Romania’s capital ranks low among international travel destinations, according to this year’s edition of MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index.

Bucharest ranks 81st out of 132 cities while London tops the list for the fifth time in seven years. At a European level, Romania's capital is at number 28, up one position from last year.

The study estimates that Bucharest will attract 1.02 million international visitors this year, 5.2% more than in 2014. They will spend a total of USD 287 million during their stay, up 2.4% year-on-year. Last year, a visitor spent an average of USD 281 in Bucharest.

According to the study, London will receive 18.82 million international visitors in 2015. The top five is completed by Bangkok (18.24 million), Paris (16.06 million), Dubai (14.26 million) and Istanbul (12.56 million). New York, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul are also projected to welcome over 10 million international visitors this year.

It is estimated that nearly 383 million overnight trips will be made by international visitors between the Index’s 132 cities in 2015, who will spend a total of USD 360 billion during their visits.

The Global Destinations Cities Index provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com