The Most Visited Country in the World is??
Each of us could take a guess at which countries in the world are the most visited but fortunately, we don’t have to. While the travel numbers for 2014 are not yet available, we do have visitor numbers for 2013 and the results are at least interesting if not surprising. According to this article, the top ten (beginning at the bottom) are…
- 10. Thailand
- 9. Russia
- 8. United Kingdom
- 7. Germany
- 6. Turkey
- 5. Italy
- 4. China
- 3. Spain
- 2. United States
While I would have thought that the USA would have been #1, they say that the top destination for travelers was France with nearly 85 million visitors. That figure is well in front of second place America who had less than 70 million.
Santé, France!
The top 10 is quite varied. I would have thought most of them would be from Europe since all EU countries utilize the euro and train travel is well established there. Given the weak euro as of late and the strong USD, hopefully more Americans will travel outside North/Central America this year.
I’m shocked that Japan didn’t make the list.
If France was a State of Europe, would it still be #1? Meaning, how many international tourists visited France excluding European national.
To get a better comparison, use NYC and Paris as an example and California and France.
New York, for instance gets almost 55 million tourists compared with 33 million for Paris and California gets 227 million tourists compared to 83 million for France.
Put it another way, France just benefits by being a small country and within Western Europe, which is a third the size of US and more populated.
France has been top of the list for years. I’m surprised the USA has climbed so high despite the unfriendly and intrusive “welcome” at its borders. That ranking is probably down to Mickey Mouse.
Expect Russia to be out of 10 this year. Speaking of “unfriendly”, what about those Russian customs!
Phuket, Thailand!!!! My husband and I went to Phuket last year. One place we really enjoyed was Phuket FantaSea. Every service area was beautiful and neat. The show was great. And continuing on the theme of buffet dinner, theirs was pretty good, with both Thai and international favorites. Particularly we liked their giant fish ball noodles. The price is 400Baht per person -, which is an upgrade on top of the show ticket, but it’s supposed to be the largest buffet restaurant in Asia. My husband and I do remember as one of our nicest outings in Phuket and do recommend it for its quality evening-into-the-night entertainment. Don’t miss it!
Phuket, Thailand!!!! If you never visited the island of Phuket I suggest you go to one glamorous place – Phuket FantaSea Thai Cultural Themepark. Very civilized place. They made me feel very special. The whole park was beautiful and offered a lot of Thai cultural things to see and do. The show was colourful, energetic, with beautiful costumes, lighting and breath-taking special effects. I really enjoyed the whole experience. It’s one of the places I recommend to visit when you’re in Phuket.