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I'm actually surprised it didn't - I would have expected it to be on the list instead of San Francisco to be honest with you. It's #6 on the US list, up 2 spots from last year. The top 5 ahead of it is NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Vegas, and New Orleans.
It's not a definitive list of anything and it doesn't mean a ton in the end, but it's pretty good news for anybody on these lists, especially the international one just from a marketing standpoint.
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Travelers' Choice Destinations honor top travel spots worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travelers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, attractions and restaurants in destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
I'm actually surprised it didn't - I would have expected it to be on the list instead of San Francisco to be honest with you. It's #6 on the US list, up 2 spots from last year. The top 5 ahead of it is NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Vegas, and New Orleans.
It's not a definitive list of anything and it doesn't mean a ton in the end, but it's pretty good news for anybody on these lists, especially the international one just from a marketing standpoint.
Los Angeles never does well in these polls for some reason. People come in droves though--the county drew a record 42.2 million visitors last year, 6.2 million internationally. As long as they come and spend liberally, they can bad mouth LA all they want.
Los Angeles never does well in these polls for some reason. People come in droves though--the county drew a record 42.2 million visitors last year, 6 million internationally. As long as they come and spend liberally, they can bad mouth LA all they want.
Yeah in the end it doesn't matter as long as they're going there, but it's still important marketing wise for anybody on those types of lists. I think out of the 3 in the international, the most important to be listed is Chicago only because it draws the least amount of international tourists of the 3 (and 4 if you count LA). More and more international tourists are coming to Chicago every year but it has a good amount to go before it can top LA. LA is more iconic because of Hollywood alone on the international scene and it's also easier to get to if you live in Asia (or even the western part of Central and South America).
Los Angeles never does well in these polls for some reason. People come in droves though--the county drew a record 42.2 million visitors last year, 6 million internationally. As long as they come and spend liberally, they can bad mouth LA all they want.
Yeah in the end it doesn't matter as long as they're going there, but it's still important marketing wise for anybody on those types of lists. I think out of the 3 in the international, the most important is Chicago only because it draws the least amount of international tourists of the 3 (and 4 if you count LA). More and more international tourists are coming to Chicago every year though but it has a good amount to go before it can top LA. LA is more iconic because of Hollywood and it's also easier to get to if you live in Asia or even the western part of Central and South America. Though it should be taken note of what I said before about international tourists - many do travel domestically. So they may enter NYC for example but it doesn't mean NYC is the only city they're visiting. It is harder to track those types of movements domestically.
I'm actually surprised it didn't - I would have expected it to be on the list instead of San Francisco to be honest with you. It's #6 on the US list, up 2 spots from last year. The top 5 ahead of it is NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Vegas, and New Orleans.
My guess is that it's rather easy to have this romanticized view of LA before you actually visit, and, once you do, it's quite easy to be disappointed by it. The Walk of Fame is filthy, the Kodak Theatre is literally in a mall, a good chunk of the major attractions are spread out throughout the area, traffic is an absolute nightmare when you attempt to go from one place to another, etc, etc.
I've been to LA twice now, and the first trip definitely started off as a let down, but it did get better in the end. The second time around I knew what to expect and everything was great. I hope to go again this summer.
LA is just an animal that takes a little getting used to in comparison to some of America's other cities.
My guess is that it's rather easy to have this romanticized view of LA before you actually visit, and, once you do, it's quite easy to be disappointed by it. The Walk of Fame is filthy, the Kodak Theatre is literally in a mall, a good chunk of the major attractions are spread out throughout the area, traffic is an absolute nightmare when you attempt to go from one place to another, etc, etc.
I've been to LA twice now, and the first trip definitely started off as a let down, but it did get better in the end. The second time around I knew what to expect and everything was great. I hope to go again this summer.
LA is just an animal that takes a little getting used to in comparison to some of America's other cities.
I know all about LA - my dad is from Los Angeles, and almost 100% of that entire side of my family still lives there. I grew up visiting LA every year for the first 21 or so years of my life. I do agree that it's romanticized like NYC but it is getting better recently in the last few years. Still has a ways to go before it catches up with a few other cities but it's still better than it was. I've been to that city as a tourist tens of times so yeah, I'm very well aware. Most people visit the city for romanticized reasons mainly centering Hollywood and what they've seen in movies about the beaches. I grew up going to those beaches (my dad used to be a surfer) and there's some good ones but they aren't as amazing as people think IMO compared to other parts of the world.
The city is improving though, especially compared to what I grew up going to.
"A panel of Time Out experts selected 75 cities to celebrate in the book 'The World's Greatest Cities' according to six criteria: Architecture, Arts & Culture, Buzz, Food & Drink, Quality of Life and World Status. In conjunction with our local correspondents, the panel then awarded the cities scores in each category and totalled them up for an overall ranking. The results are both fascinating and often surprising."
Chicago is ranked 5th, while LA doesn't rank at all. I lived in Rome for 2 years and it should be ranked #1 in my humble opinion, not #9. Also San Francisco should be on the list.
I don't think anyone outside of Socal considers LA to be an especially cultured place, although it is definitely an iconic tourist destination due to Hollywood from the 30s-90s & Disney Land. Disney Land is a HUGE draw for international visitors. I mean Orlando is also one of the most visited and well known cities due to Disney World.
I don't think anyone outside of Socal considers LA to be an especially cultured place, although it is definitely an iconic tourist destination due to Hollywood from the 30s-90s & Disney Land. Disney Land is a HUGE draw for international visitors. I mean Orlando is also one of the most visited and well known cities due to Disney World.
That's because people have a superficial view of Los Angeles (yet they call *us* superficial ) and don't really get into the true culture of the city.
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) and don't really get into the true culture of the city.
