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This article was first published 12 years ago

IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Last updated on: June 15, 2012 18:13 IST


MasterCard's 'Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities' has come up with a list of the top 20 global destinations that will see a huge stream of visitors in 2012.

The index has ranked these cities based on the number of visitors these places expect this year, along with the average amount these visitors will be spending on their sojourns.

Using information gleaned from 87 airlines, national tourism boards, the United Nations and other global agencies, the MasterCard Index offers an optimistic overall forecast.

Using these results, in the following pages we bring you the most popular destinations of 2012:

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A man looks through a telescope opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, in central London
Photographs: Toby Melville/Reuters

1. London

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 16.9 million

Visitor spend: $ 21.1 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A Paris Autolib' electric car is parked near the Eiffel tower during a presentation ride in Paris
Photographs: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

2. Paris

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 16 million

Visitor spend: $ 17.8 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A Buddhist monk sweeps the floor next to a giant statue of Buddha at Klang Kret temple in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok
Photographs: Chaiwat Subpransom/Reuters

3. Bangkok

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 16 million

Visitor spend: $ 19.3 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: An aerial view shows the main grand stand and the F1 pit building behind the Singapore Flyer observation wheel at dusk
Photographs: Matthew Lee/Reuters

4. Singapore

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 11.8 million

Visitor spend: $ 12.7 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012


Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters

5. Istanbul

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 11.6 million

Visitor spend: $ 10.6 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: The eighty-eight storey high Two IFC, the highest building in Hong Kong, stands on the waterfront facing the territory's Victoria Harbour
Photographs: Bobby Yip / Reuters

6. Hong Kong

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 9.5 million

Visitor spend: $ 17.8 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Women in costumes adorned with old lottery tickets attend the draw for Spain's Christmas Lottery
Photographs: Andrea Comas/Reuters

7. Madrid

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 9.7 million

Visitor spend: $ 11.5 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A keeper helps tourists dismount from a camel in the Dubai desert
Photographs: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters

8. Dubai

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 8.8 million

Visitor spend: $ 8.8 million

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IN PICS:World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A Lufthansa Boeing 747 passenger plane lands in front of Frankfurt's skyline
Photographs: Johannes Eisele/Reuters

9. Frankfurt

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 8.1 million

Visitor spend: $ 10.9 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: The new Monorail Malaysia train passes the Petronas Twin Towers during a test run in Kuala Lumpur.
Photographs: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters

10. Kuala Lumpur

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 8.1 million

Visitor spend: $ 6.4 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A man pulls a cart as he walks along sculptures of Roses of Sharon covering the fences of Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul.
Photographs: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters

11. Seoul

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 8 million

Visitor spend: $ 10.6 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Rome's ancient Colosseum is lit up to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center.
Photographs: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters

12. Rome

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 7.8 million

Visitor spend: $ 8.3 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Vehicles drive past the New York Times headquarters in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

13. New York

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 7.6 million

Visitor spend: $ 19.4 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: An aerial view, released April 14, 2010 shows Nanpu Bridge, built from funds provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in Shanghai.
Photographs: Shanghai Pacific Institute for International Strategy/Handout/Reuters

14. Shanghai

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 7.5 million

Visitor spend: $ 8.3 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: General view of Antoni Tapies Foundation building in central Barcelona.
Photographs: Albert Gea/Reuters

15. Barcelona

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 7.3 million

Visitor spend: $ 8.9 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Collage of Milan City
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons

16. Milan

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 7.1 million

Visitor spend: $ 7.5 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A woman and her children board a tram painted pink in Amsterdam to celebrate the arrival of the Giro d'Italia in Amsterdam
Photographs: Olaf Kraak/Reuters

17. Amsterdam

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 6.9 million

Visitor spend: Figures not available in the survey

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Vienna's United Nations headquarters is pictured during a visit of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to mark the 30th anniversary of the Vienna International Centre in Vienna
Photographs: Herwig Prammer/Reuters

18. Vienna

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 6.7 million

Visitor spend: $ 7.9 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: Tourists gather around a giant red lantern on display at Beijing's Tiananmen Square
Photographs: Jason Lee/Reuters

19. Beijing

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 6.2 million

Visitor spend: $ 6.5 million

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IN PICS: World's TOP 20 destinations for 2012

Image: A general view of the Taipei skyline shows the Taipei 101 building shortly before the city participated in Earth Hour.
Photographs: Pichi Chuang/Reuters

20. Taipei

Likely number of visitors in 2012: 5.4 million

Visitor spend: $ 10.5 million

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Source: ANI