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Bangkok looks certain to pip London to the title of world's most popular city for travellers, with an estimated 21.47m international overnight visitors expected by the end of the year.

Mastercard's seventh annual Global Destinations Cities Index suggests the Thai capital will finish 2016 at the top for the second consecutive year, despite two deadly bombings in 2015.

See Also Bangkok travel guide

London is predicted to take second place, with 19.88m overseas arrivals, while Paris appears to have overcome fears of a tourist exodus in the aftermath of November's terrorist attacks, holding third place with 18.03m. Dubai and New York complete the top five.

Bangkok was the most visited city in 2012 and 2013, but London topped the annual rankings in 2014 and 2015. Paris held second place each year from 2012 to 2015, but has since fallen well behind the Thai and UK capitals.

The top 20 for 2016

Bangkok – 21.47m London – 19.88m Paris – 18.03m Dubai – 15.27m New York – 12.75m Singapore – 12.11m Kuala Lumpur – 12.02m Istanbul – 11.95m Tokyo – 11.70m Seoul – 11.20m Hong Kong – 8.37m Barcelona – 8.2m Amsterdam – 8m Milan – 7.65m Taipei – 7.35m Rome – 7.12m Osaka – 7.02m Vienna – 6.69m Shanghai – 6.12m Prague – 5.81m

See also: Twenty reasons to visit Bangkok

Which city is your favourite? Vote in our poll below.

The fastest-growing city with at least one million visitors is Osaka in Japan, the gateway to Kyoto. It is expected to welcome 7.02m foreign visitors in 2016, an increase of 24.15 per cent.

Chengdu, China's panda bear capital, Abu Dhabi, the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, and Tokyo, were among the other most rapidly-growing destinations.


The 20 fastest growing destinations

Osaka - 24.15% year-on-year increase Chengdu - 20.14% Abu Dhabi - 19.81% Colombo - 19.57% Tokyo - 18.48% Riyadh - 16.45% Taipei - 14.53% Xi'an - 14.20% Tehran - 12.98% Xiamen - 12.93% Jakarta - 12.89% Bangkok - 12.57% Hanoi - 11.64% Mumbai - 10.42% Lima - 9.86% Bogota - 9.61% Seoul - 9.49% Ho Chi Minh City - 9.22% Chennai - 9.15% Dubai - 9.07%

See also: Three-minute guide to Osaka

Regional rankings

Dubai is by far the most popular Middle Eastern or African destination, with 15.27m visitors expected in 2016. The next best is Riyadh, with 4.59m, followed by Johannesburg (3.6m), Abu Dhabi (3.14m) and Cairo (1.55m).

No Latin American or Caribbean cities made the global top 20. Lima is the most visited (4.03m), followed by Mexico City (2.98m), Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic (2.73m), Sao Paulo (2.30m) and Buenos Aires (2.02m).

In North America, New York's closest rival is Los Angeles, with 5.6m. Then comes Miami (5.24m), Toronto (4.52m) and San Francisco (3.93m).

What about day trippers?

The top 20 is transformed if one takes into account visitors who do not stay overnight, such as cruise ship passengers. Euromonitor's annual rankings do just that. Here are its figures for 2014, the latest available:

Hong Kong – 27.78m London – 17.38m Singapore – 17.09m Bangkok – 16.25m Paris – 14.98m Macau – 14.97m Dubai – 13.2m Shenzhen – 13.12m New York – 12.23m Istanbul – 11.87m Kuala Lumpur – 11.63m Antalya – 11.5m Seoul – 9.39m Rome – 8.78m Taipei – 8.62m Guangzhou – 8.2m Phuket – 8.12m Miami – 7.26m Pattaya – 6.43m Shanghai – 6.4m

See also: Twenty reasons to visit Hong Kong

The Telegraph, London

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