London tops list as most-visited international city in 2014

London has topped the list as most-visited city for international visitors in 2014, according to the latest MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index, released today.

This will boost the UK economy by £11b and see 18.7 million visitors come to the capital, the company has said. It is the second consecutive year that London has topped the list.

The figures put visitor numbers at 300,000 more than the next city on the list, Bangkok - whose tourists will spend just £7.6b in comparison.

Paris, Singapore and Dubai were also in the top five most-visited world cities.

Ann Cairns, president of International Markets, MasterCard, commented that the results showed that demand in international travel was still strong and that cities were still proving their importance as cultural and economic hubs.

She said: "For London in particular, being recognised once again for its place as the top destination will further boost this city's ability to continue to be a global leader, whether through hosting events that shine a spotlight on this city and draw in further investment, or inspiring those within to drive economic growth."

Marion King, president of MasterCard UK & Ireland, said that the figures showed that retailers and the tourism industry had a huge opportunity to keep pace with consumer demand.

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