Lagos, Kampala, Accra most visited African cities: Mastercard

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.

According to a communiqué from the organisation, MasterCard’s analysis of this year’s global top cities Bangkok, London and Paris, was down to the robust infrastructure that facilitates travel to business and leisure attractions.

A strong local culture on the other hand is highlighted as the factor 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

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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 travellers, while Dubai in the United Araba Emirates, continues to be the top ranking destination city based on overnight visitor spend.

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.

The other popular destination cities globally are London (United Kingdom),
and Paris (France). Together with Singapore and Dubai, they make up the top 5 global destination cities.

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