Istanbul will top the list of 132 cities whose tourism income will grow the fastest in 2011, expanding at 30.1 percent and reaching a level of $10.2 billion, according to a city index developed by MasterCard Worldwide.

The city’s tourism income will increase by 30.1 percent this year, according to the MasterCard Target Cities Index that was published on Saturday. In terms of tourism income growth rates, Istanbul is followed by Barcelona, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The index analyzes world renowned cities’ potential in tourism and tourism expenditures, including the increase in the number of visitors and in their expenditures in some 132 cities.

The income generated from Istanbul’s tourism by the end of the year will be $10.2 billion, according to the index that ranks the city in 12th place. London is expected to earn the largest tourism income in 2011 worth $25.6 billion. It is followed by New York, Paris, Bangkok and Frankfurt with $20.3, $14.6, $14.4 and $14 billion in revenue respectively.

The index predicts the total number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul in 2011 to reach 9.4 million, ahead of cities such as New York, Rome, Amsterdam and Milan. London is expected to attract the largest number of tourists with 20.1 million foreign visitors. It is followed by Paris and Bangkok with 11.5 and 11.4 million tourists respectively, whereas Istanbul is seventh on the list with 9.4 million visitors.

At a growing rate of 20.4 percent, Istanbul is the third city that will have the largest increase in its number of tourists compared to 2010. According to the index, the cities preceding Istanbul are Spain’s Barcelona and Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, with 24.3 and 21.8 percent increases in the number of tourists respectively.

Istanbul is a city on the rise due to its strategic geographic position between Europe and Asia, its rich history and cultural heritage, according to Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, one of the economic advisers of MasterCard Worldwide Global.

Public services will be key for generating income and employment in the future. Istanbul could become Turkey’s cradle for information on the economy and take advantage of innovative industries such as congress tourism, Wong said. “If the right investments are made and the right urbanization policies implemented ... investments will be highly cost-efficient in the future.”