Sport, media and culture to define 2010's tourism hotspots

Relax News
Saturday 02 January 2010 20:00 EST
Comments
(Steve Rosset)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Next year's sporting and media events are likely to dominate travel through 2010, according to predictions from British Airways.

The airline, one of the world's largest, released ten hotspots on December 11 that it has internally earmarked as big attractions for travellers. Major sporting events such as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, to be held in South Africa, and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India are predicted to be big crowd-pullers. South Africa expects around 350,000 visitors during the tournament, Vancouver 250,000 and New Delhi 50,000.

It is also believed that media events will affect destination choices. New York is predicted to retain its popularity, helped by the sequels to legendary chick flick Sex and the City and 1987 corporate drama Wall Street. Meanwhile 2009 hit The Hangover is expected to rekindle interest in travel to "haven for partying" Las Vegas, whilst Jay-Z and Beyoncé's recent trip to Dubrovnik are expected to boost Croatia's popularity.

British Airways believes that growing traveler enthusiasm for ecotourism will make European Green Capital 2010 Stockholm a popular destination. Istanbul, the European Capital of Culture 2010, is also expected to be a big hit in terms of airline miles.

The Top Ten Tourist Destinations of 2010
Compiled by British Airways

1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Istanbul, Turkey
3. Las Vegas, USA
4. Vancouver, Canada
5. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
6. Dubrovnik, Croatia
7. New York, USA
8. Stockholm , Sweden
9. The Maldives
10. New Delhi, India

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in