Lonely Planet Announces “Best In Travel” For 2017

Tourists experience the Columbian icefields. Photo: Brewster Travel Canada

With Millennials making up the largest generation in the United States, and one that avidly spends money on travel, Lonely Plant magazine has been a roadmap to what will be hot next in consumer travel.

That’s why the annual release of its “Best in Travel” top destinations lists are so widely circulated. The magazine has 450,000 readers with a median age of 44 years old, and annual median household incomes of $145,000.

Canada came out as the top country on the Lonely Planet list, because the Canadian dollar is “pushing down prices” in a country with “exciting fusion food and mysteriously underrated wine.” Columbia was second, “a South American jewel,” the editors wrote, that will become even more popular early next year when it steps on the global media stage during Pope Francis’ scheduled visit, the first papal visit in 30 years.

Rounding out the top three is Finland, which will celebrate its centenary in 2017. “Expect everything from al fresco concerts and communal culinary experiences to sauna evenings and vintage-travel-poster exhibitions,” Lonely Planet said. The country also will host the World Figure Skating Championships and the Nordic World Ski competition next year.

The rest of the top 10 includes Dominica, which the magazine warns will open its first large-scale chain resorts in 2018; Nepal, recovering nicely from the 2015 earthquake; Bermuda, Mongolia, Oman, Myanmar and Ethiopia.

Not your typical Top 10 cities
Leading the list of the top 10 cities are Bordeaux, France, which will connect with Europe’s high-speed rail network in the middle of next year, cutting travel time from Paris to just two hours. Bordeaux also recently opened Cite´ du Vin along the Garonne riverfront “with a state-of-the-art wine-lovers’ experience,” Lonely Planet said.

In second place the magazine anointed Cape Town, South Africa, for its “historic wine estates” and “hip markets,” inventive restaurants, and the soon-to-open Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), the world’s largest museum of contemporary African art.

The top three also included Los Angeles, partly due to initiatives like “Car-Free LA,” which helps tourists navigate the city without wheels. The city has nearly 50 new hotels under development. Fourth in the top five cities was Merida, Mexico, a Yucatan Peninsula gem with “a dizzying array of live music, art shows and dance performances,” and a restaurant scene “hotter than a Habanero pepper.”

And most millennials likely don’t have Lonely Planet’s fifth top city on their radar – Ohrid, Macedonia. “Overlooking the extraordinarily blue waters of its eponymous lake,” Ohrid is known for its terracotta roofs, centuries-old church spires and the turreted walls of Car Samoil’s Castle.

Priced-for-value destinations
Because Nepal is still bouncing back from earthquakes and a fuel strike, budget-conscious travelers have found the Tibetan city a great place for top-notch trekking and “underrated wildlife” for less than $50 a day. Second best value is Namibia, whose dollar is depreciating because it is pegged to the South African rand. Next year is “an opportune time to experience this amazing country” for its Etosha National Park, “the incredible wilderness hike through Fish River Canyon and sand surfing at the mighty Sossusvlei Dunes.”

And third is Porto, Portugal, whose “stunning setting” on the Rio Douro, “excellent, affordable eating and accommodation” and “clutch of inexpensive museums” make it a high-value option.