The cities with the most tourist expenses

26-01-24

• These projections are based on data from Statista and the World Travel and Tourism Council, indicating potential trends in international tourism spending between 2022 and 2032.

• Hong Kong is estimated to have the highest growth potential for international visitor spending, with a projected increase of 32 percent.

• Osaka and Tokyo in Japan are ranked fourth among destinations where international tourists are expected to spend more, with an anticipated increase of 23 percent each.

Hong Kong has been estimated to be the city with the highest growth potential for international visitor spending, as data by Statista and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) have revealed.

The data is based on calculations from 82 major tourism city destinations as well as estimates of the GDP and employment that is created by tourism in these destinations. In that case, Hong Kong is expected to have an increase of 32 percent in international spending growth, heading the list convincingly compared with other destinations across the Asian continent, VisaGuide.World reports.

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is the second destination that is expected to witness an increase in international tourism spending, which is anticipated to be up by 24 percent.

Statista’s data for 2022 shows that the share of domestic tourist expenditure in Indonesia compromises of accommodation (25.3 percent), transportation (20.9 percent), Food and beverages (17.7 percent) and shopping (8.3 percent), while the expenditure for other activities was around 27.6 percent. The average expenditure per visit for accommodation reached 614.12 thousand Indonesian rupiahs in that year, as 42,398 survey respondents pointed out.

Furthermore, the Japanese city of Osaka ranks fourth with an increase in international spending by 23 percent, the same as the capital, Tokyo, which ranks fourth among destinations where international tourists are expected to spend more in the next decade, with spending increasing by 23 percent.

This comes as big news for Japan, as data by Statista revealed that in 2021, foreign visitor spending contributed only one percent to the country’s tourism GDP. This can be related to the fact that COVID-19 restrictions were still in place. In 2019, foreign visitor spending to Japan was the highest – at 19 per cent, and is estimated to increase by another four percent by 2032.

The Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires is ranked fifth, with international spending increasing by 20 per cent in the period between 2022 and 2032. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, is growing at a similar rate – 20 percent, which seems to be set on recovering its 2018 tourism numbers.

    In 2018, the international overnight visitor spending in Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, was around 11.13 billion U.S. dollars. This ranks Kuala Lumpur as the 11th top city in terms of international overnight visitor spending. The top spot went to Dubai, with around 30.82 billion U.S. dollars in international visitor spending.

Jeddah, a city in Saudi Arabia that is popular for religious tourism, especially among Muslims, is anticipated to have an increase of 18 percent in international spending. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) ranks seventh with a 17 percent anticipated increase, followed by Bangkok (Thailand) with a 16 per cent increase, same as Lagos (Nigeria), which ranks tenth overall.