Wölfin
10-23-2009, 10:17 AM
First Place: The Fjord Region, Norway
October 21, 2009--Still waters in Norang Fjord, shown in an undated picture, reflect the "well-preserved Norwegian rural life" that helped the region take top honors in the sixth annual "Destinations Rated" scorecard compiled by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations.
The center convened an independent panel of 437 experts in fields from historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and archaeology to assess 133 iconic places around the world.
The panel based its decisions on six criteria: environmental and ecological quality, social and cultural integrity, condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and outlook for the future. (Read more about the survey method.) The results appear in the November/December 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.
In an assessment that would make Slartibartfast (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) swell with pride, one anonymous panelist called Norway's fjords "about as good as can be done." Another panelist commented that "the short tourist season, rugged terrain, limited population, and inherent sensitivity of the locals to the environment bode well for the fjord region."
(Both National Geographic News and Traveler are part of the National Geographic Society.)
— Photograph by Andrew H. Brown, National Geographic Stock
This is the sixth annual survey of destination stewardship to appear in Traveler. Conducted by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations, it revisits some of the iconic places we first surveyed in 2003 and rated in April 2004. We also threw in a few new destinations to keep things interesting.
The condition of any destination is a mix of what local governments, residents, and businesses can control—pollution, cultural quality and authenticity, tourism management—and what they can't, such as natural disasters and global economic meltdowns. After more than five years, how have the scores changed?
At first glance the survey method may seem less than exact. We contact as many experts in pertinent fields as we can and ask them to rate the places they know. We then average their scores and publish the results. But statistical experience shows that group judgment can be surprisingly accurate—the "wisdom of crowds" effect. In 2003, when we conducted our first survey and had about 200 experts on the survey panel, the top-scoring destination was the Norwegian Fjords area, the lowest Spain's Costa del Sol. This year's 437 panelists, fewer than a hundred of whom participated in our 2004 survey, gave the highest and lowest scores to—trumpets, please—the Norwegian Fjords and the Costa del Sol. The only difference? The fjords rated even higher than before (85 versus 82), while the infamous, hotel-lined "Costa del Concrete" dipped lower (31 versus 41).
If there is any pattern in scores for the retested destinations, and panelist comments about them, it is this: When people care about the condition of a place, its score tends to go up and stay there. For destinations that gained at least five points—on a survey like this, smaller moves aren't very significant—panelists cited initiatives to protect (Serengeti, up 10; mid-coast California, up 8), to restore (Hue, up 11), to improve facilities (Rajasthan, up 8), or combined efforts (Copán, up 7; Cappadocia, up 8).
But when people see a place as a tourism cash cow, scores tend to slip (Ha Long Bay, down 5 since 2006; the Inside Passage in Alaska and British Columbia, down 7 in five years; the Grenadines, down a troubling 17 in two years). Panelists docked five of the seven "Bottom Rated" places—and many of those "In Trouble"—for reckless development and commercialization.
If there is a blessing to the global economic downturn, it is the respite from such rampant, quick-buck degradation of Earth's remaining beautiful places. The break will be only temporary, however, unless the places at risk—and the people who visit them—learn from the places that care. —J.B.T.
The List:
(Top places (the numbers at the left are the score they received))
85 Fjords Region, Norway
81 Kootenay/Yoho National Parks, British Columbia
80 Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec
80 South Island, New Zealand
79 Ancient Kyoto, Japan
78 Vermont, U.S.
78 Slovenia
78 Kakadu National Park, Australia
78 Medieval Granada and the Alhambra, Spain
77 Bavarian Alps, Germany
77 Columbia Gorge Region, Oregon-Washington, U.S.
77 Yorkshire Dales, England, United Kingdom
77 Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom
77 Torres del Paine, Chile
76 Berkshires, Massachusetts, U.S.
76 Douro Valley, Portugal
76 Engadine Region, Switzerland
76 Wales, United Kingdom
75 Bruges Historic Center, Belgium
75 Corsica, France
75 Brittany, France
74 Fujisan (Mount Fuji), Japan
Places Doing Well
73 Cappadocia, Turkey
73 Pantanal, Brazil
72 Central Copenhagen, Denmark
72 Northern Coast, California
72 Coastal Area, Maine, U.S.
72 Tuscany, Italy
72 Salzburg Historic Center, Austria
71 Ring of Kerry, Ireland
71 Eleuthera, Bahamas
71 Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
71 Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
71 Yellowstone/Grand Teton Region, Wyoming-Montana-Idaho, U.S.
71 Amsterdam Historic Center, Netherlands
71 Laurentian Highlands, Quebec, Canada
71 Upolu, Samoa
71 Serengeti Plain, Tanzania
71 Delphi, Greece
71 Santa Barbara to Monterey, California, U.S.
70 Taos and the Enchanted Circle Tour, New Mexico, U.S.
70 Kruger National Park, South Africa
69 Seychelles
69 Lake District, Italy
68 Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown, Virginia, U.S.
68 Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
68 Copán, Honduras
67 Waterton-Glacier "Crown of the Continent" Region, Alberta-Montana-British Columbia
67 New Caledonia
66 Colorado Rockies, Colorado, U.S.
66 Bluegrass Country, Kentucky, U.S.
66 Grand Canyon/Tusayan, Arizona, U.S.
66 Qin Emperor Mausoleum, Xi'an, China
66 Dalmatia's Coastal Isles, Croatia
66 Patagonian Andes Region, Argentina
66 British Virgin Islands
65 Arches/Canyonlands/Moab, Utah, U.S.
65 Yosemite Area, California, U.S.
64 Inside Passage, Alaska-British Columbia
64 Rajasthan, India
64 Hue, Vietnam
64 Vanuatu
Places in the Balance
63 Traverse City and Lakeshore, Michigan, U.S.
63 Sonora Desert Region, Arizona, U.S.
62 The Grenadines, Caribbean
62 Costa Rica
62 Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, U.S.
62 Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
62 Great Barrier Reef, Australia
62 Prague Old Town, Czech Republic
62 Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
61 Grenada
61 Island of Hawaii, U.S.
61 Hill Country, Texas, U.S.
61 Mount Rushmore/Badlands, South Dakota
60 Petra, Jordan
60 Stonehenge, England, United Kingdom
60 Kerala Backwaters, India
59 Bali, Indonesia
59 Port Antonio Area, Jamaica
59 Reef and Islands, Belize
59 Valparaíso, Chile
58 Borobudur, Indonesia
58 Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.
58 Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
58 Lake Titicaca, Bolivia-Peru
57 Azure Coast, Turkey
57 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
57 Athens Acropolis, Greece
57 Santorini, Greece
57 St. Lucia
55 Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru
55 Tikal/Flores, Guatemala
55 French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), France
54 Niagara Falls Area, Ontario-New York
54 Rio de Janeiro Beach Districts, Brazil
54 Chiang Mai, Thailand
53 Masai Mara, Kenya
53 Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia
53 Sanibel/Captiva, Florida
Places with Troubles
52 Lalibela and Rock-Hewn Churches, Ethiopia
52 Northern Coast, Honduras
52 Agra Area (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri), India
51 Long Island Shore (Hamptons to Montauk), New York, U.S.
51 North Coast, Crete, Greece
51 Venice and Lagoon, Italy
50 Tahiti, French Polynesia
50 Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
49 Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina-Tennessee, U.S.
49 Lijiang and Three Parallel Rivers, Yunnan, China
48 Everglades and Big Cypress, Florida, U.S.
48 Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
48 Luxor (Thebes, Valley of the Kings), Egypt
48 Beijing Historic Districts, China
47 Andorra
47 Sinhalese Coastal Regions, Sri Lanka
46 Angkor/Siem Reap, Cambodia
45 Pyramids, Giza, Egypt
45 South Beach, Florida, U.S.
45 Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, China
44 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
44 Dead Sea, Israel-Jordan
44 "Riviera Maya," Caribbean Coast, Quintana Roo, Mexico
43 Algarve, Portugal
42 Costa Brava, Spain
42 Chesapeake Bay, Maryland-Virginia, U.S.
Worst-Rated Places
41 Northern Red Sea Coast, Egypt
41 North Coast, Dominican Republic
38 St. Maarten/St. Martin
37 Cabo San Lucas Region, Mexico
35 Grand Bahama, Bahamas
34 West Bank, Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine
31 Costa del Sol, Spain
October 21, 2009--Still waters in Norang Fjord, shown in an undated picture, reflect the "well-preserved Norwegian rural life" that helped the region take top honors in the sixth annual "Destinations Rated" scorecard compiled by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations.
The center convened an independent panel of 437 experts in fields from historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and archaeology to assess 133 iconic places around the world.
The panel based its decisions on six criteria: environmental and ecological quality, social and cultural integrity, condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and outlook for the future. (Read more about the survey method.) The results appear in the November/December 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.
In an assessment that would make Slartibartfast (of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) swell with pride, one anonymous panelist called Norway's fjords "about as good as can be done." Another panelist commented that "the short tourist season, rugged terrain, limited population, and inherent sensitivity of the locals to the environment bode well for the fjord region."
(Both National Geographic News and Traveler are part of the National Geographic Society.)
— Photograph by Andrew H. Brown, National Geographic Stock
This is the sixth annual survey of destination stewardship to appear in Traveler. Conducted by the National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations, it revisits some of the iconic places we first surveyed in 2003 and rated in April 2004. We also threw in a few new destinations to keep things interesting.
The condition of any destination is a mix of what local governments, residents, and businesses can control—pollution, cultural quality and authenticity, tourism management—and what they can't, such as natural disasters and global economic meltdowns. After more than five years, how have the scores changed?
At first glance the survey method may seem less than exact. We contact as many experts in pertinent fields as we can and ask them to rate the places they know. We then average their scores and publish the results. But statistical experience shows that group judgment can be surprisingly accurate—the "wisdom of crowds" effect. In 2003, when we conducted our first survey and had about 200 experts on the survey panel, the top-scoring destination was the Norwegian Fjords area, the lowest Spain's Costa del Sol. This year's 437 panelists, fewer than a hundred of whom participated in our 2004 survey, gave the highest and lowest scores to—trumpets, please—the Norwegian Fjords and the Costa del Sol. The only difference? The fjords rated even higher than before (85 versus 82), while the infamous, hotel-lined "Costa del Concrete" dipped lower (31 versus 41).
If there is any pattern in scores for the retested destinations, and panelist comments about them, it is this: When people care about the condition of a place, its score tends to go up and stay there. For destinations that gained at least five points—on a survey like this, smaller moves aren't very significant—panelists cited initiatives to protect (Serengeti, up 10; mid-coast California, up 8), to restore (Hue, up 11), to improve facilities (Rajasthan, up 8), or combined efforts (Copán, up 7; Cappadocia, up 8).
But when people see a place as a tourism cash cow, scores tend to slip (Ha Long Bay, down 5 since 2006; the Inside Passage in Alaska and British Columbia, down 7 in five years; the Grenadines, down a troubling 17 in two years). Panelists docked five of the seven "Bottom Rated" places—and many of those "In Trouble"—for reckless development and commercialization.
If there is a blessing to the global economic downturn, it is the respite from such rampant, quick-buck degradation of Earth's remaining beautiful places. The break will be only temporary, however, unless the places at risk—and the people who visit them—learn from the places that care. —J.B.T.
The List:
(Top places (the numbers at the left are the score they received))
85 Fjords Region, Norway
81 Kootenay/Yoho National Parks, British Columbia
80 Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec
80 South Island, New Zealand
79 Ancient Kyoto, Japan
78 Vermont, U.S.
78 Slovenia
78 Kakadu National Park, Australia
78 Medieval Granada and the Alhambra, Spain
77 Bavarian Alps, Germany
77 Columbia Gorge Region, Oregon-Washington, U.S.
77 Yorkshire Dales, England, United Kingdom
77 Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom
77 Torres del Paine, Chile
76 Berkshires, Massachusetts, U.S.
76 Douro Valley, Portugal
76 Engadine Region, Switzerland
76 Wales, United Kingdom
75 Bruges Historic Center, Belgium
75 Corsica, France
75 Brittany, France
74 Fujisan (Mount Fuji), Japan
Places Doing Well
73 Cappadocia, Turkey
73 Pantanal, Brazil
72 Central Copenhagen, Denmark
72 Northern Coast, California
72 Coastal Area, Maine, U.S.
72 Tuscany, Italy
72 Salzburg Historic Center, Austria
71 Ring of Kerry, Ireland
71 Eleuthera, Bahamas
71 Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia
71 Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
71 Yellowstone/Grand Teton Region, Wyoming-Montana-Idaho, U.S.
71 Amsterdam Historic Center, Netherlands
71 Laurentian Highlands, Quebec, Canada
71 Upolu, Samoa
71 Serengeti Plain, Tanzania
71 Delphi, Greece
71 Santa Barbara to Monterey, California, U.S.
70 Taos and the Enchanted Circle Tour, New Mexico, U.S.
70 Kruger National Park, South Africa
69 Seychelles
69 Lake District, Italy
68 Williamsburg/Yorktown/Jamestown, Virginia, U.S.
68 Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
68 Copán, Honduras
67 Waterton-Glacier "Crown of the Continent" Region, Alberta-Montana-British Columbia
67 New Caledonia
66 Colorado Rockies, Colorado, U.S.
66 Bluegrass Country, Kentucky, U.S.
66 Grand Canyon/Tusayan, Arizona, U.S.
66 Qin Emperor Mausoleum, Xi'an, China
66 Dalmatia's Coastal Isles, Croatia
66 Patagonian Andes Region, Argentina
66 British Virgin Islands
65 Arches/Canyonlands/Moab, Utah, U.S.
65 Yosemite Area, California, U.S.
64 Inside Passage, Alaska-British Columbia
64 Rajasthan, India
64 Hue, Vietnam
64 Vanuatu
Places in the Balance
63 Traverse City and Lakeshore, Michigan, U.S.
63 Sonora Desert Region, Arizona, U.S.
62 The Grenadines, Caribbean
62 Costa Rica
62 Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, U.S.
62 Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
62 Great Barrier Reef, Australia
62 Prague Old Town, Czech Republic
62 Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
61 Grenada
61 Island of Hawaii, U.S.
61 Hill Country, Texas, U.S.
61 Mount Rushmore/Badlands, South Dakota
60 Petra, Jordan
60 Stonehenge, England, United Kingdom
60 Kerala Backwaters, India
59 Bali, Indonesia
59 Port Antonio Area, Jamaica
59 Reef and Islands, Belize
59 Valparaíso, Chile
58 Borobudur, Indonesia
58 Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.
58 Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
58 Lake Titicaca, Bolivia-Peru
57 Azure Coast, Turkey
57 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
57 Athens Acropolis, Greece
57 Santorini, Greece
57 St. Lucia
55 Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Peru
55 Tikal/Flores, Guatemala
55 French Riviera (Côte d'Azur), France
54 Niagara Falls Area, Ontario-New York
54 Rio de Janeiro Beach Districts, Brazil
54 Chiang Mai, Thailand
53 Masai Mara, Kenya
53 Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia
53 Sanibel/Captiva, Florida
Places with Troubles
52 Lalibela and Rock-Hewn Churches, Ethiopia
52 Northern Coast, Honduras
52 Agra Area (Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri), India
51 Long Island Shore (Hamptons to Montauk), New York, U.S.
51 North Coast, Crete, Greece
51 Venice and Lagoon, Italy
50 Tahiti, French Polynesia
50 Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
49 Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina-Tennessee, U.S.
49 Lijiang and Three Parallel Rivers, Yunnan, China
48 Everglades and Big Cypress, Florida, U.S.
48 Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
48 Luxor (Thebes, Valley of the Kings), Egypt
48 Beijing Historic Districts, China
47 Andorra
47 Sinhalese Coastal Regions, Sri Lanka
46 Angkor/Siem Reap, Cambodia
45 Pyramids, Giza, Egypt
45 South Beach, Florida, U.S.
45 Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet, China
44 Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
44 Dead Sea, Israel-Jordan
44 "Riviera Maya," Caribbean Coast, Quintana Roo, Mexico
43 Algarve, Portugal
42 Costa Brava, Spain
42 Chesapeake Bay, Maryland-Virginia, U.S.
Worst-Rated Places
41 Northern Red Sea Coast, Egypt
41 North Coast, Dominican Republic
38 St. Maarten/St. Martin
37 Cabo San Lucas Region, Mexico
35 Grand Bahama, Bahamas
34 West Bank, Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine
31 Costa del Sol, Spain