The global hotspots travellers most want to return to 

Many people plan their dream trips for a while, getting comprehensive travel insurance in place and filling their itineraries with attractions and sights they’ve patiently waited to tick off their bucket lists. But while many of us travel somewhere new each year, in fear of not having visited some of the best parts of the world, many travellers instead value familiarity, or even fall in love with places so deeply that they choose to return, time and time again. 

With this in mind, we wanted to investigate which places around the world are most captivating for those who visit. We’ve analysed thousands of comments on Reddit, scrutinised hundreds of reviews of global attractions, and ranked the countries, cities and attractions people most want to return to.  

Which countries and cities do people most want to revisit?

To figure out which countries and cities are drawing the most visitors back, we took to Reddit’s r/Travel board, which boasts almost 10 million members. We analysed over 7,500 comments from different subreddits discussing countries that people expressed a desire to revisit, tallying the number of mentions for each destination.  

Top 10 Countries People Most Want To Return To 

Rank	Country	Number of mentions
1	Japan	324
2	Italy	294
3	Spain	209
4	Mexico	151
5	Thailand	136
6	Ireland	135
7	France	127
8	Iceland	124
9	Greece	120
10	Germany	118

1. Japan 
   Japan is a country famous for its cherry blossom, delicious cuisine and unique culture and history, so it’s no surprise that it ranks as the number one place people want to return to. With over 300 mentions across subreddits discussing the places people are yearning to revisit, travellers to Japan often pinpoint the diversity and altitude of things to explore as the reason they most want to return. 

2. Italy 
   From gastronomic delights in some of the world’s most famous food regions, to breathtaking architecture and art like the Colosseum or Florence’s choice of Renaissance masterpieces, Italy is the second country travellers most want to revisit. The Mediterranean country boasts several historical landmarks and beautiful landscapes for avid travellers to explore, with many of Reddit’s travel-obsessed users calling the country their ‘first love’. 

3. Spain 
   Across the subreddits, Spain was mentioned over 200 times. From the sandy beaches of the Spanish Costas to the different varieties of tapas on offer, Spain ranks as the third most sought-after country to revisit. One Redditor named the culture, food and architecture as top reasons why Spain is their dream destination, saying they’d be “happy to spend the rest of my life wandering the stone streets and taking siestas, sipping great wines and snacking on melon con jamon or little bocadillos”.

Top 10 Cities People Most Want To Return To 

Rank	City	Country	Number of mentions
1	London	England	93
2	Paris	France	89
3=	Barcelona	Spain	64
3=	New York City *	United States of America	64
4	Rome	Italy	59
5	Tokyo	Japan	44
6	Amsterdam	Netherlands	41
7	Berlin	Germany	38
8	Edinburgh	Scotland	33
9	Mexico City	Mexico	32
10	Madrid	Spain	27

1. London 
   London, one of the world’s most visited cities, lands itself in first place as the city people most want to return to. Across the subreddits we analysed, there were 93 mentions of London. From iconic buildings like Big Ben and the Shard to riding around the city on double-decker buses, Reddit’s travellers often mention how they’ve visited the UK’s capital multiple times already, with multiple commenters saying the city “just feels like home”. 

2. Paris 
   Following closely behind London with 89 different mentions, is the city of love, Paris. Over 30 million people travel to France’s capital city each year, to enjoy the beautiful scenery, experience Parisien café culture and witness some of the world’s most famous art collections. One Redditor summed up the delights of this French city by saying “It has it all – art, history and food”, a winning combination that leaves people wanting to come back for more. 

3. Barcelona & New York City 
   In joint third place, the city of Barcelona is mentioned over 60 times across the subreddits. Impressive sandy beaches, striking gothic architecture and delicious paella offer travellers no end of options to spend a week away. One Reddit user even called out how unique the city is for its architecture, saying “Casa Mila is my favourite museum for its wavy rooftop that resembles the body of a desert”. 
    
   Also in third place, and commonly referred to as the ‘big apple’, is New York City. Located in America, and one of the world’s most visited cities, one traveller mentioned going back to New York because they didn’t finish visiting the museums or popular spots during their trip, and with so much to do in the city, it’s no surprise travellers are wishing to return to experience more of it. 

Which global attractions do people most want to revisit? 

To figure out which global attractions are often drawing visitors back, we analysed thousands of online reviews for over 450 landmarks, looking at which ones had the highest percentage of reviews from people saying they’d love to “come back” again. We also analysed the percentage of reviews that gave the attraction four or five stars and used a weighted scoring system to assign “come back” scores to each one.

Top 50 Global Attractions People Most Want To Return To 

Rank	Attraction	Location	“Come Back” score /100
1	Dollywood	Tennessee, USA	94
2	Disneyland Park	California, USA	87
3	Stone Mountain Park	Atlanta, USA	81
4	Warner Bros Studio Tour	London, UK	78
5	Blenheim Palace	Oxfordshire, UK	74
=5	Grand Canyon National Park	Arizona, USA	74
7	Crazy Horse Memorial	South Dakota, USA	71
=7	Hampton Court Palace	London, UK	71
9	Tokyo Disneyland	Tokyo, Japan	70
=9	Yosemite National Park	California, USA	70
=9	Universal Studios Florida	Florida, USA	70
=9	Busch Gardens	Florida, USA	70
13	Universal Studios Singapore	Singapore	69
14	Hoi An Ancient Town	Hoi An, Vietnam	68
=14	The Eden Project	Cornwall, UK	68
16	Hong Kong Disneyland	Hong Kong	67
17	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame	Ohio, USA	63
=18	Chatsworth House	Derbyshire, UK	63
=18	Windsor Castle	Windsor, UK	63
20	Kew Gardens	London, UK	62
21	The Metropolitan Museum of Art	New York, USA	60
22	Ha Long Bay	Quảng Ninh, Vietnam	59
23	The Victoria and Albert Museum	London, UK	58
=23	Niagara Falls	Ontario, Canada / New York, USA	58
25	Universal Studios Japan	Osaka, Japan	57
=25	The British Museum	London, UK	57
27	Singapore Zoo	Singapore	56
=27	Gardens by the Bay	Singapore	56
=27	Borough Market	London, UK	56
30	Thorpe Park	Chertsey, UK	55
31	Taj Mahal	Agra, India	54
=31	The Historic Centre of Brugge	Brussels, Belgium	54
33	Disneyland Paris	Paris, France	53
=33	Griffith Observatory	California, USA	53
35	National Gallery	London, UK	52
36	Natural History Museum	London, UK	51
=36	Las Vegas Strip	Nevada, USA	51
38	Trevi Fountain	Rome, Italy	50
=38	Tivoli Gardens	Copenhagen, Denmark	50
=38	Louvre Museum	Paris, France	50
41	Empire State Building	New York, USA	49
=41	La Sagrada Familia	Barcelona, Spain	49
=41	Singapore Botanic Gardens	Singapore	49
44	Tower of London	London, UK	48
=44	Central Park	New York, USA	48
46	Musée d’Orsay	Paris, France	47
47	The Alamo	Texas, USA	46
=47	Waikiki Beach	Hawaii, USA	46
=47	Dubai Mall	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	46
50	Notre-Dame Cathedral	Paris, France	45

1. Dollywood – Tennessee, USA 
   Nestled in the foothills of Tennessee’s iconic Smoky Mountains, Dollywood is both a theme park and a nod to the local Appalachian culture as well as the living legend herself, Dolly Parton. The queen of country partly owns the theme park, which offers everything from thrilling rides, to live entertainment and music. Online reviews praise the park for its fantastic food and decorations during the Christmas period, while many visitors recommend getting the two-day pass, so you can explore everything there is to offer. 

2. Disneyland Park – California, USA 
   To many, this is the happiest place on earth. Disneyland Park, which opened in 1955, is said to have once had a secret apartment inside that was used by Walt Disney himself. As part of the park’s vision for a self-sustaining future, all the plants in the Tomorrowland attraction are edible, and travellers reviewing the park online rave about it, with many saying they continue to come back every year. 

3. Stone Mountain Park – Atlanta, USA 
   Stone Mountain Park sits in the picturesque landscape of Georgia, showcasing the region’s impressive history and natural beauty. Towering over the area, the imposing Stone Mountain provides a gorgeous backdrop to the many activities the area offers travellers. Tourists reviewing the park say they spend their visits camping, hiking up the mountain, learning about the area’s vast history, and often mention that there’s something to do for everyone. 

Whether you’re heading to a theme park, a grand palace, a new destination, or a familiar spot – we hope this research has provided you with the inspiration to book your next trip. Wherever you do end up though, always remember to book your travel insurance as soon as you book your trip, so you can plan your itinerary and prepare for your trip knowing you’ve got comprehensive insurance in place. 

Methodology: 

To assess the attractions people most want to return to, a list of 456 popular global landmarks was collated using desk research. Online reviews for each attraction were then analysed to calculate the percentage of reviews that mentioned the phrase “come back”, as well as the percentage of four- and five-star reviews.  

Reviews with a perceived negative connotation were removed, ensuring that the analysis included only positive sentiment commentary. 

Both data points were then assigned scores using a weighted formula, to provide an overall ‘come back’ score out of 100.  

To assess the countries and cities people most want to return to, a series of subreddits under the Reddit r/Travel thread that discussed destinations people wish to return to, were collated.  
 
Over 7,500 comments and replies were then evaluated for the number of mentions each country and city amassed, thus ranking the destinations people most commonly want to return to. 
 
All data correct as of April 2024.