The World's Top Tourist Attractions

Updated on 1 November 2017

Purpose

I use this to keep track of websites that provide lists to the most important tourist attractions around the world -- which I use for my work. I maintains this more like a webpage and will update it as I find resources to add. Suggestions are welcome.

Lists of theTop Tourist Attractions in the World

1 - Planetware - Attractions listed by country - based on Baedeker Guides, this may be the most complete list of top attractions (4 and 5 star-rated), listed by country, that is available anywhere. From this link, click on a country, then click on Top Attractions. For a more complete list (and alternative attractions) click on the Attractions link.

2 - World Tourist Attraction Guide - A fairly comprehensive list of major world tourist attractions by region. Also includes country information, contact addresses for additional tourist information, videos and photos of some destinations, and maps. Some areas may still be under construction.

3 - Hillman Wonders - World's Top 100 Wonders of the World - Also liste by country. Individual descriptions are provided for most sites.

4 - Sightsmap - A Google Map of the most photographed places on the internet. Zoom in at any scale to see the ten most photographed sites, which are frequently also the ten most popular or visited attractions. Zoom in even more to see actual photos.

5 - National Geographic's Destinations website - with travel guides organized by region and country.

Top Specialty and Niche Attractions

1. UNESCO World Heritage List - Even better is The Tentative List (on the sidebar menu of this site), which includes sites that countries plan to propose to the Heritage List in the future, and many of which are "undiscovered" by the mass tourism industry.Also on the sidebar menu is their World Heritage in Danger List.

2. Atlas Obscura - A listing of some of the more obscure (odd, unusual and often dark) attractions around the world.

3. Protected Planet - A Google Map showing protected natural areas of the world, with links to additional information.

Related Attraction Resources

1 - World Tourism Directory - Comprehensive list of tourism offices, tourism schools, country and attraction information, and more. Also try the UNWTO Membership Directory.

2 - Travel Photo Base.com - Annotated photos for a huge number of places around the US and the World. - Also see: Fotopedia.com, which seems to have become more popular in recent years.

Travelography #118: Travel Woes and the Jamaican Bobsled Returns

Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.

Stories discussed in this podcast are from the Travelography Twitter Blog for the week of 1 July 2008:

1. Car rental companies issue profit warning

   "...As with the entire industry, we are confronting rising fuel costs, weaker-than-expected enplanements, lower commercial travel volumes and lower time and mileage rates per day," said [the Avis Budget Group Inc] Chairman

2. Yellowstone reports record June visitation

   Visitation to Yellowstone National Park hit a new record in June, and is on a near-record pace for the first six months of the year. Park officials say Yellowstone recorded more than 612,000 recreational visits last month.

3. Rental Upgrade to Gas Guzzler? No T'anks

   When I went to the counter, they had upgraded me from a compact to a big SUV at the same price [as my compact reservation]. After arguing with the counter person, the manager came out...He then explained that all they had left were the big SUV.

4. China doubles the price of its tourist visas ahead of Olympics

   Many hotels in Beijing are struggling to find guests, some large travel agencies have temporarily closed branches, and people scheduled to travel here for seminars and conferences are cancelling...

5. Business Travel Coalition warns congress about airline industry failure

   "Unless something is done to move toward some kind of fix, we're going to see every one of our major airlines in bankruptcy....Virtually all airlines will be out of cash by early in 2009 if oil stays in its current range."

6. Canada's tourism industry on verge of crisis

   Many things have been blamed for recent downturn of the Canadian tourism industry including gas prices, the high Canadian dollar, the downturn in the U.S. economy, 9-11 and the SARS crisis.

7. New [US] Airline Passengers Rights Bill A Victory

   ...These plans must detail how the air carrier will provide food, water, restroom facilities, ventilation, and necessary medical treatment for passengers on board an aircraft that is on the ground for an extended time period without terminal access.

8. Bhutan increases tourism tariff for foreign tourists

   The country will increase daily tariff for tourists entering the country by US$50...from $200 to $250 [to offset the deline in the US$ and increase in tour operating costs]. However, the revised tariff will be applicable only during the peak seasons.

9. Australia | Desperately seeking a tourist trap

   Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has pilloried the previous government's "so where the bloody hell are you" tourism campaign, calling it a "rolled-gold disaster". Tourism Australia is expected to announce the name of the advertising agency this week that will...

10. TripAdvisor acquires VirtualTourist and OneTime

    TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel community and an operating company of Expedia, announced it has acquired VirtualTourist.com, Inc., a leader in user-generated travel content since 1999, and OneTime.com, Inc., a leader in travel booking comparison.

11. New Zealand tourism revenue hits record

    International tourism contributed $6.7 billion to total New Zealand exports, and domestic tourism expenditure was $8.6 billion, the agency said. International visitors increased 2.8 percent to 2.5 million in the year to March 2007...

12. Unique bobsled tourist attraction opens in Jamaica

    The expansive multi-million-dollar tourism attraction features an exciting and unique Jamaican Bobsled ride through the lush tropical forest, a chairlift journey over the verdant countryside, a zip-line canopy adventure through the treetops, an island...