Anyone who has spent time reading about travel is probably familiar with the New York Times 52 Places to Go list. An authoritatively titled list, telling you that these 52 places are the places worth visiting in the coming year, from one of the most influential papers in the United States, is certainly going to get worldwide attention. Having looked to this list as a source of authority in the past, and followed closely the travels of this year’s 52 Places traveller (the person that the Times sends to visit the 52 destinations, after the list is compiled), I looked into how this list comes together. The result is disappointing.
According to the Times, “We ask our regular contributors, many of whom live overseas or roam the globe, for ideas. We get hundreds of them and pare things down from there.” So no one from the Times has actually visited the places they are suggesting you spend your hard earned money to travel to. A list of suggestions from various travel bloggers, part time contributors, and expats is pared down from a cozy conference room in New York City. It is then given the authority of the Times brand. Forgive me for being underwhelmed.
The next problem is that suggestions provided by a range of different people have no constant benchmark for comparison. Expats who live in a great city might suggest you visit, but a place that is great to live in long term might be boring to visit for a few days. A hostel with a cool vibe can have a higher 10 point rating than a 5 star resort in the same destination. People look for different things in a destination, and with no constant variable to compare, it is difficult to know how these destinations actually stack up against each other, or the places that were left off the list. The 52 places traveler would be such a constant, but they are sent to the destinations after the list is published, once the Times has advised hundreds of thousands of their readers to forge ahead and visit a place like Chongli, China.
The inclusion of Chongli epitomizes the major problem with this list. No person who has spent more than a few weeks in China would suggest that someone spend money to travel to a fake ski resort. Chongli has no natural snow, and the facilities are being constructed for a Winter Olympics still 3 years away. The write up for this destination might have looked good in the boardroom, but for the Times to tell people to travel there is a decision they should be embarrassed about (even ignoring that these upcoming games are a propaganda coup for a regime engaging in extensive crimes against minority groups). In some cases, travelers may find it worthwhile to travel to countries with questionable governments; in order to meet local people, support their businesses, and experience the culture. Chongli as a place provides none of these opportunities.
Suggesting an artificially constructed, government planned destination shows an astoundingly low level of experience with China outside the major cities. For their money, travellers might have a better experience taking a two hour taxi to Pudong New International Technology Area, or a high speed train to see the empty apartment towers of the Hefei suburbs. If a prominent Chinese newspaper were to tell New Yorkers that Trenton, New Jersey was an up and coming destination, it would be just as misguided. To make matters worse, this type of endorsement is a boon for Chinese Communist Party driven, nationalistic tourism, and represents the type of government run and built attractions that foreigners should avoid when visiting China.
Which leads me to to our list of 52 Places to Go in 2020. While this might not be the most widespread and globally diverse list, it is a list of places that Katie or I have traveled to in the past year. We also provide a little bit of context, and reasons why we found each destination worthwhile. If you are interested, please scroll down for our list of 52 Places someone did not just look up on the internet and then suggest that you should visit.
The List:
- Tbilisi, GE
- Saint Petersburg, RU
- Con Dao, VN
- Arras, FR
- Osh, KG
- Khiva, UZ
- Boston, MA
- Qingdao, CN
- Oslo, NO
- Montreal, QC
- Hamburg, DE
- Baku, AZ
- Tiraspol, Transnistria
- Ottawa, ON
- Costa Brava, Catalonia, ES
- Chiang Mai, TH
- Dover, UK
- New Orleans, LA
- Olkhon Island, RU
- Beijing, CN
- Almaty, KZ
- Cabarete, DR
- Tashkent, UZ
- Golden Triangle Region, TH
- Budapest, HU
- Kutaisi, GE
- Saigon, VN
- Odessa, UA
- Barcelona, ES
- Dalat, VN
- Shanghai, CN
- Sukhothai & Si Satchanalai, TH
- Bishkek, KG
- Helsinki, FI
- Hong Kong
- London, UK
- Moscow, RU
- Nukus, UZ
- Chiang Rai, TH
- Toronto, ON
- Vung Tau, VN
- Calais, FR
- Amsterdam, NE
- Ulaanbaatar, MG
- Stockholm, SE
- Samarkand, UZ
- Irkutsk, RU
- Gower Peninsula, UK
- Hangzhou, CN
- Bangkok, TH
- Paris, FR
- Copenhagen, DK
