For the third year running, Kuala Lumpur has clocked in as the world’s seventh most visited city by MasterCard’s 2018 Global Destination Cities Index. The credit card company’s comprehensive study was tallied late last month.
In 2017, our fair muddy confluence welcomed 12.58 million international travelers, and forecasters expect that number to grow by 7.1% this year.
Average leisure travelers spent 5.5 nights in the city, spending approximately US$124 while here in 2017. (Ed. Note: Please, travelers, tell me your secrets. Really.)
Taking into account the amount of actual tourist dollars spent, KL ranked 13th compared to other cities. Last year, US$8.59 billion was spent on lodgings, food, merchandise, and recreational activities.
Most visitors coming to the country were from China (16.8% of travelers), followed by Thailand (11.8%) and Indonesia (10.3%).
Cities were pooled from a group of 162 different metropolises, gauging overnight visitors and the amount of money that they spent.
Heading up the top three were Bangkok, London and Paris, with Dubai being the biggest cash bucket for travelers. Guests spent nearly US$ 30 billion in the emirate. Number two was Mecca (US$18.45) and London (US$17.45).
