Experiences and Thrills

Which experiences came out on top?

A few different types of destinations capture the hearts of travelers, but there was a clear top three, and New York City's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) easily took number one. With an impressive total score of 80 out of 100, MOMA scored a full 15 points more than any other, largely attributable to its vast collection of modern art, its huge popularity on social media, and its ease of accessibility.

Miami South Beach finished in equal second spot with a respectable overall score of 65. The sunny beaches and busy nightlife make South Beach a favorite among travelers, and this was reflected by its social media presence which was far higher than any other attraction, with the exception of MOMA.

On the West Coast, San Diego Zoo was the other equal second-place finisher, offering a different kind of experience entirely. While it doesn’t have the same online presence as South Beach or MOMA, it’s less than five miles from a major airport and has almost 500 four-star or better accommodation options nearby, making this zoo a high scorer.

Focusing on reviews, Central Park had a stellar 4.9 average rating on Yelp, meaning that this urban oasis holds its own against some of America's most breathtaking nature-based attractions. While Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park also scored 4.9, its 1.49 million Instagram hashtags pales in comparison to Central Park’s 9.5 million, making the latter the clear winner.

Following closely behind with an average review score of 4.8 were five attractions, mostly made up of places like Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Zion National Park in Utah. Interestingly, with the exception of one, all five of these attractions are over 100 miles away from the nearest major airport. The one exception was Balboa Park in San Diego which was only 2.2 miles away from the airport and featured considerably more four-star or higher accommodation options nearby.

Four of the top 30 attractions had 400 or more four-star or higher hotels nearby, including MOMA, which contributed to its number one overall ranking. Tennessee’s Dollywood, Orlando’s Walt Disney World, and the San Diego Zoo were the other three, and all four of these attractions were less than 20 miles from a major airport.

More than half of the top 30 attractions had fewer than 100 four-star or higher hotels nearby, which helps to explain why all four attractions featured in the top half of the overall rankings.

While Balboa Park (2.2 miles) and the Las Vegas Strip (2.7 miles) were the closest to major airports, the other end of the list saw six attractions that were each over 100 miles away. All six were nature-based attractions, including Yellowstone National Park which was a massive 377 miles away from a major airport.

Only nine of the top 30 were less than 10 miles away from a major airport, and only one of the top three overall, suggesting that being close to a major airport is not a huge factor on its own. The most popular attractions were all in areas that were easy to navigate, suggesting that proximity and ease of access are still important.

Two of Utah’s National Parks, Zion and Bruce Canyon, were tied for the top spot in the safety rankings, each scoring 63 out of 100. These two also had the highest overall scores of the six National Parks that featured in the top 30 attractions, suggesting safety is a very important factor.

Boston’s Fenway Park and Oahu’s Waikiki Beach were not far behind at 60 out of 100, as were the White House in Washington D.C. and Seattle’s Pike Place Market, which both scored 59. At the other end of the list, the French Quarter in New Orleans was by far the least safe, with a score of only 32.

MOMA’s Instagram hashtag has been used an incredible 23.7 million times, making it by far number one on socials. Miami South Beach was next best at 17.7 million, while no other attraction had more than 11.7 million.

15 of the top 30 attractions had Instagram hashtags that had been used fewer than two million times, including baseball stadiums Wrigley Park in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston. Both of these stadiums were at the bottom of the social media rankings alongside Tennessee’s Dollywood.