LAGOS has emerged as the fourth most visited destination city in Africa, according to the 2014 MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index. According to the index, 1.3 million international overnight visitors are expected to visit Lagos this year, up by 5.8 percent from the 1.25 million international visitors who visited the city in 2013. Lagos ranks ahead of Casablanca (989,219), Durban (890,178), Accra (842,414) and Nairobi (619,506) among others in terms of forecasted international overnight visitors. International visitors to Lagos are expected to spend US$710 million in 2014, up by 3.8 percent from last years US$684 million. The city ranks fifth in Africa in terms of overall visitor expenditure below Johannesburg (US$3.20 billion), Cape Town (US$2.25 billion), Cairo (US$804 million) and Casablanca (US$737 million). The impacts of travel are very significant from a business, social, and cultural perspective. International visitor spending constitutes an increasingly important source of business revenue in leading cities around the world, encompassing the hospitality, retail, transport, sports and culture industries, among many others, and Lagos welcomes its growth, says Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head, MasterCard in West Africa. Now in its fourth year, the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks 132 cities in terms of the number of their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these same visitors in the destination cities. It also gives visitor and passenger growth forecasts for 2014. The 13 African cities ranked in the Index are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis. As the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria continues to attract international investment from companies in diverse sectors. Lagos, which is the most populous city in Africa, is listed as the second most attractive destination on the continent for retail sector investors, according to the 2014 Africa Retail Development Index. Nigerias recent GDP rebasing reveals that the country is the largest economy in Africa, and the 26th largest in the world, with a GDP of $510 billion. The increase in international visitors signals income generation for Lagos, and is becoming a major economic growth engine, adds Ojomuyide South African cities Johannesburg and Cape Town come in at first and second place as the most popular destination cities by international overnight visitors, attracting 4.2 million and 1.6 million visitors in 2014. Cairo in Egypt (1.35 million) and Casablanca in Morocco (982,219) occupy third and fifth place on the index in terms of international visitor numbers. The worlds top destination cities For the third time in four years, London is the destination of choice for travellers. London will receive 18.7 million international visitors in 2014, followed by Bangkok (16.4 million), Paris (15.6 million), Singapore (12.5 million) and Dubai (11.9 million). These cities are benefiting from the surge in international travel fuelled by an expanding middle class, innovations in luxury travel and the rising need for business travel. The global travel sector has been supported by the significant developments in the electronic payments sphere, and we see more consumers taking advantage of programs and offers that make international travel more achievable and hassle free. MasterCard continues to work with partners to bring travellers secure and convenient payment options and contribute towards the development of a transformative electronic payments ecosystem to facilitate this, Ojomuyide said.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:34:48 +0000
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