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Where in the world should you travel to?
It depends on what you’re looking for: beautiful scenery, friendly locals, delicious food.
These are all factors U.S. News & World Report took into account in its “Best Countries” rankings, released Tuesday.
This year’s rankings are based on the perceptions of nearly 17,000 survey respondents from around the world on a range of topics from military strength to public education.
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“It’s almost like a word association game,” said Gary Emmerling, U.S. News’ government rankings editor-in-chief, who oversaw the project. “For example, I think this is a friendly country. I know Canada is friendly, so instead of stereotyping, I’m going to choose Canada this time.”
Get more for your money: these countries could be the best places to visit
In the best list produced by the survey, three European countries – Italy, Spain and France – topped the list as the best countries for tourism.
Tourism itself is a subcategory within the larger category of adventure.
The perfect country for adventure
Other attributes that contribute to this year’s adventure rankings include approachability, fun, pleasant climate, scenery and sexiness (yes, sexiness).
US News & World Report has separately ranked the best countries for solo travelers.
“One of the attributes we see is how safe a country is perceived to be, and we think that’s important for travelers to see,” Emmerling said. “You’d expect the Nordic countries and Switzerland to be on the list, but similar to the friendly attribute is the unapproachable attribute.”
Survey respondents said Iran, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Russia were seen as the five least approachable countries, and Emmerling noted current events could be influencing perceptions.
“Israel has dropped 24 places in terms of being a good country for tourism,” he said. “I think it’s safe to assume that people are connecting that with the current situation in Gaza.”
The 2024 survey was conducted among approximately 17,000 people around the world between March 22 and May 23. U.S. News & World Report said it referenced research and a model for scoring and ranking countries developed by global marketing and communications services company WPP and Wharton School professor David Leibstein.
