I’ve lived in London, Hong Kong and San Francisco. At certain times during the year I found myself with a heightened sense of awareness as tourists descended upon the cities, stopping abruptly to take a photo or to pull out their phone to get their bearings.
I’m almost positive these cities are amongst the most popular with tourists, but I can’t be sure. Cue this post.
Methodology
The following analysis uses visitor data sourced from www.farandwide.com.
Results
Top 50 attractions by visitor numbers
| Annual visitor rank | Attraction | City | Country | Annual visitors (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Nagashima Spa Land | Kuwana | Japan | 5.8 |
| 48 | Universal Studios Hollywood | Los Angeles | USA | 5.9 |
| 48 | Palace of Versailles | Paris | France | 5.9 |
| 47 | Bourbon Street | New Orleans | USA | 6 |
| 45 | Museum of Modern Art | New York | USA | 6.1 |
| 45 | Universal Studios Orlando | Florida | USA | 6.1 |
| 43 | Lincoln Memorial | Washington | USA | 6.2 |
| 43 | Lake Mead | Nevada | USA | 6.2 |
| 41 | British Museum | London | England | 6.7 |
| 41 | Disney Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 6.7 |
| 39 | Lotte World | Seoul | South Korea | 6.8 |
| 39 | Everland Resort | South Korea | South Korea | 6.8 |
| 36 | National Air and Space Museum | Washington | USA | 7 |
| 36 | Eiffel Tower | Paris | France | 7 |
| 36 | Victoria Peak | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 7 |
| 35 | Ocean Park Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 7.4 |
| 34 | Disney California Adventure Park | Anaheim | USA | 7.7 |
| 33 | Islands of Adventure, Universal | Orlando | USA | 7.9 |
| 32 | Smithsonian National Museum of History | Washington | USA | 8 |
| 31 | Sydney Opera House | Sydney | Australia | 8.2 |
| 30 | Pier 39 | San Francisco | USA | 8.5 |
| 28 | South Street Seaport | New York | USA | 9 |
| 28 | Great Wall of China | Beijing | China | 9 |
| 26 | Navy Pier | Chicago | USA | 9.2 |
| 26 | Musée du Louvre | Paris | France | 9.2 |
| 25 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | Tennessee | USA | 9.6 |
| 24 | Universal Studios Japan | Osaka | Japan | 9.7 |
| 22 | Disney Hollywood Studios | Bay Lake | USA | 9.9 |
| 22 | Disney’s Animal Kingdom | Orlando | USA | 9.9 |
| 20 | Pike Place Market | Seattle | USA | 10 |
| 20 | Plaza de la Constitución | Mexico City | Mexico | 10 |
| 19 | Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 10.1 |
| 18 | Sacre Coeur | Paris | France | 10.5 |
| 17 | Epcot Park | Orlando | USA | 11 |
| 16 | Disneyland Paris | Paris | France | 11.2 |
| 15 | Tokyo Disney Sea | Tokyo | Japan | 12.6 |
| 14 | Golden Gate Park | San Francisco | USA | 13 |
| 13 | Notre-Dame Cathedral | Paris | France | 13.6 |
| 12 | Tokyo Disney Resort | Tokyo | Japan | 14.8 |
| 11 | Grand Bazaar | Istanbul | Turkey | 15 |
| 10 | Forbidden City | Beijing | China | 15.3 |
| 9 | Disneyland Park | Anaheim | USA | 15.9 |
| 8 | Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom | Orlando | USA | 17.5 |
| 7 | Faneuil Hall | Boston | USA | 18 |
| 6 | Grand Central Station | New York | USA | 21.6 |
| 5 | Niagara Falls | USA and Canada | USA, Canada | 22.5 |
| 4 | Union Station | Washington | USA | 32.8 |
| 3 | Central Park | New York | USA | 37.5 |
| 2 | Times Square | New York | USA | 39.2 |
| 1 | The Strip | Las Vegas | USA | 39.6 |
Countries with the most attractions in the top 50
27 of the top 50 attractions are in the US, cumulatively attracting 379 million visitors each year — this is more visitors than all other countries attractions in the top 50 put together!
tl;dr
9 of the top 10 attractions around the world are in the United States, with The Strip in Las Vegas topping the list. In total 27 of the top 50 attractions are in the US, cumulatively attracting 379 million visitors each year.
Get the Data
Get all the data used in this blog post on Google Sheets.