Bangkok has been named the world’s best city for tourism, based on the MasterCard Worldwide Global Destination Cities Index 2013 survey collected from 132 countries.

The survey indicated that Thai people’s hospitality and kindness are the main factors for this top ranking.

Matthew Driver, the President for Southeast Asia at MasterCard Inc, presented the world’s top travel award to Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra at the St.Regis Hotel, Bangkok , on May 27.

According to Driver, the ranking is based on the number of international visitor arrivals and their spending, excluding airfare, in each of the 132 destination cities.

Bangkok beat out London , Paris , Singapore and New York , which came in second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

A noticeable trend in this year's report is the dominance of the Asia-Pacific region. Of the 132 cities ranked, 42 are in Asian countries. Bangkok topped the list, followed by Singapore , Kuala Lumpur , Hong Kong, Seoul , Shanghai , and Tokyo .

It is also expected that fast growing Asian cities such as the Arab Emirates and Istanbul may rise forward ahead of Singapore , New York and Paris by the year 2016.

Governor Sukhumbhand said he felt great joy in representing Bangkokians in receiving the title for the world's top tourist city, which marked the first time an Asian city has been selected as the top-ranked tourist destination.-VNA