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Where in the world should you travel?
It depends on what you’re looking for: beautiful scenery, friendly locals, great food.
Those were all factors U.S. News & World Report weighed for their Best Countries rankings, released Tuesday.
This year’s rankings are based on the perceptions of nearly 17,000 survey respondents around the world, on topics running the gamut from military strength to public education.
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“It’s mostly like an association game,” said U.S. News Managing Editor of Government Rankings Gary Emerling, who oversaw the project. “Like, I think this is a friendly country. I know Canada is friendly, so I’m going to choose Canada for this one, not to stereotype.”
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Among the lists of superlatives spawned by the study, three European countries – Italy, Spain and France – topped the best countries for tourism.
Tourism itself is a subcategory under the larger umbrella of adventure.
Best countries for adventure
| Brazil |
| Italy |
| Greece |
| Spain |
| Thailand |
| New Zealand |
| Portugal |
| Australia |
| Mexico |
| Argentina |
Other attributes contributing to this year’s adventure rankings include perceived friendliness, fun, pleasant climate, scenery and sexiness, yes sexiness.
U.S. News & World report separately ranked the best countries for solo travel.
| Spain |
| Greece |
| Italy |
| New Zealand |
| Portugal |
| Australia |
| Thailand |
| Brazil |
| Netherlands |
| Ireland |
“Within that, there’s an attribute where we look at how safe countries are perceived as, and I think that’s important for travelers to look at,” Emerling said. “It’s kind of what you would think – the Nordic countries, Switzerland on that list – but then, similar to … the friendly attribute, we have one called unapproachable.”
Iran, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Russia were seen as the five most unapproachable countries, based on survey responses. Emerling noted current events can impact perceptions.
“Israel has fallen like 24 spots as far as being seen as good for tourism,” he said. “I think it would be fair to assume folks are connecting the current situation in Gaza there.”
The 2024 survey of nearly 17,000 people from across the globe was conducted from March 22 to May 23. U.S. News & World Report says they consulted on the study and model used to score and rank countries, which were developed by global marketing and communications services company WPP and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania professor David Reibstein.