As 2022 draws to a close and travel ramps back up, National Geographic is sharing its annual list of must-see destinations. For 2023, the Best Of The World list highlights 25 destinations across the globe, grouped into five categories. These are Family, Adventure, Culture, Nature, and, new this year, Community. The five categories provide criteria based on which National Geographic selects and shares its top travel picks for the upcoming year.
We had the opportunity to interview National Geographic’s Senior Editor, Amy Alipio, about the selection of this year’s 25 destinations. Amy offers insight into what is driving travel heading into 2023, what hidden cultural gem in America made the list, and advice on how travelers can choose their next destination.
10 What Is Motivating People To Travel Right Now?
“Of course, after two years of, you know, being mostly homebound or sticking to nearby domestic travel, [we] definitely saw this year how everyone returned to far-off travel in a big, almost frenetic way. So I think a primary motivation was just to get out there exploring again,” Amy says, regarding the resurgence of the travel industry. “I know, personally, that for me, someone who just loves travel, that feeling of stepping off into an unknown place and absorbing everything new after two years of my own four walls and my own neighborhood was just such a rush.”
9 What Type Of Traveler Does This List Appeal To?
“What I think is great about this list is, you know, its variety. So, how it speaks to all kinds of travelers through the five categories that we have,” shares Amy, highlighting the diversity of the destinations that made the list of 25 for 2023. “Also, the fact that there are places that are both well known and some places that are surprising.”
The Best Of The World 2023 list includes popular travel destinations like New Zealand, San Francisco, and Switzerland. However, it also offers some lesser-known options like Trinidad & Tobago, Botswana, or the Azores, catering to every type of traveler.
8 What Countries On This List Are Leaders In Sustainability?
“Definitely sustainability is a thread that goes through the entire list, so it’s one of the main things that we consider when we nominate a destination, and it’s one of our guiding lights at [National Geographic] is to inspire people to care about the planet,” Amy tells us. “We wanted to, sort of, expand the category of sustainability to highlight places where tourism is supporting or giving back to local communities and ecosystems in some way.”
Travelers focusing on sustainability may want to head to the Balkans in 2023. Amy says, “Slovenia, which is on this list, is a long-time leader in sustainable travel in Europe, and they actually have a green scheme for tourism where they’re just very conscious about being really responsible destination stewards.”
7 Why Is Charleston, South Carolina, Such A Significant Cultural Destination?
The list highlights Charleston, South Carolina, under the Culture category this year. When asked why Charleston deserves recognition for its cultural significance, Amy told us, “What we loved about Charleston, which came up when people were nominating it, is that opening next year is the International African American Museum. And we know Charleston for its architecture and its food and its setting, but what the museum does is kind of leans into diverse narratives and shows that’s really a powerful thing.”
Amy continues, “Charleston is historic ground; it is a place that was a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. The museum looks at that history and documents the tragedy, but it also has stories of triumph as well because, for example, they have a genealogical center there. So, if you wanted to look into your heritage there, you could do that. We thought that was really an interesting [aspect] to highlight for Charleston this year.”
Further explaining why the International African American Museum is so culturally significant to the United States, Amy cites an important statistic. “Ninety percent of Black Americans can trace an ancestor back to Charleston’s slave markets. And so this is a great place to explore family trees, and they have a center there for family history where you can do that.”
6 The Common Thread Connecting The Nature-Focused Destinations Is Exceptional Stewardship, Amy Says
We asked Amy whether there was a commonality connecting the selections in the Nature category this year. Selections include Botswana, Scottish Highlands, Slovenia, the Azores, and Big Bend National Park in the United States.
“I feel like [besides], of course, the fact that they’re all these beautiful wild places, what we want to highlight [is] kind of the success stories, on the one hand, places doing things right in terms of destination stewardship,” Amy told us. “The Azores, for example, is very aware of protecting [the] marine environment. We also like shining the spotlight on lesser-known natural places to kind of spread out that love people have for exploring the wild."
“That’s why places like Big Bend [are] on the list because it’s a national park, one of the least visited national parks. There was definitely a problem with overcrowding in places like Yosemite and Yellowstone. Big Bend gets just a fraction of that visitorship but is just as beautiful and awe-inspiring.
5 Amy Shares Why There’s More To The Scottish Highlands Than Meets The Eye
“A lot of people think of Scottish Highlands as just moors and empty expanses but what we’re highlighting with the highlands is this re-wilding movement that’s taking place there right now,” says Amy of its addition to the 2023 list of destinations.
“Something like 90% of that part of Scotland used to be covered by forest. And, there are groups that are trying to reintroduce those native species like pine and oak trees that used to be there [along with] native species like wolves and bears and a wild ox [that lived there] before humans came and farmed and logged and everything," Amy shares regarding the unique take on this popular destination. "So, having Scottish highlands on the list, but for something totally different, I think is really cool."
4 What Countries Can Travelers Visit Where Tourism Gives Back To The Landscape?
Amy explains that the new category of Community used to develop the list this year refers to how tourism gives back to the locals in the community to which people are traveling. One example of this is the addition of Laos to the list based on how tourism has improved the economic opportunities for people living there.
“In Laos, there is a new train which actually kind of opens up accessibility to parts of the country that wasn’t available before, not just to travelers, international travelers, but to domestic travelers as well,” Amy explains. “It’s created economic opportunities for people in Laos who [might not have had them before], and it also just makes it easier to get around for domestic travelers.”
3 There’s More To The Canadian Province Of Alberta Than The Scenery
Another destination that made the list under the category of Community for 2023 is Alberta, Canada. While the province is famed for its National Parks (Banff and Jasper) and glacial lakes, Amy highlights the deeper attraction for travelers to visit Alberta based on what it's doing for the community.
This is a Canadian province where they’re kind of a leader in indigenous tourism. A lot of contemporary tourism companies are trying to [teach that] Indigenous culture isn’t just something that’s ancient, and in the past, it’s something vibrant and vital right now, and here’s how travelers can experience that.
2 From A Personal Standpoint, These Are Amy’s Current Travel Recommendations
When asked if there are any destinations that aren’t necessarily on the list this year that Amy recommends to travelers right now, Colorado was the immediate response.
“I was recently in Colorado doing that Top of The Rockies scenic highway,” Amy shares. “Just amazing fall colors. I drove from Leadville, which is a city at 10,200 feet, and it’s like the highest incorporated city in the U.S.”
“This road, Top of The Rockies, passes Camp Hale, which just became our newest National Monument,” Alipio continues. “And then the road just kind of goes through the White River National Forest and ends in Vail. So all of that stuff is really interesting.”
1 Amy’s Tips For Travelers Preparing To Visit A Destination On The List
Finally, we asked Amy to share her top tip for travelers planning a trip to any of the 25 destinations on the Best Of The World 2023 list. Amy advises travelers, “Go where your passions lie. So, are you a soccer fan? Check out Manchester. Do you notice you love whales and dolphins a lot? Check out the Azores. You know, I love theater and the performing arts, so I love to go to London and New York. But, [whenever] I am in any place, I search out my passions.”The benefit of approaching travel from this perspective, as Amy puts it, is “that helps you connect to a place because you have this passion for whatever that one thing is, right? And it opens up communities that you might not have been able to discover if you were just kind of hitting the top lists [of things to do].”
Amy says that choosing a destination based on what travelers respond to on a personal level can help them narrow down their list of where they want to go. We so appreciate Amy taking the time to chat with us and sharing these insights into National Geographic’s “Best Of The World 2023” list of destinations to inspire travelers.
For the full list and more on these incredible destinations, visit National Geographic Travel.