World’s most desirable countries: where does the U.S. fall on the list?

While plenty of data sources can reveal the most popular travel destinations right now, opinions from actual travelers can be far more insightful. The annual Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards are based on a survey of avid travelers. The results are in, and the most desirable countries and cities in the world for travel have been crowned winners.

So where does the U.S. fall on this list? According to Wanderlust readers it’s the fourth most desirable destination. The U.S. follows Japan at number three, Canada at number two. The most desirable country in the world—for the third time in four years—is Australia. The U.S. is in good company.

Though we didn’t make the top three most desirable countries, the U.S. nabbed the bronze for most desirable destination for adventure (behind Peru at number two and New Zealand at number one). As for most desirable cities, two in the U.S. make an appearance in the top ten list: New Orleans at number eight and Chicago at number ten. Parts of the U.S. also ranked high most desirable region of the world: the American South at number two, California at number four and Florida at number eight. 

For more insight from Wanderlust readers, including most desirable islands, most desirable cities in Europe and most desirable cities for gastronomy, see the full awards list here.

These are the most desirable countries in the world, according to Wanderlust

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Japan
4. USA
5. New Zealand
6. Costa Rica
7. South Africa
8. Brazil
9. South Korea
10. Peru