Bangkok on top of Global Destination Cities

BANGKOK, November 29 (TNA) - Bangkok has become top of global destination cities where most international tourists visited in 2016, the championship of its kind the Thai capital has won for the second consecutive year. Bangkok Governor Police General Asawin Kwanmuang received the honorary plaque of the top global city, based on the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index (GDCI) Survey 2017, from Donald Ong, the Country Manager for Thailand and Myanmar of the Mastercard, on November 28. The Bangkok governor, who welcomed the country manager for Thailand and Myanmar of the Mastercard at the City Hall, vowed after receiving the plaque of honor that his Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will carry on implementing strict measures on taking good care of the life and assets of people living and visiting the city. The governor stressed that BMA will continue to closely work together with the Metropolitan Police Bureau on the mission, especially during the upcoming Christmas and New Year 2018 celebrations. The Bangkok governor said, as Thailand's cuisine and street food have become globally popular for their good tastes, he has, thus, ordered the BMA's Health Department to regularly inspect and control the quality of restaurants, as well as food shops and stalls in the capital to ensure that their hygienic conditions meet international standards and their prices are reasonable. Besides, relevant agencies under the City Hall have been instructed to ensure that there are no profiteering and other unfair advantages taken against local consumers and international visitors by goods and service shops and restaurants in the city, in which price lists in the Thai and English languages and Mandarin are required. According to the governor, more tourist sites in Bangkok will be introduced in the near future, including a new walking street along the Ong Ang Canal, which, he believed, would uphold the Thai capital's status as the champion of global destination cities where most international tourists visit for the third consecutive year in 2018. Based on the Mastercard GDCI Survey 2017, the top 10 global cities where most international tourists visited in 2016 included Bangkok (19.41 million), London (19.06 million), Paris (15.45 million), Dubai (14.87 million), Singapore (13.11 million), New York (12.70 million), Seoul (12.39 million), Kuala Lumpur (11.28 million), Tokyo (11.15) and Istanbul (9.16 million). The Mastercard GDCI Survey 2017 also found that Bangkok was among the world's top five cities where most international tourists stayed and spent their money on goods and services in 2016 at about 14.08 billion US dollars, with 88.6 per cent of them saying they visited the capital for recreation and city tours, followed by their business purposes at 11.4 per cent. (TNA)