The Cherry Blossom Festival is the official kickoff to Washington’s tourist season, and if a TripAdvisor ranking is to be believed, Washington’s not as popular with out-of-town visitors.
TripAdvisor’s ” Traveler’s Choice Awards for Destinations” ranks Washington No. 9 on its list of the 25 most popular U.S. destinations, down from No. 6 in 2013.
TripAdvisor bases its rankings on the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, attractions and restaurants gathered over a 12-month period.
New York City remained the top choice among U.S. destinations, followed by Chicago, up from No. 3 in 2013. San Francisco is third, down from No. 2 last year, and Las Vegas is fourth, unchanged from the 2013 list.
New Orleans jumped five places to No. 5 on the 2014 list of top U.S. destinations. Houston saw the biggest jump on the U.S. list, up 13 spots to No. 12. Branson, Missouri, made the top 25 list for the first time in 2014, ranking No. 19.
TripAdvisor also ranks the top international destinations. No U.S. city made the top 10. Istanbul, Rome and London lead the international list.
You can see TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Travelers’ Choice World and U.S. destinations here.