June 12, 2012

Tel Aviv ranked in fifth among the most visited cities in the Middle East and Africa, according to MasterCard’s Worldwide Index of Global Destination Cities. The index analyzes visitor traffic and travel spending in 132 of the world’s most important cities.

The report shows that some 2.5 million tourists will stop over in Tel Aviv this year – spending some $3.5 billion.

According to the Index, the overall travel and tourism picture is rosy. The report stated that despite a challenging economic environment, international visitor numbers are projected to increase.

“In spite of the ups and downs of the business cycle, the overall pattern is clear: cross-border travel by air is a resilient trend,” said Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, global economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide and author of the report.

The regional outlook for the Middle East and Africa is just as bright, with visitor numbers for the Top 10 cities set to grow by over seven percent.

For its second year in a row, London topped the world’s cities by visitor numbers globally with a predicted 16.9 million visitors this year. The Top Five world destinations included Paris(16 million inbound passengers), Bangkok (12.2 million visitors), Singapore (11.8 million visitors) and Istanbul (11.6 million visitors).