Mumbai in India has been named one of the top cities in the world for travellers in 2016. The city receives the accolade in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2016, the highly anticipated collection of the world’s hottest trends, destinations and experiences for the year ahead. The bestselling, inspirational travel yearbook from the world’s leading travel authority highlights the top ten countries, cities and regions to visit in 2016.

According to the book, “2016 is set to be the year that this powerhouse of fashion, finance and film comes of age. With India predicted to overtake China as the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2016, Metro Mumbai is investing its wealth in an unprecedented phase of development and expansion.”

“The signs can be seen all over the city. Abandoned colonial cotton mills are finding new life as glitzy shopping arcades…Commuters speed above the streets in air-conditioned comfort on the new Mumbai Monorail. Even Bollywood has set its sights on global domination, meaning tourists are as likely to swoon as locals when spotting Shah Rukh Khan in the queue for lunch at the Olive Bar & Kitchen…Even arriving in Mumbai has been revitalised, with the creation of a gleaming new terminal at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.”

Sesh Seshadri, Director, Lonely Planet India, said, “There has never been any doubt about Mumbai’s appeal as a travel destination. But whereas people used to come to the city for Raj relics and temples; now it’s all about food, shopping and movie tours. This is Mumbai, upgraded. And that’s why it deserves to be recognised as one of the world’s most important destinations for travellers next year. ”

Mumbai featured sixth on the list of top cities for 2016, coming in ahead of Fremantle in Australia and Rome in Italy. Kotor in Montenegro took the top spot thanks to offering a “picture-perfect visage from virtually every angle”.

The destinations featured in the book are selected because they meet certain criteria; it could be that something special is going on in the year ahead or there’s been recent development and a lot of buzz about the place, that it offers travellers new things to see or do, or that the Lonely Planet team of experts thinks it’s been overlooked and underrated and suggests travellers visit before the crowds do.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2016 also contains 17 inspirational travel-themed lists, from the best value destinations for 2016, to the best animal adventures for families, the best places to seek silence and the best places to elope.

Selecting what to include in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel annual publication is a considered process involving the whole of Lonely Planet’s community: from its authors and editors all the way to its online family of bloggers and tweeters. Each year, they come up with hundreds of places that are not-to-be-missed. These are then whittled down by a panel of in-house travel experts who give each destination in the shortlist a score in line with criteria such as topicality, excitement and wow-factor.

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar