Just as we seem to be putting the pandemic behind us, we’re getting hit with elevated levels of inflation and the possibility of a recession. Those headwinds might suppress the rekindled travel fires of adventurers, who’ve been prevented by Covid-19 from visiting some of the world’s most desirable destinations.
The benefits of travel are many. It ties the world together, promotes greater cultural understanding, and offers a shared experience. It also supports as many 120 million direct tourism jobs all over the world, according to the World Tourism Organization, and provides significant portions of the gross domestic product for many countries.
One lure for travelers is the chance to see some of the world’s most famous landmarks – whether man-made or natural – for themselves. To compile a list of the 25 most popular landmarks in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the results of a report from Bounce, a luggage storage app that also frequently analyzes data around various travel topics.
Bounce evaluated data on 125 worldwide landmarks, measuring their annual visitors, annual Google search volume, TripAdvisor ratings, and Instagram posts, as well as average ticket price and annual ticket revenue to determine the 25 around the world that people love the most. (Here are some natural landmarks already damaged or destroyed by climate change.)
Click here to see the 25 most famous landmarks around the world
Seven of the landmarks on the list are free to visitors. On the other hand, the most-visited destination, the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai – also the world’s tallest building at 2,716 feet – boasts the highest ticket price. It’s also the most-searched landmark on Google. But it’s not the most popular landmark overall. That distinction goes to a destination long associated with romance and honeymooners – Niagara Falls. (Here are some early photographs of the world’s most famous landmarks.)
Source: Daniel Lange / iStock via Getty Images
25. The London Eye/Millennium Wheel (London)
> Overall score: 4.33/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $42.54
> Visitors in a year: 3.5 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $148.8 million
> Google searches: 7.6 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 3.4 million
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Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
24. Washington Monument (Washington, D.C.)
> Overall score: 4.33/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 7.5 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 2.3 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 608,205
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Source: AsodaPhotography / iStock via Getty Images
23. Mount Fuji (Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan)
> Overall score: 4.41/10
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 3.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 4.3 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 573,714
Source: 4maksym / iStock via Getty Images
22. Mont Saint-Michel (Normandy, France)
> Overall score: 4.45/10
> Avg. ticket price: $5.49
> Visitors in a year: 3.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 8.5 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 590,005
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Source: Predrag Vuckovic / E+ via Getty Images
21. Empire State Building (New York City)
> Overall score: 4.61/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $41.00
> Visitors in a year: 4.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $164 million
> Google searches: 10.1 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 3.1 million
Source: SCStock / iStock via Getty Images
20. Alhambra (Granada, Spain)
> Overall score: 4.61/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $12.17
> Visitors in a year: 2.3 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 6.8 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.8
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Source: TomasSereda / iStock via Getty Images
19. Tower Bridge (London)
> Overall score: 4.65/10
> Avg. ticket price: $10.10
> Visitors in a year: 3.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 5.2 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 2,618,685
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Source: LARISA SHPINEVA / iStock via Getty Images
18. Pompeii (Campania, Italy)
> Overall score: 4.78/10
> Avg. ticket price: $6.49
> Visitors in a year: 3.6 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 7.7 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 768,608
Source: Lubo Ivanko / iStock via Getty Images
17. Petra (Jordan)
> Overall score: 4.94/10
> Avg. ticket price: $35.22
> Visitors in a year: 1.1 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $39.9 million
> Google searches: 8.9 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.5 million
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16. Pyramids of Giza (Al Haram, Egypt)
> Overall score: 5.06/10
> Avg. ticket price: $7.81
> Visitors in a year: 13.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $101.5 million
> Google searches: 3.5 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.3 million
Source: Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images
15. Hoover Dam (Nevada and Arizona)
> Overall score: 5.27/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 7.5 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 5.9 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 536,963
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Source: lucky-photographer / iStock via Getty Images
14. St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)
> Overall score: 5.27/10 (tied)
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 6.9 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 1.7 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 228,446
Source: DannyIacob / iStock via Getty Images
13. Angkor Wat (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
> Overall score: 5.30/10
> Avg. ticket price: $18.50
> Visitors in a year: 2.2 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $40.7 million
> Google searches: 4.7 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.6 million
Source: GlobalP / iStock via Getty Images
12. Arc de Triomphe (Paris)
> Overall score: 5.39/10
> Avg. ticket price: $5.99
> Visitors in a year: 7.2 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $43.1 million
> Google searches: 6.6 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.2 million
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Source: Starcevic / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
11. Louvre Museum (Paris)
> Overall score: 5.47/10
> Avg. ticket price: $7.48
> Visitors in a year: 9.6 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $71.8 million
> Google searches: 3.3 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 3.6 million
Source: Anton Aleksenko / iStock via Getty Images
10. Colosseum (Rome)
> Overall score: 5.75/10
> Avg. ticket price: $7.98
> Visitors in a year: 7.6 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $606.6 million
> Google searches: 7.5 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.9 million
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Source: MartinM303 / iStock via Getty Images
9. Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada)
> Overall score: 6.08/10
> Avg. ticket price: $5.25
> Visitors in a year: 4.1 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 3.8 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 1.2 million
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Source: dblight / E+ via Getty Images
8. Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.)
> Overall score: 6.12/10
> Avg. ticket price: $37.16
> Visitors in a year: 16.7 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $621.7 million
> Google searches: 24.6 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 6.2 million
Source: saiko3p / iStock via Getty Images
7. Eiffel Tower (Paris)
> Overall score: 6.20/10
> Avg. ticket price: $12.72
> Visitors in a year: 6.1 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $77.6 million
> Google searches: 16.6 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 7.1 million
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Source: zhudifeng / iStock via Getty Images
6. Great Wall of China
> Overall score: 6.45/10
> Avg. ticket price: $4.37
> Visitors in a year: 10.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $43.7 million
> Google searches: 6.1 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 418,020
Source: GCShutter / E+ via Getty Images
5. Statue of Liberty (New York City)
> Overall score: 6.61/10
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 4.2 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 12.5 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 2.2 million
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Source: bluejayphoto / iStock via Getty Images
4. Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)
> Overall score: 6.90/10
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 15.0 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 6.0 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 3.2 million
3. Grand Canyon (Arizona)
> Overall score: 7.47/10
> Avg. ticket price: $15.00
> Visitors in a year: 6.2 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $93 million
> Google searches: 15.0 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 4.2 million
Source: StockByM / iStock via Getty Images
2. Taj Mahal (Agra, India)
> Overall score: 7.67/10
> Avg. ticket price: $8.15
> Visitors in a year: 6.5 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: $53.2 million
> Google searches: 23.8 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 2.1 million
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Source: bloodua / iStock via Getty Images
1. Niagara Falls (New York and Ontario, Canada)
> Overall score: 9.22/10
> Avg. ticket price: $0.00
> Visitors in a year: 11.7 million
> Est. annual ticket revenue: N/A
> Google searches: 18.1 million a year
> Instagram posts as of Aug. 23, 2022: 3.4 million
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