Nairobi has been named one of the most popular destination cities in Africa, standing in the 8^th position among the top 10 international visitors to the Middle East and Africa. This was revealed in the 2012 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index.  

The Index, now in its second year, revealed that a projected 1.8 million visitors are expected to visit Nairobi in 2012, injecting an estimated USD 1.5 billion into the city’s economy. This could translate into a 10 per cent growth in visitor numbers and a 16.7 per cent growth in visitor spending over the 2011 Index results.

East Africa and India Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide vice president and market manager, Charlton Goredema, stated that, “A key finding in the Index is that Nairobi ranks fourth out of 13 cities surveyed in Africa – both in terms of visitor numbers and visitor spending – highlighting its status as the financial heart of the East Africa region and a significant African economic hub. In addition, the noteworthy 16.7 per cent growth in projected visitor spending for Nairobi sees the city ranked in the 10^th position globally among the fasted growing destination cities examined in the Index.”

The three cities where the index forecasts most visitors to Nairobi will originate from are London (203,000 people), Amsterdam (149,000 people) and Johannesburg (138,000 people). Visitors from London are expected to spend USD 339 M, those from Amsterdam are expected to spend USD 118 M while those from Johannesburg are expected to spend USD 138 M.

Global economic advisor for the MasterCard Worldwide and author of the report, Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, observes that the rise in cashless payments preference by travelers will force businesses within Nairobi to embrace cashless payment preferences if they are to benefit from the projected 16.7 per cent growth in traveler spending in the coming year.

The Index is used as a barometer for understanding the global economy and the dynamic flow of commerce across the world. It ranks 132 global cities by their total international visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these visitors in the destination cities.

The 8th place ranking reflects a drop from last year's rankings where Nairobi stood at 7th place.

Thirteen of these 132 destination cities are in Africa. These include: Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Beira, Cape Town, Dakar, Durban, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis.

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