London has topped Mastercard's annual Global Destination Index as the world's most visited city for the second year in a row.
The UK capital is projected to receive 18.8 million international visitors in 2015.
It has been hailed the destination of choice for international travellers five times in the past seven years.
The top three cities in the ranking of the 132 most-travelled to urban destinations remain the same - London; Bangkok, with 18.2 million anticipated visitors this year; and Paris, with 16.1 million projected visitors.
Dubai came fourth with 14.3 million visitors and Istanbul fifth with 12.6 million.
London's top five feeder cities for flights are New York, Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, and Stockholm, respectively.
The top ten cities in terms of international overnight visitors (with last year's positions in brackets) are:
- London (1)
- Bangkok (2)
- Paris (3)
- Dubai (5)
- Istanbul (7)
- New York (6)
- Singapore (4)
- Kuala Lumpur (8)
- Seoul (10)
- Hong Kong (9)
Ann Cairns, Mastercard's president of international markets, said: "This year's study helps us understand just how interconnected the world's cities are [and] the significant role they play in connecting and empowering greater numbers of people than ever before."
Graham Smith
