World’s 50 Most-Visited Tourist Attractions

According to the UNWTO, International tourist arrivals increased by 5% in 2013. This shows more than one billion trips. China is the second-largest exporter of tourists, with its population of 1.36 billion. Russia, now the fifth-largest outbound market, increased travel spending by 26%.

South Korean theme parks Everland or Lotte World ranked among the world’s 50 most-visited tourist attractions—beating out the Eiffel Tower (nearly 7 million), the Great Pyramids (4 million), and Stonehenge (1 million). France’s Disneyland Park attracts about the same number of visitors (10.5 million) as Sacré Coeur, and four of the world’s 20 most-visited tourist attractions are Disney parks.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum narrowly missed the top 50, as did the British Museum in London (6.7 million), the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (6.3 million), and the Roman Colosseum and Forum (5.1 million each). The Berlin Wall Memorial Site witnssed only 500,000 visitors in 2013, though extra crowds are arriving in November 2014 for the 25th anniversary of its fall.

For some tourist destinations accessibility can be a factor. Because, it takes extra effort to reach Yellowstone National Park (3.2 million) or the Terracotta Army in Xi’an, China (4.8 million). And Peru’s Machu Picchu has restricted tourism to help maintain the site’s integrity; only 2,500 can enter per day, or 912,500 per year.

“Tourist attractions” here are defined as cultural and historical sites, natural landmarks, and officially designated spaces.