Current Events > London is a more popular tourist destination than any US city. Why is that?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Really weird as always assumed New York would be number 1 on the list! Also the US only has one city in the top 20 rankings. I honestly thought it would have more!

I've included ordering based both on the Euromonitor and Mastercard rankings.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/1/3/AAfPfjAAEoV1.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/1/4/AAfPfjAAEoV2.jpg

because london isn't a shithole.

Beans on toast

Irony posted...

Beans on toast

"Biscuits" and "gravy"

Hunch: London is just closer to most of the world's populace than New York. It's closer to Europe, to the Middle East, and probably a lot of East Asia, too.

There's not a lot in the US worth looking at, apart from maybe some giant copper woman in New York that France put there.

Maybe the stone presidents in South Dakota, or a bigass hoop in St Louis, but that's it.

Who tf is visiting Hong Kong

I mean I been there twice but only cuz I have family there

But I didn't think it was popular tourist attraction. I just remember wanting to go home most of the time I was there

Big Ben has nothing on the world's biggest rubber band ball.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/2/1/AABhrNAAEoV9.jpg

Ratchetrockon posted...

Who tf is visiting Hong Kong

People from mainland China.

The US simply lacks history or old/exotic culture compared to the rest of the world.

So people who put this on top won't travel to the US.

If it's about modern western culture, it's different. Then US or NYC is more or less on top.

Might be wrong but I feel like it's also a lot easier to get into the UK than the US. At least that's true for Europeans

I have next to no interest in going back to visit the US.

I've visited the US a few times. I would never go back to Florida, but LA and San Diego were great.

And I'd go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat, despite the terrible journey.

ai123 posted...

People from mainland China.

Ohhh

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

how does the sexy femdom scene in london compare to that in other major cities? do you have statistics?

Maybe because London doesn't smell like piss.

PoopPotato posted...

Maybe because London doesn't smell like piss.

??? Have you been to London friend?

Europeans have and take vacation time.

More than 250 years of history?

Probably because for most people, it is cheaper to visit London than New York.

Is it considered tourism if someone from Alabama visits NYC? Or just outside countries?

If its just outside countries, most of the western hemisphere outside of USA and Canada is poor. People in Europe and Asia can much more easily get to other countries in Europe and Asia.

Well, America just isn't that desirable a place to visit anymore. At least London has centuries of culture, and the only thing you have to worry about is overt racism and high prices.

Proximity to Europe, Africa and West Asia making for cheap travel, actual culture and history that dates to LONG before the discovery of the USA and fantastic transportation both within the city and to the rest of the UK.

Also helps that it has a reputation of being pretty diverse and doesn't have a reputation of people getting shot randomly.

Alucard188 posted...

overt racism

whut?

Why did you think NYC would be no.1?

As for why it isn't idk. Maybe London is easier and cheaper to travel towards. I don't really know much about the place.

It is because tourists know that they will not get shot in the face in London unlike in trigger happy "we have the right to own guns and shoot each other" USA.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-visited-countries

Have you considered that the US is a really big country and unlike most of the countries represented on your list, the #1 most visited city isnt also the capital

A lot of misinformation in this topic.

There's still millions visiting New York every year. It's not like no one wants to go there.

Shishiwakamaru posted...

misinformation

You could argue the truth is more nuanced than a single stat can represent but I'm not sure the term "misinformation" is appropriate.

Questionmarktarius posted...

There's not a lot in the US worth looking at, apart from maybe some giant copper woman in New York that France put there.

Maybe the stone presidents in South Dakota, or a bigass hoop in St Louis, but that's it.

Big ass hole in Arizona

SHRlKE posted...

You could argue the truth is more nuanced than a single stat can represent but I'm not sure the term "misinformation" is appropriate.

I cant comment on your intentions with topic, but a ton of the replies are clearly wrong reasons assumed to be correct. A mod literally said Well, America just isn't that desirable a place to visit anymore. That is false. Even after COVID, America is still the #3 country in the world for international tourist arrivals behind France and Spain, and its pretty obvious why those two countries are ahead. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings#Most_visited_destinations_by_international_tourist_arrivals

Hoover Dam is pretty cool.

Shishiwakamaru posted...

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-visited-countries

Have you considered that the US is a really big country and unlike most of the countries represented on your list, the #1 most visited city isnt also the capital

A lot of misinformation in this topic.

ok so where all the tourists going in usa

Ratchetrockon posted...

ok so where all the tourists going in usa

Disney World

Shishiwakamaru posted...

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-visited-countries

Have you considered that the US is a really big country and unlike most of the countries represented on your list, the #1 most visited city isnt also the capital

A lot of misinformation in this topic.

So what?
Why are you triggered that it's not USA #1?

GeraldDarko posted...

So what?
Why are you triggered that it's not USA #1?

I dont like misinformation, which includes you trying to misrepresent my argument like that.

Intro2Logic posted...

Disney World

Damn haha

I guess that why usa has most outbound tourists globally cuz ain't nothing to in their own country outside of amusement parks, memorials/national parks/museums, and some major cities

Questionmarktarius posted...

There's not a lot in the US worth looking at, apart from maybe some giant copper woman in New York that France put there.

Maybe the stone presidents in South Dakota, or a bigass hoop in St Louis, but that's it.

I can't speak in regards to the copper woman or the giant hoop, but I saw the stone POTUSes in-person once, and let me tell you: they're extremely overrated. The carved faces look way bigger in photos than they are in reality.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is much more impressive, despite it having begun construction in 1948 and still being unfinished.

SpawnShadow posted...

I can't speak in regards to the copper woman or the giant hoop, but I saw the stone POTUSes in-person once, and let me tell you: they're extremely overrated. The carved faces look way bigger in photos than they are in reality.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is much more impressive, despite it having begun construction in 1948 and still being unfinished.

Especially knowing the context about them. Rushmore is a source of shame.

Questionmarktarius posted...

There's not a lot in the US worth looking at, apart from maybe some giant copper woman in New York that France put there.

Maybe the stone presidents in South Dakota, or a bigass hoop in St Louis, but that's it.

Chicago has a giant metallic bean that's pretty cool to look at for a while...but it requires going to Chicago which kinda turn tourists off

A lot of people fell for anti-Chicago propaganda.

RuneterranSnap posted...

Especially knowing the context about them. Rushmore is a source of shame.

That too. I became even less impressed with Rushmore once I learned about what it used to be (the Six Grandfathers) and that the stone heads were carved by a fucking Klansman.

SaikyoStyle posted...

A lot of people fell for anti-Chicago propaganda.

You're not wrong, haven't been there myself, but I do think a lot of people take crime rates way too much to heart, I get it, but...yeah

Ease of travel could be a big reason. When I lived in the UK, it was as easy to travel around Europe as it was state-to-state in the US. Cheap too, and there were multiple methods. Getting to the US, however, especially major cities like New York where air fare is even higher, is neither cheap nor as easy.

That is one thing I don't think Europeans that travel often quite understand. There's this idea that Americans are all just uninterested in seeing the world and only care about their country, and while that might be true for some, for most it's more likely the case that they can't afford the time or money it takes to travel to any other country besides Canada or Mexico. You've got two full days of cross-ocean travel plus everything you want to do on the actual trip, and it gets pricy. When I was young I could off-set that by staying in hostels, but I'm in my mid-30s now and don't really want to sleep on a bunk bed with my fiance and 12 other strangers in the room anymore.

SHRlKE posted...

You could argue the truth is more nuanced than a single stat can represent but I'm not sure the term "misinformation" is appropriate.

A chart presented with no context and data that is 5 years or older, yeah I think misinformation is appropriate here.

Shishiwakamaru posted...

I dont like misinformation, which includes you trying to misrepresent my argument like that.

What misinformation?
There's always going to be factors that are missed. I can't say I know about statistic, but my guess is that those stats are perfectly fine. What is the big deal? Why is this so bad and how do they make it accurate?

Geographically, logistically, the US is isolated compared to any European country.

If this is only international travel then there's a lot of factors. There's geography, not that many other countries are close. There's ease. It's very easy to travel from one EU country to another, which encourages international travel. Additionally we don't project a welcoming vibe. A lot of international travelers may assume they'd be harassed as a possible illegal immigrant if they visited here.

If this is including domestic vacations, I would guess that a lot of Americans have somewhat random travel instead all being drawn to a specific hub.

First thing that popped into my head was that London is far and away the biggest city in the UK. The U.S. has at least three metropolitan areas that are similarly as large.