London leads Global Destination Cities Index as Most Visited City

According to the annual MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, London tops the list as the destination of choice for international travelers for the third time in four years.

According to the study, London is estimated to receive 18.7 million international visitors during the current year, 300,000 more than the Thai capital. Guests travelling to London are expected to spend £11.26bn in 2014.

The city has swiped its top spot from Bangkok, which was the most travelled-to last year, according to figures from MasterCard. Rounding out the top five cities are Bangkok, Paris, Singapore and Dubai, which are benefiting from a rush in international travel fueled by an expanding middle class, improvements in luxury travel and rising need for business travel.