Bangkok’s Grand Palace outpaces the Eiffel Tower, Egypt’s Great Pyramids and Rome’s Colosseum to make the list of the World’s 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions, according to leading travel magazine, Travel+Leisure. Based on the gate count, Bangkok’s Grand Palace draws eight million visitors a year making it the eighth most visited attraction in Asia and 40th in the magazine’s world’s top 50 list.
Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand said, “A listing among the World’s 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions illustrates how Bangkok’s iconic Grand Palace continues to inspire and appeal to international visitors.”
At the other end of the scale, the Grand Bazaar Istanbul, Turkey, topped the global list with an astonishing 91.25 million visits. The Zocalo in Mexico City was second generating 85 million visits and Times Square, New York City third with 50 million.
Results were based on either visitor ticket sales, or visit estimates sourced from attraction management, government agencies, industry reports and media. In most cases the study adopted the 2013 data.
Bangkok’s Grand Palace, built in 1782, is one of Thailand’s most revered heritage sites. It was the official residence and seat of government for monarchs of the Chakri Dynasty for over 150 years.
The iconic, riverfront palace shared the 40th place with two other attractions that claimed eight million annual visits; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC and Pier 39 in San Francisco.
