[THE INVESTOR] Seoul will be Asia-Pacific region’s fifth most visited city in 2016, with foreign visitors spending US$12.5 billion, MasterCard’s analysis showed on June 27.

According to MasterCard’s analysis, about 10.2 million foreigners will visit Seoul throughout the year, and their spending in the city will come in at about US$12.5 billion.

In terms of the number of visitors, Korea’s capital will be the region’s fifth most visited city, and fourth in terms of money spent by visitors. The top city in terms of spending was predicted to be Bangkok with US$14.8 billion, followed by Tokyo with US$13.4 billion and Singapore with US$12.54 billion.

Of the 10.2 million foreign visitors expected in Seoul, MasterCard projected that 50.5 percent will be Chinese, while Japanese and US nationals would account for 10.1 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)