• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Barcelona Airport Logo Image

Barcelona Airport

Main navigation

  • Home
  • At the Airport
    • Coffee Shops
    • Shopping
    • Restaurants
    • Check-In
    • Disabled Facilities
    • VIP Lounges
    • Wi-Fi Internet
  • Flights
    • Arrivals
    • Departures
  • Car Hire
  • Hotels
  • Parking
  • Transfers
  • Transportation
  • Area Guides
    • Barcelona City
    • Sitges
    • Region of Cataluña
  • Map
  • News

Barcelona Ranked Among Top Global Destinations

September 5, 2019 By Peter Leonard

Two Spanish destinations have been included in the latest Global Destination Cities Index compiled by Mastercard. Barcelona is 17th on a 2019 list headed by Bangkok for a fourth consecutive year, while Palma de Mallorca is 18th.  

The index ranks 200 cities based on proprietary analysis of publicly available visitor volume and spend data. In 2018, Bangkok had 22.78 million overnight visitors, followed by Paris and London (who changed positions this year) holding number two and three spots with 19.10 million and 19.09 million visitors, respectively.

Barcelona panorama at night
Photo by Joel Tasche on Unsplash

According to Mastercard, all top 10 cities welcomed more international overnight visitors in 2018 compared with the previous year (apart from London, which decreased nearly four per cent). The 2019 forecast indicates across-the-board growth, with Tokyo expecting the largest boost in visitors. 

“Over the past 10 years,” notes Mastercard, “the world has seen economic ebbs and flows, evolving global competition and partnership, and boundless technological innovation. But one thing has remained constant: people’s growing desire to travel the world, visit new landscapes and immerse themselves in other cultures.” 

Each year, says Diana Muñoz Robino, senior vice president of global tourism partnerships for Mastercard, more people are travelling internationally and spending more in the cities. Between all of the destinations within the index, arrivals have grown on average 6.5 per cent year-over-year since 2009, with expenditure growing an average of 7.4 per cent.

“While there has been significant movement in visitors to smaller cities, the top 10 has remained largely consistent. London, Paris, and Bangkok have been the top three since 2010, with Bangkok as number one six of the past seven years. New York is another top 10 stalwart, with 13.6 million overnight visitors.

Iconic Barcelona skyline
Photo by Arturo Martínez on Unsplash

“Cities in Asia-Pacific have seen the largest increase in international travellers since 2009, growing 9.4 per cent. In comparison, Europe, which saw the second highest growth, was up 5.5 per cent. This is spurred on by the growth in mainland Chinese travellers. Since 2009, mainland China has jumped six places to be the number two origin country for travellers to the 200 included destinations – behind only the U.S (10 per cent of share contribution).” Spain is 13th on this list, with a 1.8 per cent share. 

For more insight into why Barcelona is such an attractive destination for international travellers, check out our Area Guides.

Top 10 Global Destinations

  1. Bangkok
  2. Paris
  3. London
  4. Dubai
  5. Singapore
  6. Kuala Lumpur
  7. New York
  8. Istanbul
  9. Tokyo
  10. Antalya

Number of travellers: Barcelona (17th) – 9.09 million; Palma de Mallorca (18th) – 8.96 million 

Top 10 Countries of Origin

  1. United States
  2. Mainland China
  3. Germany
  4. United Kingdom
  5. France
  6. South Korea
  7. Japan
  8. Canada
  9. Russia
  10. Australia

Top 3 destinations for…

U.S. travellers: Cancun, Toronto and London

U.K. travellers: Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Dublin

Spanish travellers: Paris, London, Lisbon 

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

Bargain car hire - Best value car hire at Barcelona Airport

We have the best selection of great-value car hire optiond at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Find your ideal car hire deal today:



Compare car hire at Barcelona Airport - Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar and more

Search for more Barcelona Airport Car Hire options.

Need to hire a car?

Our car hire search engine finds you the best deals at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport.

Search for cars now...

Footer

Passenger Information

Arrivals
Departures
Check-In
Transfers
Transportation

Airport Information

Coffee Shops
Restaurants
Shopping
Disabled Facilities
Parking
Map

Site Information

Contact Us
Car Hire
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Advertise With Us

Copyright © 2023 · Business Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in