Singapore beats New York in global destination rankings

The number visitors from abroad grew 8.8% in 2016.

Singapore replaces New York and takes the fifth spot amongst top global destinations for leisure and business, the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index revealed.

According to a press release, the number of visitors to Singapore grew 8.8% to 13.1 million in 2016.

Bangkok takes the top spot for the third year, followed by London and Paris.

Singapore has the second most number of international visitors in Asian countries. The count is still projected to go up by 2.6% in 2017.

Visitor spending also grew from US$13.1b in 2015 to US$15.7b in 2016, landing it in the fourth place globally.

Mastercard forecasts a 0.3% growth in spending.

Most of the recorded travel is conducted for leisure purposes at 76.7% instead of business at 23.3%.

Only 12.9% of travellers' budget is spent on food and beverage in Singapore with affordable dining at every corner.

Meanwhile, about 21.8% is spent on holiday shopping; 29% on entertainment, sightseeing, and medical services; and 4.6% on transport.

Mastercard Singapore country manager Deborah Heng said, "With tourism a key contributor to Singapore’s economy, it's also notable that this year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals is accompanied by the highest overall tourist expenditure in Asia."

Heng added, "This excellent showing demonstrates how collaboration between the public and private sectors can drive the right results for the local economy."