Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a must-see tourist attraction for foreign visitors in Chengdu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chengdu, Xi'an and Taipei witnessed significant growth in international tourist visits between 2009 and this year, and rank among the fastest-growing destinations worldwide.

Against the backdrop of Chinese outbound tourists pushing robust tourism growth across the globe, the top 10 destinations in China will receive more than 21 million visitors this year, according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, released on Tuesday.

Visitors to Chengdu during the seven years have more than tripled and it is expected that tourists will increase from 480,000 in 2009 to 1.49 million this year.

Colombo, capital and largest city in Sri Lanka, topped the list of the fastest-growing destinations worldwide.

Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have become the major source of inbound tourists to five among the top 20 cities globally which are Bangkok, Seoul, Singapore, Los Angeles and New York. Chinese tourists' average spend was $1,957, with the lowest level in Bangkok and the highest in New York.