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It’s never too early to start planning next year’s big trips. National Geographic joins the mission and publishes its list of the best in the world at the end of October, with 25 essential destinations for 2023.
Respect – for the people and their cultures, for the land and its conservation – is an overarching theme of the list, which is divided into five official categories.
The hope is that 2023 will be not only a great return to travel, but also a rediscovering of wonder, said Amy Alipio, senior editor of National Geographic Travel.
“Because when you’re in awe of something, you treat it with respect. And that spirit is something we want to foster with this list,” Alipio said.
The list focuses on destinations that have community-led conservation efforts, healing and heritage travel, and ways to give back to travelers, as well as places that do important work in ecotourism, sustainability, and inclusive travel. .
A young nang keo dancer performs in Luang Prabang, the former imperial capital of Laos that can now be reached by bullet train. Credit: Kike Calvo/Nat Geo Image Collection
Looking at the community
National Geographic introduced a new category to this year’s list, replacing “sustainability” with a broader category of “community.”
“It’s about broadening the focus on the people who are striving to make destinations sustainable and the various ways that manifests itself, from making travel more accessible to supporting local businesses,” Alipio said.
Sustainability has been woven a little more into each category. The other four categories are nature, culture, adventure and family.
The five destinations listed in the “community” category represent a number of strengths.
Ghana is listed as a major destination for travelers of black heritage in West Africa. Alberta, Canada, is also on the list.
“They’ve been a leader in indigenous tourism, basically making travelers aware of the stories and ways of life of the First Nations here in North America” and their vibrant contemporary cultures, Alipio said.
In Laos, a new high-speed train is making the country more accessible to visitors and bringing economic opportunities to the local population.
The Great Lakes city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, made the list in part because “it’s been really supportive of its creative community,” Alipio said, citing Bronzeville, which is opening a cultural center focused on African-American art.
And in the Greek islands of the Dodecanese, Karpathos stands out for its sustainable tourism with female leadership.
Big openings, small crowds
The list is not without some great new attractions. The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum outside Cairo makes the 2023 list in the “culture” category. And Charleston, South Carolina, will soon be home to the International African American Museum, opening in January.
US wildernesses make the list in two categories, with an emphasis on getting away from the crowds. Utah, where five national parks are a big draw, appears in the “adventure” category in part for its efforts to direct tourists to some of its lesser-known areas to combat overtourism.
Visit Utah has a page dedicated to responsible travel where it asks visitors to consider their impact with questions like “Do I do what I can to avoid crowded places?” State parks such as Dead Horse Point and Goblin Valley are located near one or more of Utah’s five spectacular national parks.
Big Bend National Park in Texas is listed in the “nature” category. Although Big Bend received a record 581,000 recreational visits in 2021, it was still far less visited than some of America’s most popular national parks. Yellowstone received 4.9 million visitors and Smoky Mountains National Park received 14.1 million recreational visits in 2021.
Slovenia, a “long-time leader in sustainable tourism,” is combining cycle routes with visits to vineyards, cheese factories and other food producers in a way that earns it a spot in the “nature” category with a culinary plus.
The Scottish Highlands, Portugal’s dazzling volcanic Azores archipelago, and Botswana also make the “nature” list for their conservation and sustainability efforts.
Family, adventure and culture
Colombia has been in the spotlight with the Disney movie “Encanto”, making it a timely choice for the “family” category. In California, San Francisco’s Crosstown Trail is another perfect spot for a family adventure.
Speaking of “adventure,” this category also includes Choquequirao, Peru, an Inca site that rivals Machu Picchu and is becoming more accessible and spurring economic development.
And New Zealand, long-time capital of adventure, makes the list as enthusiasm for a travel resurgence mounts.
The Austrian Alps also offer great opportunities for adventure within the Bergsteigerdörfer network of 29 mountain villages.
Asia, which has taken the longest to recover from the pandemic, ranks high in the “culture” category. Busan, in South Korea, appears in the category of offerings, from craft beers to Asia’s premier film festival.
Although China remains closed to international tourism, its Longmen Grottoes in Henan province also make the “culture” list, as new technology draws attention to one of the world’s largest collections of stone statues.
To learn more about National Geographic’s Best of the World list, visit their website.
Elephants graze among the lush waterways of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, which is listed in the “nature” category. Credit: Beverly Joubert/National Geographic Image Collection
National Geographic’s Best of the World 2023 List:
CULTURE
- Appian Way, Italy
- Busan, South Korea
- Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China
- Egypt
- Charleston, South Carolina
NATURE
- Scottish Highlands
- Botswana
- Slovenia
- Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Azores, Portugal
ADVENTURE
- New Zealand
- Choquequirao, Peru
- Utah
- Austrian alps
- Revillagigedo National Park, Mexico
COMMUNITY
- Dodecanese Islands, Greece
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Alberta, Canada
- Laos
- Ghana
FAMILY
- Trinidad and Tobago
- San Francisco Road, California
- Colombia
- Manchester, United Kingdom
- Switzerland