Travel News: Most Visited Tourist Attractions
Forbes Magazine conducts elaborate searches and surveys in order to
rank various subjects such as "World's most expensive hotels,"
"most visited U.S. cities," "best beaches," "best
boutique hotels," etc., and we are fascinated with what makes
the list. Sometimes surprised, sometimes not. Sometimes they miss
a spot we've been to and love. In their "best beaches,"
we did not see any mention of the beaches in French Polynesia, which
happen to be among our favorite. Their rankings include night life,
which may be why Tahiti is missing. It's somewhat quiet there, thank
God.
Image is a determining factor to a city's appeal. Sights such as The
Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty will always draw crowds, but
increasingly, marketing destinations is now more about how a destination
will make you "feel" when you visit, about amenities that
will, perhaps, change your life even if only for a weekend, i.e. Las
Vegas -- which primarily used to be a gambling destination is now
about playing hard and "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
Here is a recent list of the Most Visited Tourist Attractions:
1. Times Square, New York City
2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C.
3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Florida
4. Trafalgar Square, London, England
5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, California
6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York
7. Fisherman’s Wharf/GGNRA, San Francisco
8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea
9. Notre Dame de Paris
10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude