# Top 10 tourist attractions in the world **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534 "2003-06-17T20:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blowback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@blowback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowback)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/1 "2003-06-17T20:08:22Z")
Anyone know what the world’s top 10 tourist attractions are? Not countries – attractions, as in “Statue of Liberty”, “CN Tower”, yadda yadda yadda. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/2 "2003-06-17T20:17:49Z")
Disney World is #3 according to one survey. Some coral reef took #2 I think (though I’m not certain). The Grand Canyon was on there somewhere too. ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/3 "2003-06-17T20:19:36Z")
In terms of what? Persons visiting per year? Gross ticket sales? Welcome to the message board. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/4 "2003-06-17T20:35:42Z")
I’m fairly sure that Niagara Falls is up there… something like 25 million tourists a year. ---
**Author:** ![culture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@culture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/culture)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/5 "2003-06-17T21:05:31Z")
Yes, please. I need a list of places to keep the heck away from. O.k., I did vist the Grand Canyon but I limited myself to the north rim to keep away from the stinking hordes. ---
**Author:** ![blowback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@blowback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowback)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/6 "2003-06-18T12:34:04Z")
Jake: Thanks for the welcome, and I’m thinking in terms of number of visitors per year. I’ve googled myself blue trying to find stuff on attractions, but can’t find anything specific to those places. Thanks for the ideas, culture, sunspace, and skateboarder87… if you have any references to the survey you saw, I’d love a URL. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/7 "2003-06-18T13:20:16Z")
The ‘Tour Eiffel’ has to be pretty close to the top. It is supposedly one of the top recognised landmarks world-wide. They have around 6 million tourists per year according to [this BBC article](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3029993.stm). Figures for other tourist attractions would be welcome. I found quite a few references to Niagara Falls, while googling, and most claim between 6 and 16 million tourists per year. I guess it is a bit more difficult with an area like that - it’s not quite as easy as the Eiffel Tower, where you simply can count how many tickets you sell. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/8 "2003-06-18T15:52:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Popup \* > \*\*it’s not quite as easy as the Eiffel Tower, where you simply can count how many tickets you sell. \*\* Not so. I visited the Eiffel Tower twice and never bought a ticket. There’s a nice green park surrounding it where you can gaze up at it as much as you like. Don’t I count? ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/9 "2003-06-18T16:02:35Z")
This is slightly different survey, but might quench your appitite: It’s more of a _‘Top tourist destination’_, run by [BBC Holiday](http://www.bbc.co.uk/50/) programme. Top five were as follows: Grand Canyon Great Barrier Reef Florida (?) South Island (NZ) Cape Town In Europe anyway, the top destination is the Vatican City (20+M) with (strangely) Blackpool Pleasure Beach coming second based solely on the number of visitors per year. (approx. 17M). This is from memory, and I can’t find an on-line cite, I’m afraid. It may be a few years out of date. For the US, [this site](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010524.html) lists: > [@](#): > > Disney World’s Magic Kingdom at the top of the attraction attendance list with an estimated 15.4 million visitors in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![blowback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@blowback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowback)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/10 "2003-06-18T20:11:54Z")
This is GREAT! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![bunyip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@bunyip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bunyip)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/11 "2003-06-18T21:28:36Z")
What’s so strange about Blackpool Pleasure beach? Blackpool’s a great place: totally tacky and in your face, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/12 "2003-06-18T23:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aro \* > \*\*In Europe anyway, the top destination is the Vatican City (20+M) with (strangely) Blackpool Pleasure Beach coming second based solely on the number of visitors per year. (approx. 17M). > This is from memory, and I can’t find an on-line cite, I’m afraid. It may be a few years out of date. > \*\* Your numbers from memory seem a little high. According to the 2002 EU document [Structure, Performance and Competitiveness of European Tourism](http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:fSohALWy3GwJ:europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/studies/pwc/brochure_en.pdf+%22vatican%22+%22blackpool+pleasure+beach%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8) (this is a cached document from **[google.com](http://google.com)** since the original PDF file is no longer available), here are some figures from 2000 (in millions of visitors) **Euro Disney** , 12.5 **Blackpool Pleasure Beach** , 6.3 **Eiffel Tower** , 6.3 **Vatican City** , 3.5 On the other hand, I too had remembered hearing the _“Blackpool second only to the Vatican”_ quote – probably before Euro Disney opened – but can’t find any older numbers to back that up. Unless, of course, you count this [November 1992 speech to the House of Commons](http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-11-09/Orals-1.html) (scroll down to “Column 614”): > [@](#): > > **Mr. Hawkins:** As my hon. Friend will know, my constituency contains something that is by way of being a permanent international festival–the Blackpool pleasure beach, which is the biggest visitor attraction in Europe apart from the Vatican. Since this was said by a politician and is part of UK Parliamentary record, it must be taken as absolute truth and thus no further cite is needed :p. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bunyip \* > **What’s so strange about Blackpool Pleasure beach?** Not so much strange _per se_, but surprising in its relative popularity. I’d wager that comparatively few people (even Dopers) outside of the UK have even _heard_ of Blackpool Pleasure Beach – although I’m sure someone will come and correct me on that. I would imagine that the vast majority of visitors to BPB are from within the UK, compared to such international attractions as the Eiffel Tower and the Vatican, which draw tourists from around the world rather than just their country of location. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/13 "2003-06-19T00:12:44Z")
2 million Muslims visit Mecca each year to walk seven times around the Kaaba, a large black cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque. The significant thing is that they all visit during a six week period, making it perhaps the largest annual gathering anywhere in the world. [2 Million Muslims Gather in Mecca for Hajj](http://www.saudia-online.com/news2003/newsfeb03/news17.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/14 "2003-06-19T02:09:05Z")
I wonder whether my guess of 25 million tourists a year to Niagara Falls was a little high… ---
**Author:** ![DrLiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DrLiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/15 "2003-06-19T05:02:27Z")
I really can’t find anything so far, the closest I came was with the [World Tourism Organisation](http://www.world-tourism.org) but the only info there is is on countries not on particular spots. I also found this, which might make the list once it opens: [Stalin World](http://www.balticsww.com/stalin_world.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DrLiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DrLiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLiver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/16 "2003-06-19T05:06:55Z")
Sunspace: I think 25 million would be a bit exaggerated considering that less then half that number visit the whole Canada in a year… (that is of course, unless they all go to Niagara Falls and then invite another 13 million canadians to join them…each year) ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/17 "2003-06-19T05:34:27Z")
Are we talking in the past or post recent terrorist and war activities? ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/18 "2003-06-19T06:05:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > \*\*I wonder whether my guess of 25 million tourists a year to Niagara Falls was a little high… \*\* The [City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada](http://www.city.niagarafalls.on.ca/economicoutreach/communityofchoice/retail.html) claims: > [@](#): > > an international audience of over 14 million visitors a year. The web site _implies_ that this is the number who visit the Canadian side, and doesn’t include those who visit the US side only. [This New York State site](http://www.livingstontravel.com/guide.html) claims that **“ten million tourists visit Niagara Falls each year, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in America”**. As **gonzoron** ’s post regarding the Eiffel Tower shows, it can be hard to estimate the number of visitors to any attraction unless there is strictly limited (and counted) access, such as at a Disney-like theme park. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/19 "2003-06-19T08:03:08Z")
I think my idea of Blackpool Pleasure Beach was a figure for the whole of [Blackpool](http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashire/blackpool/info/guide.html), rather than a specific attraction. > [@](#): > > BLACKPOOL is a thriving resort on the north west coast of England and is the busiest tourist resort in the whole of Europe, attracting more than 17 million visitors per year. Sorry for the confusion. Here is a [further summary](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/england/2215593.stm) of the ‘performance’ of top UK attractions. > [@](#): > > Top admission-paid attractions > London Eye > Tower of London > Eden Project > Natural History Museum > Legoland, Windsor > > Top admission-free attractions > Blackpool Pleasure Beach > National Gallery > British Museum > Tate Modern > Pleasureland, Southport ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534/20 "2003-06-19T08:13:44Z")
\*\* Aro \*\* - The Vatican City is a country. The OP says not countries. “Notre Dame” in Paris is in the top 10 worlwide… it clocks in with twice as many as the Eiffel Tower - 12.5mm vs. 6.2mm… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-tourist-attractions-in-the-world/182534.md?page=2)