Some are attracted by warm countries, others prefer the dynamic and adventurous life of large cities in return, and still others are served sea cruises or the conquest of mountain peaks. Now the whole world is open to travelers, so you can explore it more freely than ever before, and with greater safety.
The global tourism industry is rapidly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, with international travelers projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time next year. And many will face the question: where to go? We bring to your attention a small overview of the most popular tourist destinations as of the beginning of 2024.
When selecting countries, we paid attention to the volume of inbound and outbound tourism, the number of attractions and the degree of their accessibility, the level of the country's income from receiving guests.
France
One of the largest and most influential European countries is also a global leader in tourism. For many years, it was known as a trendsetter in everything, from literature to the choice of ways to cut off the heads of unwanted kings. There are 50 World Heritage Sites, dozens of times more magnificent monuments, many objects of not cultural, but natural heritage - from the chalk cliffs of Normandy to the Jura Mountains and from the lavender fields of Provence to the hills of Picardy.
The French have always been able to live beautifully, interestingly, and, as far as possible, luxuriously. Thousands of palaces and castles, each with its own amazing and unique history, magnificent museums, monuments - everything that you have probably seen in magazines and guidebooks, television films and TV series, that you have read about from the pages of books. Of course, the main pearl is Paris, but the rest of France definitely deserves the most detailed study - from the gorgeous beaches of the Côte d'Azur and the capital of the Cannes film festival to ancient Brittany, original Corsica or Burgundy with its wines.
Another argument in favor of France is the cuisine. It is often written that it can be folk and high. French cuisine is amazing, diverse and original, thousands of recipes for every taste and budget will not leave anyone indifferent. Is it surprising that it was the French who first came up with gastrotourism?
Spain
Another pearl of the European continent, a country with a difficult history, full of conquests, adventures, romance and madness. Once upon a time, Spanish infantry conquered Europe, and pot-bellied galleons brought all the riches of the world here - and now you can see what is left in Madrid and Cadiz, Barcelona and Leon.
However, there is something to see in Madrid even without the treasures looted from the American Indians and the aborigines of the Philippines. Paintings by Titian and Velázquez, depicting the Spanish Golden Age for posterity, masterpieces of architecture, numerous monuments, products of local artisans are traditionally in high demand.
The second most popular destination is, of course, Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona. Of course, people come here to see the Sagrada Familia, but there are other masterpieces by Gaudí in the city and its environs.
To digest all this, you need to eat a hearty and tasty diet! There will be no problems with this: in Spain, there is not one, but a dozen and a half original regional cuisines (they have many languages, and a native of Galicia understands a Catalan in two words to the third...).
Mexico
If you have already visited Old World Spain, perhaps you should try New Spain? Thus, in the XVII-XVIII centuries, Mexico was called under the scepter of the most Christian kings. The local culture is an amazing and eclectic mix of Spanish (primarily Castilian) and original Indian (primarily wise Mayans and bloodthirsty Aztecs). From the Catholics, the Mexicans inherited fatalism, and from the Indians, a fraternal relationship with death. It is honored and respected here, magnificently celebrating the Day of the Dead and carefully preserving the memory of the bloody customs of their distant ancestors.
Speaking of ancestral heritage... For centuries, the Spaniards have been trying to eradicate the memory of ancient pagan cults, but they did not succeed and decided to knock out wedge by wedge, using objects of the pre-colonial era for their own purposes, making it possible to preserve many monuments for posterity. For monuments in the natural environment, you need to go to Yucatan and Quintana Ro, where there are Aztec and Mayana pyramids literally at every step, but this is quite dangerous. For the lazy and cautious, the best specimens were collected at the National Anthropological Museum of Mexico City.
At the same time, we should not forget that Mexico is a country of two oceans, and the resorts of this country, if in some ways inferior to European or Middle Eastern ones, are only in prices and pathos.
United States
America is a country of great opportunities and amazing diversity, in each state and town you can find something different here. In one case, it's an old Civil War fort or a natural history museum with a unique, unparalleled piece of mammoth excrement (for small American towns, having something of your own, the most important, is just a must-have!), just a beautiful stone, a burger festival or a car dump.
A special pride of Americans is entertainment tourism; Americans do not like to just look at static sights, they prefer to take part in some events or activities. Festivals, holidays, concerts - this is the essence of the local travel format.
But of course, there is no need to write off the natural beauty, because the country is very different and very beautiful, in all its diversity - from Alaska to the scorched deserts of Utah and Nevada, from ocean to ocean.
In addition to it, in the midst of all this splendor, the skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, Boston and San Francisco, the city-states of universities, phantasmagoric factories and scientific centers — and, of course, the dream factory of Hollywood — rise like battlements.
Greece
The Greeks, one might say, gave us all, the civilization. Once upon a time, the ships of local sailors ploughed the Mediterranean and Black Seas, spreading the grains of their colonies to dozens of foreign shores.
Greece is a small country in the southern Balkans, plus several thousand large and small islands scattered off the coast. The most popular destination for tourists here is, of course, Athens. An ancient capital city with dozens of museums (and an open-air museum of sorts!) where everything from the majestic ruins of the Parthenon to the last chair in the city's tavern is steeped in ancient history.
What else should you look at in Greece? You may like Mycenae or Sparta; If not, we advise you to turn your gaze to the islands. The Greeks have almost one and a half thousand of them, of which only 180 are inhabited, although the rest have something to look at. Each island has its own specifics, its own heritage and its own places prayed for by tourists.
Finally, four hundred local beaches can boast of the highest profile award, the so-called Blue Flag. The Blue Flag is like an Oscar statuette, only from the world of beaches.
