Tourism in Bangkok

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article is written like a travel guide. Please help improve the article by introducing an encyclopedic style or move the content to Wikivoyage. (March 2016) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tourism in Bangkok" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is one of the world's top tourist destination cities. Each year, approximately 22.7 million international visitors arrive in Bangkok.^[1] MasterCard ranked Bangkok as the world's top destination city (by international visitor arrivals in its Global Destination Cities Index), with 15.98 million projected visitors in 2013. It topped the MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index as the most visited city in the world in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018.^[2][3] The city is ranked fourth in cross-border spending, with 14.3 billion dollars projected for 2013, after New York, London and Paris.^[4] Euromonitor International ranked Bangkok sixth in its Top City Destinations Ranking for 2011.^[5] Bangkok has also been named "World's Best City" by Travel + Leisure magazine's survey of its readers for four consecutive years since 2010.^[6]

As the principal gateway for arriving visitors, Bangkok is visited by the majority of international tourists to the country. Domestic tourism is also prominent. The Department of Tourism recorded 26,861,095 Thai and 11,361,808 foreign visitors to Bangkok in 2010. Lodgings saw 15,031,244 guests, who occupied 49.9 percent of the city's 86,687 hotel rooms.^[7] Chinese visitors spend a lot of money and most goes to retailers in Bangkok. Chinese visitors stayed an average of one week in Thailand, spending US$1,000-1,300 each or US$167 per day each.^[8]

Bangkok's sights, attractions, and city life appeal to diverse groups of tourists. Royal palaces and temples as well as museums constitute its major historical and cultural tourist attractions. Shopping and dining experiences offer a range of choices and prices. The city is also famous for its nightlife. Although Bangkok's reputation for sex tourism is well established, it is downplayed by the government.