequented destinations. As per the 2016 Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, five out of the ten most visited global cities were situated in the Asia Pacific.
The Asia Pacific Destinations Index provides a more focused and detailed analysis of these tourism patterns. It ranks 171 destinations, encompassing island resorts, towns, and cities across the region, based on factors such as total international overnight arrivals, cross-border spending, and the overall number of nights spent at each destination. These 171 destinations, representing 90% of all international overnight arrivals within the region, are drawn from 22 countries across the Asia Pacific.
Publicly available data, analyzed using specifically designed algorithms, is used to calculate international overnight visitor arrivals and their cross-border spending in each destination. This Index and its accompanying reports do not rely on Mastercard’s volume or transactional data.
*Overnight visitors are defined as those staying at least one night in the destination country.