Travel is always an invigorating privilege, but as soon as the first long immigration line begins to entwine the far reaches of a foreign airport, the intoxicating excitement begins to wane. No one wants to spend their travels feeling uncomfortable, unwelcome, or stuck in long queues. With that in mind, Travelbird surveyed 15,000 travel journalists, taking into account: overcrowding, safety, friendliness, general happiness of local residents and the demeanor in which locals treat tourists, to create a guide of the top 10 friendliest places on earth. 500 cities were surveyed, these made the cut! Do you agree with the findings?
10. Orlando, USA – 7.81
9. Zurich, Switzerland – 7.84
8. Oslo, Norway – 7.88
7. Tokyo, Japan – 7.89
6. Lisbon, Portugal – 7.9
5. Rotterdam, Netherlands – 7.98
4. San Francisco, USA – 8.0
3. Helsinki, Finland – 8.01
2. Stockholm, Sweden – 8.02
1. Singapore, Singapore – 8.22
We couldn’t agree more with Singapore hitting the top spot. It’s both an extremely friendly and welcoming city without the feeling of being overcrowded or super touristy. Tourism should create a favorable, sustainable impact on a city and country, and surveys like this one by Travelbird are a great indicator of the places that have absolutely nailed it, and a few that should probably re think their strategy! The only question is: where are you going?
Copyright: f11photo / 123RF Stock Photo
Obvious fluff as anyone who has been to SF and Singapore can attest. My hometown is prenetly full of selfcentered techies and the latter, well, don’t confuse polite with friendly. Tokyo really ought to top the charts…