by Melani Manel Perera

For the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index, Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, ranks as the fastest growing destination. Almost all of the top ten destinations are in Asia. For economic experts, there is additional room for growth.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – Colombo, in Sri Lanka, leads the pack as the fastest growing city in terms of international overnight visitor numbers, this according to the annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index.

Released yesterday, the survey found nine of the top 10 fastest growing cities during the period of 2009 – 2015 were in Asia, including two in the Middle East.

The findings of the credit card giant show that Asia-Pacific region is booming, including in the tourist and travel industries. More and more Asian destinations are drawing a growing number of visitors. And the rate of growth does not appear to slowing down.

For Vikas Verma, the MasterCard South Asia Executive Director, "Colombo's ranking as the fastest growing city on MasterCard's latest Global Destination Cities Index reflects the rising appeal of Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. Having been in the market for over 25 years, MasterCard sees great potential in the Island nation.”

The end of the country’s civil war is one of the factors that boosted the tourist sector. Most Sri Lankans, especially the business community, credit former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for establishing peace as a prerequisite for subsequent economic development, driven among others by the tourism industry.

Among the Index top ten fastest growing cities, after Colombo (21.1 per cent over a year), we find Chengdu (20.7 per cent), Osaka (19.8 per cent), Xi An (16.2 per cent), and Taipei (14.9 per cent).

In terms of international overnight visitors, Bangkok has retained its position at number two with 18.24 million and is catching up with top-ranked city, London. Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Hong Kong round off the top ten.

“Against a background of generally weak global economic growth and anemic pace of exports, a vibrant tourism sector is providing a powerful boost to income and job creation in Asia Pacific,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, chief economist and chairman of the MasterCard Centre for Inclusive Growth Academic Advisory Council.

“As the MasterCard's latest Global Destination Cities Index shows, Asian cities dominate among the leading destinations in the world,” Hedrick-Wong added.

“Even more astonishing is that seven out of the world's top 10 fastest growing destination cities are in Asia Pacific, which is a strong leading indicator of their continuing outstanding performance in the years to come."

• asia
• tourist
• destinations
• sri
• lanka
• colombo
• growth