The nation’s efforts to boost tourism appear to have been paying off, as evidenced by a noticeable increase in international arrivals to Taipei this year, a recent report by MasterCard Worldwide showed.
The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities — an annual survey of the world’s 132 destination cities based on airlines’ data and UN data — ranks Taipei as No. 19 in the world and No. 7 in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of the number of visitor arrivals, the report said.
The New York-based company expects Taipei to see 5.4 million air travel visits this year, rising almost 17 percent from last year.
This -makes Taipei one of the world’s fastest-growing destination cities, the report said.
“In the post-crisis global economy, cities and their urban economies will become even more important as engines of global economic growth,” the report said.
As the global economic gravity shifts toward the emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, cities in those areas will play a bigger role in driving global economic growth and connectivity, the report said.
Taiwan has sought to boost tourism as part of its efforts to stimulate domestic demand to balance its export--focused economy.
Taipei’s ranking improves to No. 17 globally when measured by cross-border expenditure, with inbound passengers estimated to spend US$8.5 billion (NT$243.95 billion) this year, the report said.
London tops the study with 20.1 million visitors by air expected for this year, followed by Paris with 18.1 million and Bangkok with 11.5 million, the report said.
The research found the world’s leading cities demonstrated resilience and the ability to recover quickly from the global financial crisis, attributing the phenomenon partly to the concentration of highly skilled workers in those cities.
“Their services are needed for companies to cut costs, raise productivity and compete more effectively during tough times,” the report said.
Judging by its growth rate, Taipei ranks No. 7 globally with an increase of 16.9 percent in visitor arrivals by air, the report showed. Barcelona outperforms other cities with a 24.3 percent increase, it said.
Regionally, Bangkok ranks as the top city destination, trailed by Singapore with 11.4 million visitors by air this year and Hong Kong with 10.8 million, the report said.
Taipei ranks No. 7 in the Asia-Pacific region after Shanghai, with 5.5 million visitors by air, and ahead of Tokyo with 5 million, the report said.
The research expects international travel and cross-border expenditures to help shape the future of globalization with leading cities at the center of the financial recovery.
Outbound passenger departures and expenditures expanded 9.2 percent and 14.6 percent year-on-year last year respectively, higher than the world’s real GDP growth of 3.7 percent, the report said.
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