Australia Bound Travellers Staying for the Long Haul: MasterCard's Inaugural Asia Pacific Destination Index

Travellers spreading their wings to Sydney are making the most of their long-haul flight by staying for an average of 23.7 nights per visit. This places Sydney second only to Bangkok in the list of countries where tourists spent the highest number of nights visiting.

Research from the first MasterCard Asia Pacific Destination Index, shows Australian cities claimed four of the top 20 spots of destinations in this list. The Index takes an in-depth, focused look at tourism trends ranking 167 destinations. The destinations are drawn from 22 countries in Asia Pacific, representing 90.1% of all international overnight arrivals.

Melbourne makes the grand slam as the second Aussie city and eighth overall when it comes to the longest amount of nights stayed by international visitors, followed by Brisbane (ninth) and Perth (13th). Out of all the Australian cities, Sydney was the only one to make the list according to expenditure, ranking in 10th position.

The top ten Asia Pacific destinations ranked by total nights stayed by international tourists:

1. Bangkok
2. Sydney
3. Kuala Lumpur
4. Tokyo
5. Bali
6. Seoul
7. Singapore
8. Melbourne
9. Brisbane
10. Taipei

The top 20 destinations of Asia Pacific represent around half of all international overnight arrivals to the 167 Asia Pacific destinations covered by the Index.

Andrew Cartwright, SVP and Country Manager at MasterCard said,
“It's great to see our four Australian cities featuring high on the list against other Asia-Pacific destinations. With so much on offer for visitors including festivals, sporting events and some of the greatest shopping destinations in the world, it's little wonder that visitors want stay as long as possible.

“In addition to great experiences, the evolution of payment technology and international networks has helped make travel easier than ever before. Today, no matter the destination, travellers have access to safe and secure payment methods.”

Asia Pacific's tourism industry is the largest in the world by total contribution to GDP, having overtaken Europe in 2014. Tourism contributed US$2.27 trillion to Asia Pacific economies and 153.7 million jobs in 2015[1].

The full report can be downloaded from: http://news.mstr.cd/1K7yieX

About the MasterCard Asia Pacific Destinations Index

The first MasterCard Asia Pacific Destinations Index is an offshoot of MasterCard's annual Global Destination Cities Index.

In recent years, Asia Pacific cities have increasingly dominated as the fastest growing and most visited destinations in the world. According to 2015's MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, five of the ten most visited cities in the world were in Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific Destinations Index takes a more in-depth, focused look at these tourism trends, ranking 167 destinations, including island resorts as well as towns and cities across the region, by total number of international overnight arrivals; cross-border spending; and the total number of nights spent at each destination. These 167 destinations are drawn from 22 countries across Asia Pacific and represent 90.1% of all international overnight arrivals within the region.

Public data is used to derive the international overnight visitor arrivals and their cross-border spending in each of the destinations, using custom-made algorithms.

This Index and the accompanying reports are not based on MasterCard volumes or transactional data.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardAP and @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.