According to Mastercard’s Global Destinations Cities Index, Lisbon has seen its number of visitors grow by 7.4 percent between 2009 and 2016.
The city with the largest growth is Hamburg with 8.7 percent, followed by Berlin (8 percent), Istanbul (7.8 percent) and Copenhagen with 7.7 percent.
The Index provides more than a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world. It projects visitor volume and spend estimates for the 2016 calendar year, while delivering a deeper understanding of how people travel and spend around the world.
Researchers in Lisbon found that the peak travel months were between July and October, with over 90 percent of tourists visiting for leisure, while 9.5 percent were in Portugal on business.
Visitors spent most of their cash on food and beverages (25.2 percent), followed closely by transport (24.2 percent) accommodation (23.8 percent) and shopping with 23.5 percent.
Bangkok, meanwhile was the top-ranked destination city by international overnight visitor arrivals.
According to the study, Bangkok is projected to receive 21.47 million international overnight visitors in 2016, just ahead of second-ranked London.
Paris is in third, followed by Dubai, New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Tokyo and Seoul.
The biggest surprise according to researchers in this year’s Index is Dubai’s jump to the top rank based on international visitor spending of US$31.3 billion, far exceeding the second ranked London estimated at US$19.8 billion.
“The way people travel and spend across borders indicates just how interconnected and important the world’s cities are,” said Ann Cairns, President of International Markets, Mastercard. “As the planning and experience of the trip become increasingly important, Mastercard is bringing all these pieces together seamlessly through innovation and connections.”
The difference between the global top 10 and the fastest growing top 10 destination cities suggests that Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa have become increasingly important to the global economic landscape.