Top 20 Most Popular Countries by Tourists And Their Popularity Rank From 1991 To 2019 InboxnairaTV

Top 20 Most Popular Countries by Tourists And Their Popularity Rank From 1991 To 2019 :
Which countries around the world lure the greatest number of visitors?

According to a recent ranking by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Europe boasts 12 of the 20 most-visited nations. But Asia and the Pacific, with five countries on the list, is the fastest-growing region.

Read on to find out which nations made the cut. Is your favorite destination on the list?

20. Netherlands — 19 Million Visitors

Tourism continues to be a big trend for the Dutch, with many of the travelers coming from surrounding nations (80 percent), followed next by the Americas and then Asia.

When people think of the Netherlands, they often think of Amsterdam, home to historic canals, museums both impressive and quirky, and a thriving nightlife scene. But the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions wants visitors to discover it is so much more than its capital.

“We take people from Amsterdam elsewhere,” Henk Philip, a partner with Tours & Tickets, has said of visiting the country. “But what we really want is for people to not even go to Amsterdam, but visit other tourist attractions in the Netherlands.”

UNESCO
One of those fantastic attractions outside Amsterdam is Kinderdijk-Elshout. The UNESCO World Heritage Site features the bucolic landscapes and windmills the country is famous for, while serving as a historically important example of early water-management systems.

19. Poland — 19.6 Million Visitors

Travelers seeking European panache without the crowds of stalwarts like Spain, France, Germany and Italy are increasingly turning to Poland, thanks to its illustrious history (including a rich Jewish heritage), collection of medieval castles, untouched nature and delightful cuisine (if you haven’t tried pierogis, you haven’t lived life).

Oh, and it’s Central-Eastern Europe’s home to the most UNESCO World Heritage sites — 15 cultural and one natural.

The Polish Tourism Agency notes that 85 percent of visitors surveyed during their exit from the country would recommend and return to it.

Auschwitz Birkenau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a former Nazi concentration and extermination camp that is devastating but necessary to see in person. A museum tells the story of the horrors of the camp, while honoring the lives of those who died there — over 1.1 million men, women and children in total.

18. Canada — 21.1 Million Visitors

Canada’s tourism industry is so immense, it accounted for $33.9 billion of the country’s GDP in the first nine months of 2018 alone. Most visitors come from the neighboring U.S., followed by China and the UK, which only recently got edged out of its long-held No. 2 position.

Of visitors to the 3.8-million-square-mile country, two-thirds arrive via Ontario, home to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and the thriving, progressive metropolis of Toronto. Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal are also big cities that get lots of love, as do resort towns like Banff, located at the foot of spectacular Banff National Park.

More adventurous travelers seek out the country’s wide-open nature in places like Churchill, where polar bears and beluga whales reside; Newfoundland, home to staggering fjords, icebergs and glaciers; and the Okanagan Valley, Canada’s answer to Napa with rolling vineyards and superb wine to spare.

Niagara Falls is one of the 7 Wonders of the World for a reason. The Canadian side overlooks Horseshoe Falls, featuring a 3,000-foot crest whose vastness can only be understood when seen up close.

17. Portugal — 22.8 Million Visitors

Portugal’s location in Southern and Mediterranean Europe has contributed to it becoming a leader in European tourism growth. (Other countries growing swiftly include Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia.)

That growth is no accident. In 2017, the country launched a 10-year tourism plan aiming to double tourism revenue by 2027, and so far, it’s working. Many touris