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WASHINGTON (Oct. 26, 2022) – As travel continues to make a roaring return in 2022, National Geographic today unveils its annual list of the 25 inspiring destinations for the renewed travel landscape to help individuals get a jump on planning for the year ahead.
For 2023, Nat Geo’s “Best of the World” is themed around travel destinations and experiences that leverage the benefits of tourism to strengthen their local communities and environments, both natural and built.
Nat Geo’s “Best of the World” list for the year ahead celebrates destinations and travel experiences that illuminate our beautiful world and the diversity of communities and people within it, grouped by category: Family, Adventure, Culture, Nature.
New this year, however, is a Community category, designed to be inclusive of healing and heritage journeys, community-led conservation efforts, ways for travelers to give back, and locations doing groundbreaking work in eco-tourism, sustainability and inclusive travel. The goal is to spotlight destinations where people make places better for locals, the environment and visitors, and to showcase homegrown, rooted, locally relevant and engaged places to visit.
In total, the 2023 list honors educational journeys for all generations (Family); exciting activities in breathtaking places (Adventure); explorations of history and heritage (Culture); escapes to wild, beautiful places (Nature); and healing journeys, community conservation, giving back, sustainable places and more (Community).
“We have experienced so many changes and disruptions in the way we explore over the last few years, so with this year’s list, we really wanted to get back to identifying positive stories about destinations and communities,” said Amy Alipio, senior editor at National Geographic Travel. “With our team of travel experts and editors, we took a deeper dive into places all over the globe that are providing experiences that are unique and beneficial for both locals and travelers: locations where visitors ultimately sustain and support—not damage—the destination’s environment and community. We also worked hard to provide lesser-known gems on the list, equally inspiring alternatives to destinations that have become overcrowded (think Choquequirao vs. Machu Picchu in Peru).”
“Best of the World’ is Nat Geo’s annual love letter to the most incredible places in the world, both near and far,” said Nathan Lump, National Geographic’s Editor-in-Chief. “We couldn’t be prouder to shine a light on these 25 extraordinary places that most inspired us this year, and which we know will define travelers’ itineraries for years to come. From craft breweries and Asia’s top film festival in Busan, South Korea, to women-led Indigenous tourism in Alberta, Canada, and the densest leatherback turtle nesting ground in the world in Trinidad and Tobago, this year’s list reminds us that there is still so much out there to explore and experience.”
The list was created, researched, reported and written in collaboration with National Geographic Traveler’s international editorial teams, which serve millions of readers through their magazines and websites in more than a dozen offices around the world.
The “Best of the World 2023” list is available online now at NatGeo.com/BestOfTheWorld, where readers will be transported to each destination through spectacular photography and reporting.
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
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, California
Colombia
Manchester, UK
Switzerland
About National Geographic Media:
Nat Geo Media is a worldwide digital, social and print publisher, operating in over 170 countries, with several print and digital products and over a half billion followers on social media. We inspire curious fans of all ages through bold and innovative storytelling about people, places and projects that shape our world, and enable our fans to connect, explore, engage with and care about the world. For more information, visit nationalgeographic.com, find us on the National Geographic app or visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok.
Media Contacts:
Caitlin Holbrook, caitlin.holbrook@natgeo.com, (716) 225-0502
Anna Kukelhaus, anna.kukelhaus@natgeo.com, (202) 258-8020
Janean Ruttner, janean.ruttner@natgeo.com, (909) 677-8989
Natalia Colon, natalia.colon@natgeo.com, (407) 484-1026