The rankings have been based in terms of total number of international overnight arrivals, number of nights spent at each destination and cross-border spending, according to Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017. (Reuters)

Mumbai and Chennai have been named among the top 20 tourist destinations in the Asia Pacific region, says a report. The rankings have been based in terms of total number of international overnight arrivals, number of nights spent at each destination and cross-border spending, according to Mastercard Asia Pacific Destinations Index 2017.

Overall, Bangkok remains the most visited destination in Asia Pacific in the list of 171 destinations across 22 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

“2016 was an exciting year for tourism in Asia Pacific. Fuelled by increasing consumer wealth amongst Asia Pacific’s emerging markets, the region’s thriving tourism industry continues to show vigorous progress, the report said.

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“It is the world’s fastest growing region for international tourism by GDP contribution, with tourism making up 8.5 per cent of Asia Pacific’s GDP and 8.7 per cent of total employment last year,” it added.

With 5.2 million international overnight arrivals, Chennai ranked at 14th place, while Mumbai bagged the 15th spot with 4.9 million arrivals.

In terms of total night spent, Mumbai ranked at 13th place with tourists stayed for 30.7 million nights in 2016, while Chennai was at 15th position with 29.6 million nights. Chennai has been ranked 13th with an expenditure of $4.6 billion by international tourists, and Mumbai stood at 15th place with $4.4 billion spend.

Overall, overnight arrivals to the 171 Asia Pacific destinations in 2016 stood at 339.2 million led by Bangkok which attracted 19.3 million visitors. Singapore (13.1 million) came in second place, followed by Tokyo (12.6 million), Seoul (12.4 million) and Kuala Lumpur (11.3 million).

In 2016, visitors to the region stayed for a total of 1,768.7 million nights. Bangkok took the lead with 87.6 million nights followed by Sydney (87.5 million), Kuala Lumpur (76.7 million), Tokyo (74.3 million) and Melbourne (62.9 million).

Overall tourism expenditure in the Asia Pacific region stood at $244.9 billion. The top 20 source markets contributed USD 201.5 billion to the region’s tourism revenues in 2016.

When it comes to overall spending, Singapore attracted the highest spending visitors at $254 per day, followed by Beijing ($242), Shanghai ($234), Hong Kong ($211)) and Taipei ($208).

“This growth provides significant opportunities which governments, tourism bodies, and merchants can benefit from, including greater economic, cultural and infrastructural development.

“To ensure sustainable growth, public and private sectors are working to create more welcoming spaces for visitors and residents alike – as well as more seamless ways to get around destinations,” the report noted.