Kuala Lumpur is the Third Most Visited Destination – Asia Pacific Destinations Index

• Mastercard’s annual index reveals Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul retain the top five spots, fueled by travelers from mainland China.
• The destinations attract 22 percent of all international traveler arrivals and a quarter of travel spend in the region.

• International traveler arrivals in Asia-Pacific destinations have been growing at an 8.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the nine-year period.

Kuala Lumpur has emerged as the third most visited APAC destination in Mastercard’s Asia Pacific Destinations Index (APDI), ahead of Tokyo and Seoul. Bangkok and Singapore take up the first and second spots respectively. Asia Pacific’s five most popular destinations for international travelers welcomed over one-fifth, or 22 percent, of all overnight visitors to the region’s top 161 cities and regional centers in 2018. Kuala Lumpur attracted a total of 13.8 million international travellers and a spend of US$11.13 billion (RM47.5 billion*) in 2018.

Primarily driven by explosive growth in outbound travel from mainland China, these five cities are also capturing more than one-quarter, or 25.2 percent, of total international travel spending in the region. Consistent with this trend, the #1 country of origin for overnight visitors in Kuala Lumpur is China (20.6%). This is followed by visitors from Thailand (11.7%), Indonesia (11.5%), Singapore (8.3%) and India (5.8%).

In 2018, Asia Pacific hosted travelers making 342.2 million business and leisure trips, up from 159.1 million in 2009, representing an 8.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the nine year period. During the same period, travel spending in Asia Pacific more than doubled, rising from US$117.6 billion (RM494.37 billion*) to US$281.1 billion (RM1.18 trillion*), equating to a compound annual growth rate of 10.2 percent.

In Kuala Lumpur, visitors stayed on average 5.7 days and spent an average of US$142 (RM597*) a day with the top categories for spend being shopping (32.7%), accommodation (25.6%), followed by food and beverage (13.3%).

Other destinations in Malaysia that feature in the ranking include Sabah (26^th in APAC, 10^th in SEA), Penang (28^th in APAC, 11^th in SEA), Pahang (34^th in APAC, 15^th in SEA), Johor (36^th in APAC, 17^th in SEA), Kedah (59^th in APAC, 24^th in SEA), and Malacca (60^th in APAC, 25^th in SEA).

“While the world’s economic, geopolitical, technological and societal landscapes have all changed dramatically since Mastercard launched this research 10 years ago, one thing has remained constant: the desire of ever-growing numbers of people to explore the world beyond their own borders. With the top 20 cities attracting nearly half (49.8 percent) of all international overnight arrivals to the 161 destinations ranked in the APDI, it is important to understand not only how continuously rising travel numbers impact cities and destinations for the better, but also the challenges they pose. This equips governments, merchants and the global travel industry with the information and insights they need to better serve their residents and visitors,” said Rupert Naylor, Senior Vice President, Data & Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.

“Malaysia is one of the key growth markets and Mastercard is excited to see cities such as Kuala Lumpur enjoy positive trajectory that will elevate travel and tourism opportunities while creating significant economic benefits. With data and insights from the index, multiple players across various industries in Malaysia will be able to capitalize on these opportunities to access new customers and markets,” said Perry Ong, Country Manager, Malaysia and Brunei, Mastercard.

Backed by a decade of destination insights, Mastercard’s 2019 APDI highlights four key trends that are shaping the future of travel in the Asia Pacific region.

1. Mainland China continues to exert the greatest influence over travel patterns and expenditure flows: Mainland Chinese travelers are discovering all corners of the region in unprecedented numbers, turning sleeping giants into tourism hotspots that create fertile ground for governments, tourism boards, brands and businesses as they plan and promote their travel, transportation and retail offerings. Since 2009, overnight arrivals by mainland Chinese travelers in markets across Asia Pacific surged from 10.5 million to 62.4 million in 2018, representing a 21.9 percent compound annual growth rate over the period. Notably, mainland China is amongst the top three source markets of outbound travelers for 82 cities in Asia Pacific, or more than half of the 161 destinations in the APDI.

2. Japan is now the hottest destination in Asia: For the second year in a row, Japan is the only market in the APDI to command 25 percent of Asia Pacific’s top 20 destinations, with Okinawa nudging out Kyoto to join the list for the first time, alongside Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and Chiba. Okinawa, Japan’s tropical paradise, is one of the region’s fastest-growing destinations, skyrocketing 109 places since 2009. Less-traveled cities such as Oita, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Gifu and Nagano have also seen significant jumps in the rankings – earning them all a spot in the list of the region’s 10 fastest growing cities by number of visitor arrivals. This overall uptick in travel to Japan is set to grow further, with Tokyo forecast to benefit the most from the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games.

3. Vacation destinations prevail over the fastest rising cities: While Japanese cultural centers top the list of the 10 fastest rising cities, the bustling industrial hub of Ludhiana in India’s northern state of Punjab claims the #2 spot, having jumped 78 places in the index since 2009. Dubbed the “Manchester of India” for its production of textiles and hosiery, Ludhiana is the only industrial city in this list of fast risers. Sri Lanka’s coastal getaway Galle is in ninth, having climbed 54 places in the rankings since 2009. While China’s panda capital Chengdu rounds out the rankings, coming in tenth after jumping 50 places in the last nine years.

4. Asia’s other avid travelers: While many Asia Pacific destinations are basking in the growth led by mainland Chinese travelers, South Korea and Japan are also noteworthy as the next biggest Asian origin markets fueling rising travel expenditure and overnight arrivals across the region. Top contributor mainland China accounts for 18.2 percent of international overnight arrivals within the region, while South Korea contributes 9.1 percent and Japan makes up 6.0 percent. Another source market to watch is India, home to the world’s second largest population. In 2018, India waved off 14.9 million outbound travelers, of which nearly half, or 49.3 percent, visited destinations in Asia Pacific. Their most favored Asia Pacific destinations were Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Pattaya and Bali. With its growing middle class, and population of 1.3 billion people, India’s potential to shake up future APDI rankings cannot be overlooked.

As travelers from these markets continue to increase by remarkable percentages year over year, Mastercard will continue to bring together resources from both the public and private sectors to help tourism partners better understand commerce patterns and deliver attractive experiences for eager travelers from across the region.

The APDI is a regional subset of the Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI). More information and the full GDCI report can be found here.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.