The 2014 MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index has announced that Lagos is the fourth most visited destination city in Africa by the international community.
According to the index, 1.3 million international overnight visitors are expected to visit Lagos this year, up 5.8 percent from the 1.25 million international visitors who visited the city in 2013. Lagos ranks ahead of Casablanca (989,219), Durban (890,178), Accra (842,414) and Nairobi (619,506) among others in terms of forecasted international overnight visitors.
International visitors to Lagos are expected to spend US$710 million in 2014, up 3.8 percent from last year’s US$684 million. The city ranks fifth in Africa in terms of overall visitor expenditure below Johannesburg (US$3.20 billion), Cape Town (US$2.25 billion), Cairo (US$804 million) and Casablanca (US$737 million).
“The impacts of travel are very significant from a business, social, and cultural perspective. International visitor spending constitutes an increasingly important source of business revenue in leading cities around the world, encompassing the hospitality, retail, transport, sports and culture industries, among many others, and Lagos welcomes its growth,” says Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice President and Area Business Head, MasterCard in West Africa.
