And the most popular tourist city in the world is .... London tops prestigious visitor poll ahead of Paris, New York and Beijing

  • Mastercard Global Cities Index lists London as the world's top tourist city
  • British capital is predicted to welcome 19million international visitors in 2014
  • Mayor Boris Johnson hails the city as 'the world's favourite place to visit'

By Travelmail Reporter

Published: 07:59 EST, 9 July 2014 | Updated: 19:38 EST, 9 July 2014

In the last two years, it has hosted the Olympic Games, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Tour de France – events that have left it firmly in the public eye.

And it seems that London’s position as a magnet for visitors is likely to continue, with the UK capital being ranked as the most popular destination in the world for tourists.

According to a new research, London is likely to pull in more visitors than any other city on the planet in 2014, eclipsing the likes of New York, Rome, Paris, Beijing and Dubai.

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Surging to the front: London can expect to welcome 18.7million visitors in 2014, according to a new poll

Surging to the front: London can expect to welcome 18.7million visitors in 2014, according to a new poll

The Mastercard Global Cities Index report predicts that London will welcome a staggering 18.7million visitors in 2014, placing it at the top of the international tree.

 

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This figure also suggests that London will out-perform Bangkok – which was ranked highest in the 2013 survey – by some 300,000 incoming tourists.

This is the fourth edition of the poll – which looks at travel patterns in 132 major cities around the world, and ranks them in terms of popularity.

This year’s results make pleasing reading for tourist authorities in Europe – with the continent able to boast eight of the top 20 most popular tourist cities.

London tourists
Paris tourists

Beating an old rival, just: London may be the most popular city with tourists, but Paris is just behind in second

Paris comes second in the list, with Istanbul, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome and Vienna also featuring highly.

The Thai capital Bangkok drops from first place in 2013 to third in 2014, but still keeps its nose ahead of Singapore and Dubai in fourth and fifth respectively.

The findings have been welcomed in the UK capital, with Mayor of London Boris Johnson declaring them to be a tribute to the city’s past and present.

‘With nearly 19 million visitors [predicted] this year, London is the world’s favourite place to visit.’

‘Our city perfectly combines history, heritage, arts and culture – not to mention vast amounts of green space and major events.’

Video courtesy: robwhitworth.co.uk/ Facebook: facebook.com/RobWhitworthPhotography/ Twitter: twitter.com/kwhi02


The Index’s findings largely chime with figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS ‘International Passenger Survey’ for last year shows that London greeted over 16 million visitors in 2013.

This was the first time in the city’s history that it has achieved a figure this high.

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