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Top Destinations for Young Travelers
Today’s high school and college students are traveling in unprecedented numbers. Many work a semester or summer abroad into their studies and others serve in a volunteer capacity in a faraway land. Of course, there are those lucky people who get to travel for fun and adventure, but interestingly a majority of young travelers are all heading to the same general locations.
The Student and Youth Travel Association recently released its lists of the most visited locations in the United States, North America and International locations. Some of the destinations are quite surprising and others are to be expected due to their seasonal popularity, i.e. spring break locations, or their ideal conditions, such as Hawaii.
Among the top places in the United States, the capitol of Washington D.C. ranked as number one. This is not all that surprising because thousands of schools plan visits to the city each year. Additionally, it is considered a “college town” and tens of thousands of young people attend school in the area and come to the city for socializing and shopping.
The next locations, in order, include New York City, Orlando, Chicago, Boston and Colonial Williamsburg. The list is rounded out by Southern California, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Hawaii.
The locations that were popular with young people around the world also hold a few surprises, but when such issues as cultural value, ecological tourism and history are taken into consideration, it is easy to see why a young person would opt to head to some of these locations.
It is now, perhaps, a cliché, but tens of thousands of students take a backpacking vacation in Europe, and a majority begin their adventure in the United Kingdom. This may be the reason it tops the list, but the region is home to Edinburgh, London and the Scottish Highlands which all present ample reason to head to the area as well.
Europe continues to dominate the list as the next locations are France, Italy and Spain. Australia is in the top five, and this too is not that surprising. The country is known for its remarkable hospitality to foreigners and travelers and it too is the ideal place to take a backpacking adventure.
The list is rounded out by Germany, Greece, Brazil, Peru and China. This is an interesting collection to say the least. While both Germany and Greece are not that surprising due to their beauty, cuisine and friendly populations, the appearance of two South American destinations and China are a bit surprising. Clearly young people are taking keen interest in the modern world and heading to some untraditional vacation areas.