Most visited tourist attractions worldwide as of April 2014
Most visited tourist attractions - additional information
Attracting just short of 40 million visitors per year, the Las Vegas Strip was the most visited tourist attraction in the world as of April 2014, closely followed by Times Square in New York City with 39.2 million. The top nine tourist attractions, and 28 out of the top 50, were located in the United States. With so much to see and do in their own country, it is not surprising that many U.S. travelers choose to take domestic trips over international ones – in 2014, 84 percent of people taking trips were traveling domestically, compared to just 16 percent traveling abroad.
The Las Vegas Strip, situated in Las Vegas in the state of Nevada, is well-known for its gambling and casino scene, nightlife, restaurants and shopping. The city is packed with resorts offering a variety of entertainment for visitors. Nevada’s most famous industry, casino gaming, was expected to generate around 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2015. Las Vegas is also a leader in the U.S. meetings and conventions industry, hosting more than 22 thousand conventions in 2013.
Outside of the U.S., the most visited tourist attraction was the Forbidden City in Beijing, receiving more than 15 million visitors annually. Built in the early fifteenth century, the Forbidden City was home to Emperors and the center of Chinese government from the Ming dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The most visited tourist attraction in Europe was the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey. The ancient market received 15 million visitors in 2014, although only ranked 11th worldwide.