Italy is a perennial favorite in our awards – once you see its scores for meals, surroundings and locations to remain, properly, that’s amore. More of a shock is that this yr’s runner-up, although it shouldn’t be: in 2024, Qatar, with its world-class eating places, museums and actions, drew extra guests than Malta and Jamaica. Once reclusive Bhutan is having a second, due to its dragon-fired tradition; Japan was rated extremely for issues to do and its streamlined transport; and you really liked Thailand for its pungent meals and well-known welcome – a criterion that Morocco additionally embraced. In that spirit, a excessive 5 for Estonia: that is the Baltic nation’s first displaying in our awards, with spectacular scores for its slow-burn tradition and outside actions.
Santiago, ChileGetty Images
20. Chile. Score 91.71
Chile is like a whole world stitched into one lengthy, slender strip of land. Stretching round 4,300 kilometres from north to south, landscapes vary from barren deserts at the peak to the southern, wind-lashed fjords of Patagonia. Such pure wonders drew simply over 5 million worldwide guests to Chile in 2024, every returning dwelling with awe-inspiring tales of the nation’s unbelievable scale and distinction. From the Atacama Desert, the place salt flats shimmer below breathtakingly starry skies, to the Central Valley, Chile’s most distinguished wine-producing area, there are sufficient experiences throughout the land to make a shoestring tour really feel like a number of particular person adventures.
Nine Arch Bridge in Sri LankaGetty Images
19. Sri Lanka. Score 92.09
This South Asian nation packs a wallop right into a single teardrop-shaped island solely barely bigger than the state of West Virginia: Think high-elevation tea plantations which might be eye-vibratingly inexperienced, nationwide parks the place sloth bears and endangered elephants roam, and pleasant surf cities that, should you squint, would possibly remind you of Costa Rica or Nicaragua some many years in the past. Then there’s the capital metropolis of Colombo, the place you possibly can store for native spices, fly kites alongside the waterfront, and even constitution a yacht. As Sri Lanka has labored in latest years to determine itself as a world tourism contender, it has confronted a number of challenges. Now, it’s regaining the belief of holiday makers with its trademark hospitality and heat nature – to not point out an ever-expanding roster of recent resorts and resorts.