12 Destinations Worthy of Second Chances
Natural disasters, political turmoil & some generally bad PR have plagued these global spots, but they have recovered & are more than ready for your visit.
Comeback Destinations: New York City
It was bad enough when reports showed that New York City hotels and apartments were among the top bedbug hot spots in the U.S., but when it was revealed that several landmarks, retail facilities and even a Times Square movie theater were infested, fear spiked and cancellations followed. Swift and aggressive action was taken, and while some places continue to struggle, bedbug reports have tapered off. Being one of the most visited cities in the world, New York will certainly recover
It was bad enough when reports showed that New York City hotels and apartments were among the top bedbug hot spots in the U.S., but when it was revealed that several landmarks, retail facilities and even a Times Square movie theater were infested, fear spiked and cancellations followed. Swift and aggressive action was taken, and while some places continue to struggle, bedbug reports have tapered off. Being one of the most visited cities in the world, New York will certainly recover
In a remarkably short time, Colombia has gone from being a place besieged by drug violence and extortion-related kidnappings to being the fastest-rising travel destination in South America. Tourism buzz about the stability, affordability and abundance of offerings cautiously went mainstream in 2007, and momentum continues to grow. Attractions such as Cartagena, arguably the best-preserved colonial town in South America, the liveliness of Medellín, exceptional national parks, culturally rich pueblos (villages) and beaches on two oceans are raising the collective eyebrows of the tourism industry.
Lingering mental snapshots of Sandinistas and political instability are hard to dismiss, but colonial architecture, strong eco-tourism and two lengths of fetching coastline have made tourism the largest industry in Nicaragua. Visitors flock to Granada, the country’s oldest colonial city, and the well-preserved town of León. Natural attractions include massive lakes, hiking on volcanoes and diving off the Corn Islands. Although with rising popularity comes rising prices, for the time being Nicaragua is an excellent travel value.
The global financial crisis affected tourism to Australia harder than most destinations because of the time and expense of traveling there. A brief upswing, peaking with TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey’s high-profile visit to the country in December 2010, has dipped again after severe flooding and a destructive cyclone in early 2011. Cleanup has been largely completed, and tourism marketing is back to full throttle. Even with the less favorable U.S./Australian dollar exchange rate, the country remains an excellent value, replete with singular attractions, first-rate cuisine, diving and outdoor activities.
Formerly one of the most inaccessible countries in Eastern Europe, Albania was opened to Western tourists in the late 1980s, though restrictions and lack of infrastructure made travel here unappealing until the early 2000s. Now Albania is appearing on all manner of places-to-travel lists. Only a fraction of the cost of Greece, Italy and Croatia, Albania offers similarly inviting rivers, mountain springs, captivating towns, Roman ruins and nearly 225 miles of coastline.
Be it in the wake of natural disaster, civil unrest, political instability or simply bad public relations, travel to "comeback destinations" can sometimes seem iffy. It can also be incredibly rewarding. Being among the first to arrive at a recovering destination often means few crowds, great deals and special moments. Here are 12 to consider.
Coups and political protests in Thailand are frequent and generally peaceful. However, the protests in spring 2010 were violent, and the resulting PR damage has caused serious concern in a country that relies heavily on tourism. Traveling Thailand is still generally safer than in many Western countries, and although the protests affected only a small part of Bangkok, the whole country is working to polish its image. This is translating into excellent travel deals, particularly in resort areas such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Pattaya, all of which have completely recovered from the 2005 tsunami.
Widely reported increases in crime and gang-related violence in Mexican border towns and a few resort towns, most notably Acapulco, have done significant PR damage of late. As of this writing, although a State Department travel advisory still exists, it adds, "Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year." Nevertheless, Mexico is in damage-control mode, which means a torrent of comeback incentives. Mazatlán stands out among resort cities with exceptional restaurants scattered along the pedestrian-friendly resort strip and an easily accessible, worthwhile historic center, with a bustling food market.
Just as New Orleans was shaking off the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill knocked it back onto the ropes. Although the spill didn’t affect the city itself, media coverage suggested otherwise. An average city might have struggled for untold years to recover its tourism numbers, but New Orleans is no average city. The tenacious tourism destination is working hard to restore its image; meanwhile, crowds — while not exactly sparse — are for the time being a little more manageable for those wanting some elbow room on Bourbon Street.
Having been a symbol and one-word punch line for struggling, disagreeable cities for as long as it has, Detroit's transformation into an alluring destination seems farfetched. But, in fact, tourism is a growth industry, with about 16 million people visiting annually. Leisure visitors are drawn by the North American International Auto Show; the multiday Motown Winter Blast outdoor carnival and music festival; and The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, America's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex and theme park celebrating America’s past and the birth of modern automobile manufacturing. Soon they could be coming to pay homage to a new statue of a famous cyborg crime-fighter
Comeback Destinations: Chile
On Feb. 27, 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, one of the largest quakes in recorded history, hit just off the coast of Maule region in Chile, about 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago. A year later, recovery is ongoing, but critical infrastructure has been restored to the famously narrow country, which stretches for more than 2,600 scenic miles, from the Atacama Desert — the driest in the world — past volcanoes, lakes, geysers, steppes, beaches and glaciers. As for low-impact activities, consider the eye-widening statistic that Chile is the world's fifth-largest exporter of wine.