Top-10 world-travel destination lists — new and old

In the midst of more random Baja reading from The Book of Lists #2, I came across a 1980 list of the “10 Best Overlooked Travel Sites in the World”, according to legendary travel journalist Lowell Thomas:

1) The Brooks Range country of northern Alaska
2) The Antarctic continent, especially the area known as the Antarctic Peninsula
3) The South Island of New Zealand
4) Arnhem Land, Australia
5) The Inner Range and valleys of New Guinea
6) Sumatra
7) Borneo
8) Volcanoes of Kamchatka
9) Arctic Siberia
10) Ituri Forest, Zaire

Nearly a quarter of a century later, I’d wager that some of those destinations, such as the South Island of Zealand, have become quite popular on the backpacker circuit. Others, like the Brooks Range and Kamchatka, have turned into popular adventure destinations for those with the money to seek them out. Of the list, I’d wager only the Ituri Forest still languishes in obscurity — mainly because of ongoing political unrest in central Africa.

Of course, 25 years after the Book of Lists #2, list-making seems set to overtake travel journalism, as most every major magazine churns out travel list after travel list, month after month.

Among recent travel-mag lists was National Geographic Traveler‘s ranking of “top world destinations”. Selection was based on aesthetic appeal, cultural integrity and a balance of factors like environmental conditions, condition of historic structures and tourism managment. This was their top ten:

1) Norwegian Fjords
2) Cape Breton Island, Canada
3) South Island, New Zealand
4) Torres del Paine, Chile
5) Tasmania, Australia
6) Rocky Mountain parks, Canada
7) Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom
8) Kruger National Park, South Africa
9) Kyoto historic district, Japan
10) Quebec City historic city center, Canada