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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Not sheer numbers, but as a PERCENTAGE of the total of number of people in the city. Remember we're talking tourists, not immigrants, so I don't know if % born overseas is that relevant.
In the US, I noticed a lot more in NYC per capita, as would be expected, but then I've not been to SF or the Canadian cities. DC seemed to have a lot of American tourists, LA a mix.
Others on the poll I did not leave out:
LA: not many tourists in DTLA itself. Even Hollywood had fair share of American tourists.
DC: Same
Philly: More American tourists
Orlando: More tourists tend to stay around the Walt Disney resort parks
It certainly wouldn't be a very large city like NYC. The smaller cities attract a lot more tourists relative to their population. Niagara Falls, Ontario has less than 100,000 people, and attracts over 20 million tourists per year, many of them from overseas.
nyc then sf then.... wait for it...
orlando, just not in their downtown. there are those annoying people with the same color flags ALL OVER the place in Orlando.
Orlando is more diverse also than given credit for, it's just kind of lame/suburban.
Not sheer numbers, but as a PERCENTAGE of the total of number of people in the city. Remember we're talking tourists, not immigrants, so I don't know if % born overseas is that relevant.
In the US, I noticed a lot more in NYC per capita, as would be expected, but then I've not been to SF or the Canadian cities. DC seemed to have a lot of American tourists, LA a mix.
Others on the poll I did not leave out:
LA: not many tourists in DTLA itself. Even Hollywood had fair share of American tourists.
DC: Same
Philly: More American tourists
Orlando: More tourists tend to stay around the Walt Disney resort parks
Chicago: More American tourists
Going by City and not Metro my guess is:
1. Downtown Lake Buena Vista, FL aka Downtown Disney which is not in the city of Orlando
2. Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona - gateway to the Grand Canyon
3. Downtown Miami Beach, FL aka South Beach which also is not in the city of Miami
From that list? San Francisco seems to have the most to me. Lots of people from Asia and a surprisingly large number from Europe given the distance. It also doesn't hurt that Many of San Francisco's primary attractions and major hotels are either right downtown or just a little ways outside. Walk by the Cable Car turnaround on Powell at Market or a few blocks up to Union Square and the sheer number of tourists is surprising.
One of the big reasons for this (IMO) is that many cities have cheaper suburban hotels just an easy distance outside of the city center that are where more budget conscious travelers stay (often by an airport). SF doesn't (not on the same level, anyway) San Francisco's airports (I'm including OAK) are a little beyond what most tourists would consider a desirable commute. Compared to places like DC or Boston where airport hotels (Reagan/Crystal City) are right outside of the city center, SFO and OAK are a hike. Even New York has options in Jersey City, Hoboken, LI City that are cheaper than downtown hotels and still pretty close. There's not much like that in SF. You have a handful of Fisherman's Wharf area hotels, and a few over in Emeryville that are cheaper, but most of the accommodations are either downtown (or right next door) or a ways away. This is part of the reason tourists are concentrated downtown more than in most other cities.
Another small reason why tourists tend to stay downtown is that Bay Area tourists use SF as a base for day trips too. It's not difficult to drive up to Napa or down to Santa Cruz (even Monterey or Carmel) for a day using SF as a base. Many other cities don't have the variety of attractions so close. To get to the Hamptons or Adirondacks from NYC, you'll likely have to stay at least one night outside the city. Same for Cape Cod, Maine or the White Mountains from Boston.
New York City would win for sheer numbers in the city, but the city is so large and the attractions so widespread that tourists tend to be spread out between Lower Manhattan, Midtown and beyond. Although Times Square probably has the biggest single concentration of foreign tourists of at any time (I'm not counting attractions where you pay admission to get into like Disney).
I'm always surprised to see so many Japanese tourists in Montreal (more so in Quebec City).
Miami definitely has its fair share of Latin American tourists, but not downtown. Most tourists to Miami never set foot in downtown.
Was just there two weeks ago...The city is a huge destination for wealthy South Americans to go shopping, although much of the activity has moved to the malls these days. Even if downtown isn't the prime destination for tourists. In the 80s and 90s there was more businesses that were catering to Latin Americans visiting Miami.
I'm always surprised to see so many Japanese tourists in Montreal (more so in Quebec City).
Quebec City definitely has one of the highest percentage of tourists. The city is relatively small and completely walkable.
Tourism is a big industry for Quebec city as well.
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Have you ever been to downtown Miami??
