The Great Lakes Rank As The World S Top North American Bucket List Destination
The Great Lakes region is truly one of the greatest attractions in North America – rich in natural beauty, heritage, and culture. From its biggest cities to its smallest villages and rural communities, this region offers some of the best places in the world to visit. Nicknamed the “Third Coast,” the five Great Lakes possess 21% of the world’s supply of surface freshwater.
We recently conducted a survey asking travellers across the globe (including Europe, North America, and Australasia) to identify the top countries, cities, attractions, and events on their bucket lists. Respondents were allowed to offer multiple answers for each category since many people don’t have only one destination on their bucket list.
You can view the global results of the survey here. Below, we take a look at the results specific to North America.
The USA and Canada – Dominating the world's bucket lists
The USA features on 61.1% of the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by Canada (51.2%), Bahamas (17.1%), Cuba (12.2%), Jamaica (9.8%), Mexico (7.3%), Costa Rica (4.2%), Dominican Republic (3.7%), Panama (3.1%), and Puerto Rico (2.4%).
The USA and Canada dominated bucket lists for the North American region, far outshining the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Mexico. The USA also ranked second globally, after Australia, while Canada ranked third globally.
Canada is seeing a boom in its tourism currently, and the country welcomed a record 18.6-million international tourists last year, an increase of 1.2% over the same period in 2017. The tourism sector is an important source of employment for Canadians, supporting 1.8-million jobs across the country. International arrivals to the USA, meanwhile, average approximately 80-million per annum, about half of which come from overseas. International travel spending directly supports about 1.2-million jobs in the country and $33.4-billion in wages.
According to the US Travel Association, top leisure travel activities for overseas visitors include shopping, sightseeing, fine dining, visits to national parks and monuments, and visits to amusement or theme parks. Each overseas traveller spends approximately $4,200 when they visit the USA and stays on average 18 nights.
New York City – The city that never sleeps should not be missed
New York City, New York (47.8%) appeared most frequently on the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by San Francisco, California (41.5%), Honolulu, Hawaii (39.2%), Vancouver, Canada (36.6%), Toronto, Canada (26.8%), Los Angeles, California (22.1%), Las Vegas, Nevada (19.5%), Orlando, Florida (17.1%), Miami, Florida (14.6%), and Cancun, Mexico (7.3%).
New York City is the North American City that appeared most frequently on the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by San Francisco and Honolulu. It also ranked third globally, following Sydney and Phuket in first and second place.
The city has been enjoying a 9-year streak of consecutive growth, welcoming a record 65.2-million visitors last year, of which 13.5-million were international. The top five international markets for the city are the United Kingdom (1.24-million), China (1.1-million), Canada (1-million), Brazil (920,000), and France (807,000).
New York City is renowned globally for being one of the world’s leading metropolises for art, fashion, food, and theatre. Visitors can enjoy the city’s big-ticket items, the Statue of Liberty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Carnegie Hall, while also discovering Governors Island, Fort Tryon Park uptown, a Staten Island Yankees baseball game, or the Bronx’s New York Botanical Garden and Arthur Avenue’s Little Italy. There is quite literally something for everyone in New York City.
The Great Lakes, USA and Canada – A must-see attraction in North America
The Great Lakes in the USA and Canada have been added to 39.3% of the bucket lists of those surveyed, followed by Niagara Falls, New York and Canada (35.6%), Times Square, New York City (34.1%), Bourbon Street, New Orleans (33.6%), Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (31.7%), The Statue of Liberty, New York (29.3%) Mount Rushmore, South Dakota (26.8%), The Grand Canyon, Arizona (24.4%), The White House, Washington (21.9%), and Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando (19.5%).
The Great Lakes form North America’s most popular tourist attraction, beating other top attractions, such as Niagara Falls, Times Square, and The Grand Canyon. It also ranked 5th globally, with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef taking the title of the world’s most bucket-listed tourist destination – possibly because of the rapid pace at which it is diminishing.
Every year, the Great Lakes draws an impressive 37-million anglers, hunters, and bird watchers, mostly from America and Canada, but also from across the globe, who spend in excess of $16-billion annually on boating trips and equipment, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Great Lakes are one of the world’s largest surface freshwater ecosystems, spanning over 1,200km (750mi) from west to east. These vast inland freshwater seas are known for their ocean-like characteristics – strong winds and currents, rolling waves, and distant horizons – and are home to remarkable national parks, wildlife preserves, pristine waters, beautiful beaches, and countless outdoorsy activities.
New Year’s Eve in Times Square, USA – Where the wolrd wants to see in the New Year
New Year’s Eve in Times Square, USA (29.3%) is the event that has been added most frequently to the bucket lists of those surveyed. This is followed by Mardi Gras, New Orleans (24.4%), Vancouver Celebration of Light, Canada (22.9%), Super Bowl Sunday, USA (22.2%), Coachella, California (19.6%), Comic-Con International, San Diego (18.4%), The Calgary Stampede, Canada (17.1%), Independence Day, USA (12.2%), Day of the Dead, Mexico (10.5%), and the Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (9.8%).
New Year's Eve in Times Square is North America’s top event, beating Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the Vancouver Celebration of Light in Canada. New Year’s Eve in Times Square also ranked 7th globally, with Carnival in Brazil taking the top spot worldwide.
It is undoubtedly one of the most famous and popular New Year’s Eve celebrations in the world and is completely free to attend. Over a million people gather in New York City's Times Square for the iconic ball drop. Another 198-million Americans and 1-billion people around the world watch the nearly six-ton sphere descend on television, marvelling at its 2,688 crystal triangles illuminated by 32,256 LEDs.
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