MIAMI — It comes as no surprise that travelers still want to visit to Miami Beach and Key West in 2023 — both cities have long lured fans of sunshine, beaches and nightlife.
But apparently, many tourists are also longing to travel to Cuba.
In its annual Travelers’ Choice Destinations Awards for 2023, online travel company Tripadvisor reports that Miami Beach (No. 5) and Key West (No. 7) are among the top 10 most popular destinations in the United States for travelers. Other popular in-country destinations are New York, which tops the list, along with Las Vegas, Oahu, Maui, New Orleans, Charleston, Nashville and Chicago.
The most popular travel destination in the world for the second straight year is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, followed by Bali, Indonesia, London, Rome, Paris, Cancun, Crete, Marrakech, the Dominican Republic and Istanbul.
Tripadvisor also breaks down its awards into five other subcategories: food destinations, best places to ski, nature destinations, best places for culture and trending destinations, the latter a list of places with the largest year-over-year growth in interest on Tripadvisor, indicating new hot vacation spots.
And among those trending destinations, Cuba is the most popular in the world.
Here’s what Tripadvisor wrote:
“U.S. citizens still need to jump through a few hoops to visit Cuba, but as visitors from around the world know, this island offers some amazing opportunities for cultural exchange. Havana is a mix of old-world architecture and of-the-moment culture.” It also counseled: “Head out of the capital city to the small town of Trinidad to see more Spanish colonial architecture.”
Other trending destinations around the world include Hoi An, Vietnam; Mauritius, Africa; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Fes, Morocco; Baku, Azerbaijan; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Krakow, Poland.
Trending destinations in the U.S. include Tierra Verde near St. Petersburg, Florida.
No Florida cities made the most popular lists for culture or nature, but Miami, despite finally its growing dining scene and being home to 11 restaurants that earned Michelin stars, was ranked No. 14 among best food destinations in the U.S. (New Orleans was No. 1.)
Sarah Firshein, head of editorial at Tripadvisor, said the data indicate people are more willing to venture farther from home than they have been in the past few years.
“Long-haul trips have made a comeback, and we’re seeing a lot of Americans excited to plan trips to Asia and the Pacific region for the first time in several years,” she said. “Cities like Paris and London, which may have taken a backseat to less populous destinations throughout the pandemic, are back on travelers’ minds.”
To come up with its Travelers Choice Awards, Tripadvisor analyzes millions of reviews submitted over the past 12 months by hundreds of millions of travelers, judging quality and quantity.
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