The World's 10 Most Popular Cities Revealed

Mastercard released its Global Destination Cities Index on Wednesday, revealing that travel remains one of the world's top desires with the number of international overnight visitors growing a whopping 76 percent since 2009. The index ranks 200 cities around the globe based on a proprietary analysis of publicly available visitor volume and spend data to reveal the world's most popular and lucrative destinations.

Antalya, Turkey hosted 12.41 million international overnight visitors last year but reported the longest average length of stay of any city in the top 10 at 14 nights. However, the average visitor spend per day was the lowest of any top 10-ranked destination at just $44.

Tokyo will be a hot destination ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games next summer but is already among the world's top 10 most-visited cities. The Japanese capital welcomed 12.93 million visitors in 2018 and boasts a 2019 growth forecast of 10.02 percent, which is the highest of any destination in the top 10.

Istanbul is the second Turkish city to make the top 10 for 2018 after seeing 13.4 million tourists pass through last year, staying an average of 5.8 nights and spending approximately $106 per day. The future is bright for this Eurasian hotspot as its popularity is forecast to grow 8.14 percent this year.

New York City was the most-visited U.S. city last year with 13.6 million international overnight visitors arriving for an average length of stay of 7.9 nights. The Big Apple is projected to experience growth of only 2.94 percent this year though so it might not be long before it slides in the overall rankings.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia topped NYC with 13.79 million international arrivals in 2018 and it might not be long before the booming metropolis makes its way into the top five since it's projected to grow 9.87 percent in 2019. Only Tokyo fares better in that area.

Singapore hosted 14.67 million overseas tourists last year and is poised to continue its ascent as its 4 percent growth forecast for 2019 is the highest of any city in the top five. Singapore also ranked fourth overall for 2018 international overnight visitor spend with $16.56 billion.

Dubai tops the list for average visitor spend and it's not even close with tourists shelling out roughly $553 per day for a total of $30.82 billion in 2018. However, the 15.93 million international overnight visitors only stayed 3.5 nights on average and the city's growth forecast for 2019 is just 1.68 percent, the lowest of any destination in the top 10.

There's quite a jump from fourth to third with London reporting 19.09 million international overnight visitors last year, over 3 million more than Dubai. However, London was the only city in the top 10 not to experience an increase in visitors, rather seeing a nearly 4 percent decline compared to 2017.

Paris narrowly edges London, hosting 19.1 million overnight visitors in 2018 to climb into second place. Nonetheless, the City of Lights is only expected to experience growth of 2.24 percent this year. While Paris' average spend per day of $296 is second to only Dubai among cities in the top 10 the average length of stay is only 2.5 nights, the lowest among the 10 most-visited destinations.

Bangkok remains the world's most-visited city after hosting more than 22 million international overnight visitors in 2018. That's over 3 million more than Paris and London. Still, the destination, which has ranked first six out of the last seven years, shows no signs of slowing as it's forecasted to grow by 3.34 percent in 2019. It should also be noted that Bangkok, London and Paris have comprised the top three in some order every year since 2010.