America's Top 10 Most Visited Cities

To compile our list of America's most-visited cities, we used 2009 statistics in the country’s top 20 markets, as defined by Smith Travel Research. A market is defined as a geographic area composed of a Metropolitan Statistical Area, a group of Metropolitan Statistical Areas or a group of counties. A market must contain a sufficient number of hotels to permit further subdivision into sub-market and price segments. Cities were judged on the number of foreign arrivals as reported by the Department of Commerce; occupancy rates as determined by Smith Travel Research; and the U.S. Travel Association’s information on tourism’s economic impact. The list was then narrowed by the total number of 2009 visitors, as provided by the cities’ individual visitors and convention bureaus.

10. San Diego, Calif.: 29,600,000 visitors

Large numbers of domestic travelers found a sunny escape in San Diego last year, thanks, in part, to its beaches, whale-watching and superior zoo. While not a significant stop for overseas tourists, the hotel occupancy rate was eighth in the nation and visitors spent $7 billion



9. Philadelphia, Pa.: 30,320,000 visitors

One of the most historic cities in the U.S., Philadelphia has a great museum system that includes the African American Museum and National Constitution Center. With traveling exhibits that attract millions of attendees, it’s understandable that Philly’s day-leisure-visitor count is as high as 12.97 million. Even with all the day trippers, the city's hotels performed admirably in 2009, with a 61.7% occupancy rate.



8. Houston, Texas: 31,060,000 visitors

Largely a regional travel market, 60% of Houston's tourists are in-state and come to the city to visit attractions like the Space Center and Kemah Boardwalk. Hotel occupancy rates were at a surprising low, falling 17% from 2008, although convention hotels still seem to be faring well. The tenth destination for foreign travelers, Houston had around 7 million visitors come from Mexico.



7. Atlanta, Ga.: 35,400,000 visitors

Over the years Atlanta has built an impressive convention and meetings industry, and a third of its visitors come for huge events like the Americas Mart Home Furnishings Market. Regardless, Atlanta's showing in 2009's ranking of hotel occupancy rates was dismal, with only about half of its rooms filled. But it still ranked as the 7th most-popular destination for international visitors



6. Las Vegas, Nev.: 36,351,469 visitors

Hard hit by the economy, Vegas experienced a 3% decline in tourism in 2009. At the same time, the city saw a 6% increase in hotel room inventory, according to the LVCVA, no doubt resulting from the opening of the gargantuan City Center complex. In August the average room rate hit an incredible low of $84. Still, Vegas had the highest hotel room occupancy of any top ten city, proving that the odds are still good for Nevada's desert oasis.


5. Miami, Fla: 38,100,000 visitors

Nearly 3 million of Miami's visitors came from overseas, representing a 1% increase from 2008--significant given last year's shrinking travel industry. With the fourth-best occupancy rate, new hotels like the Viceroy Miami and the Mondrian along with grande dames like the Baltimore are succeeding in attracting the country's sun-seekers. Hosting the 2010 Super Bowl helped Miami to the fifth spot on this list.



4. Anaheim/Orange County, Calif.: 42,700,000 visitors

Like Chicago, a large portion of Anaheim/Orange County's visitors are regional, with 56% of them hailing from Southern California--many likely making a pilgrimage to Disneyland. In 2008 Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park saw about 20 million attendees, accounting for nearly half of the area's travelers. While many visitors were day trippers, hotels in the area did well, placing Anaheim within the top ten for highest occupancy rates in 2009.



3. Chicago, Ill.: 45,580,000 visitors

As one of the major airline hubs, cheap flights to Chicago abound, making it the number six port of entry for international travelers. But the majority of the city's tourists are domestic leisure travelers--all 32.4 million of them. Being the unofficial capital of the Midwest, Chicago's tourism is 69% regional, coming from Illinois and neighboring states, and the greatest number of its leisure visitors come not for its sophisticated restaurants, shopping and pretty lake views, but rather to visit friends and family.



2. New York City: 47 million visitors

New York was the number one attraction for foreign travelers, and was number two after Vegas for hotel room occupancy. While hotel room rates declined in all the top 25 markets, New York still brought in a huge amount of revenue because its rates are so far above those of the rest of the country. When STR tracked rate premiums for
top markets, they found even that with 2009's discounts, on average New York hotel rooms were nearly $150 more than any other city's.



1. Orlando, Fla.: 48 million visitors

The Mouse prevailed in the case of Florida's top attraction. Orlando's hotel occupancy rate was at 60.7%, down from 2008's 65.8%, according to STR, a leading research firm that publishes its results on affiliate HotelNewsNow.com. In 2009 it was the ninth-most-popular city for the foreign travel market, seeing a 12% increase
in overseas visitors.

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