Most Visitted Place of American

1. Mexico - 19,659,000 travelers
Certain forms of Mexican travel to the U.S. may be a source of high anxiety these days, but traffic flowed freely the other way: Nearly 20 million Americans headed south in 2006—and spent 9% more than they did the previous year.

2. Canada - 13,855,000 travelers
U.S. residents’ visits to their northern neighbor were down 4% compared with 2005, but Americans spent 15% more than they did in 2005. The strong Canadian dollar (it’s on par with the U.S. dollar) may present a new test for U.S. travel migration northward.

3. U.K. - 3,286,000 travelers
Even with a 14% decline compared to 2005, the U.K. remains the top overseas destination for U.S. travelers. Ten years ago, the U.K. also ranked third, but with 3.57 million visitors—nearly 8% more than 2006. The British government reports nearly inverse figures, with a 13% increase of American travel to the U.K. in 2006. By either measure Americans constitute the lion’s share of the kingdom’s visitors. “The U.S. is our biggest and most important market by far,” said Visit Britain’s Simon Bradley.

4. France - 2,231,000 travelers
American visitation to France was up 1% year to year. The French Government Tourist Office’s Patrice Doyon says “the depressed dollar” has slowed growth. Americans are still visiting, he adds—they’re just spending less. “They might go to a three-star hotel instead of a four-star hotel,” he said. “Or do less shopping.”

5. Italy - 2,201,000 travelers
The 2.2 million Americans who flocked to Italy last year represent an 8% jump over the previous year, while American travel and tourism spending was down 3% during the same period

6. Germany - 1,688,000 travelers (tie)
U.S. travel to Germany was up 1% in 2006 compared with 2005, but in 2000 American travelers to Deutschland numbered 2.3 million, 36% more than in 2006. Travel and tourism spending by Americans in 2006 was down 14%.

7. Jamaica - 1,688,000 travelers (tie)
“Jamaica keeps on trucking” said the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Basil Smith. With nearly 1.7 million U.S. visitors, Jamaica tied with Germany as a Top 10 American traveler destination in 2006. Compared with 2000, Jamaica’s U.S. visits increased a whopping 90%.

8. Bahamas - 1,538,000 travelers (tie)
OTTI records no data for 2005, but compared with 2000, the Bahamas visitation by American travelers is up 68%. An agreement between the governments of the U.S. and the Bahamas, which went into effect in January, 2006, may be partly responsible for the boom in group travel: It allows U.S. corporations a tax deduction for conventions and meetings held in the Bahamas.

9. Japan - 1,538,000 travelers (tie)
U.S. travel to Japan increased 3% in 2006 compared with the previous year, and 22% compared with 2000. Americans’ travel and tourism spending in Japan was down 12% in 2006 year to year.

10. People’s Republic of China - 1,327,000 travelers
“Asia is where the growth is,” said the OTTI’s Erdmann. The number of American travelers to the PRC increased 2% in 2006, year over year, and their travel and tourism spending in China jumped 35% during the same period. U.S. visitation to China increased more than 100% compared with 2000, when only 644,000 Americans paid a call to the Sleeping Dragon.

11. Spain - 995,000 travelers
Almost a million Americans—2% more than the previous year—flocked to Spain, where cities like Barcelona, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s president Jean-Claude Baumgarten, have “over the past 10 years developed a reputation as a place that’s fun to go to.”

12. Netherlands - 904,000 travelers (tie)
The land of storied art, windmills, and tulips drew 5% more U.S. travelers in 2006 than 2005. Compared with 2000, though, American travel to the Netherlands was down 18%.

13. Hong Kong - 904,000 travelers (tie)
Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Symphony of Lights (the world’s largest permanent light and sound show), among other attractions, drew 25.25 million total visitors to the island, according the Hong Kong Tourism Commission. Nearly 1 million of those were Americans, a 2% decrease compared with 2005.

14. India - 904,000 travelers (tie)
U.S. Tourism to India was up 8% in 2006 year to year, but compared with 2000, American visitation nearly doubled, from 457,000.

15. Ireland - 844,000 travelers
Americans visited the Emerald Isle in far greater numbers in 2006 than the previous year—a 22% increase compared with 2005. American travel to Ireland was up 16% in 2006 compared with 2000.

16. Republic of China (Taiwan) - 693,000 travelers
This 36,000 square kilometer island welcomed 693,000 U.S. travelers last year, a 5% increase from the year before and a 3% increase from 2000.

17. Switzerland - 633, 000 Travelers
The Swiss were anything but neutral when it came to welcoming Americans in 2006. U.S. visitation was up 22% compared with the previous year. However, 2006 compared with 2000 showed U.S. travel down 36%.

18. Republic of Korea - 633,000 travelers
Korea attracted as many American voyagers as Switzerland but, like Switzerland, showed a marked year-to-year decrease—nearly 19%—in 2006 visitation by Americans.

19. Australia - 603,000 travelers
In 2000, Australia placed 12th on the OTTI’s list of international destinations for U.S. travelers. In 2006, this land went way down under—to number 19—and the 600,000 Americans represented flat growth compared with the previous year.

20. Greece / Thailand - 482,000 Travelers Each
Both Greece and Thailand welcomed 482,000 Americans in 2006, which represented a 1% year-to-year decline for both countries.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/countries-americans-visit-story.html

Asian Mega-Malls

1. Starhill Gallery: Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia
URL: http://www.starhillgallery.com/
Stay at the Ritz-Carlton next door (where every suite comes with its own butler), browse through an entire floor of art galleries on Starhill’s Muse level, then head down to the Feast Village (open until 1 a.m. nightly) on the ground floor, where you can choose from more than a dozen great restaurants including Shook!, which incorporates elements of Japanese, Chinese and Italian cuisine plus a 3,000-bottle walk-in wine cellar.

2. Harbour City Mall: Hong Kong
URL: http://www.harbourcity.com.hk/
You can get your exercise at the half-mile-long Harbour City mall, but your marathon might be interrupted if something catches your eye in one of the 700 shops. Fuel up at one of 50 restaurants or take it easy in one of the mall’s two multiplex cinemas. Big name brands found here include Burberry, dunhill, Prada and a flagship Gucci store. Come on the weekends for free concerts or camp outside the Videowall, a 12- by16-foot outdoor video screen broadcasting the latest weather and news.

3. Roppongi Hills: Tokyo, Japan
URL: www.roppongihills.com/en
The former Roppongi nightlife area has gone upscale lately, first with the opening of the Roppongi Hills shopping complex in 2003 and now with the brand new Tokyo Midtown development. In addition to a wide selection of chic shops and restaurants, both complexes offer visitors charming parks and beautiful museums, like the Mori. Roppongi Hills also has an 820-foot-high observation deck called Tokyo City View, while Tokyo Midtown has an attached Ritz-Carlton for those who can’t bear to leave.

4. VivoCity: Singapore
URL: http://www.vivocity.com.sg/
The enormous rooftop sky park at the 1.5-million-square-foot VivoCity mall contains both an open-air amphitheater and a huge water park the size of four Olympic swimming pools. If you have any energy left after shopping, head next door to the nightclubs in the St. James Power Station.

5. The Siam Paragon: Bangkok
URL: http://www.siamparagon.co.th/
The mall has a seven zone aquarium called Siam Ocean World where you can dive with sharks and stingrays, a 14-screen multiplex with an IMAX screen and a 38-lane bowling alley equipped with private karaoke rooms. When you fly out of Thailand, arrive several hours before your flight and wander through the endless duty-free shops at the new Suvarnabhumi airport.

6. SM Mall of Asia: Pasay City, Philippines
The SM Mall of Asia truly represents the mega-mall trends sweeping the region. A 20-passenger tram carries shoppers around more than four million square feet of floor space on the nearly 50-acre footprint. Ice-skating competitions are held on the mall’s Olympic-size rink. Browse through 600 stores, take in a movie at the Philippines’ first IMAX theater or catch a concert in the open-air Music Hall facing Manila Bay.

7. COEX Mall: Seoul, South Korea
URL: www.coexmall.com/foreign/english
The environment-themed COEX Mall has shopping arcades modeled after ecosystems like forest, ocean, lake and waterfall. If navigating the largest underground shopping and entertainment complex in Asia (1.3 million square feet) is not challenging enough, you can always jump into the shark and stingray tank at the mall’s aquarium, or gain cultural appreciation of Korean cuisine in the kimchi museum.

8. Dream Mall: Taiwan
URL: http://www.dream-mall.com.tw/
If you’re driving through the southern city of Kaohsiung and suddenly think you see a 334-foot tall ferris wheel festooned with Hello Kitty iconography on the roof of a gigantic mall, you’re not hallucinating. The new Dream Mall opened last month, giving Taiwanese access to more than 4 million square feet of shopping and what the Taipei Times described as ‘a sub-zero playground.’

9. South China Mall: Dongguan, China
URL: www.southchinamall.com.cn/english/index1.jsp
A river runs through Dongguan city’s South China Mall, the largest mall in the world. Sporting two five-star hotels, a spa, theme park, ‘California’ beach and a replica of the Arc de Triomphe, the mall may represent the shape of things to come in China. Industry watchers predict that by 2010, China will have seven of the world’s 10 largest malls

10. Mall of the Emirates: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
URL: http://www.malloftheemirates.com/
When the heat starts to get to you in Dubai, hit the slopes at Mall of the Emirates. Nearly 300 feet high, the Ski Dubai indoor slope is always snowy and cool on those hot Middle Eastern days. New retail extravaganzas are coming soon to Dubai, including the Mall of Arabia, which will include 1,000 retail outlets, more than 100 food and beverage choices, two hotels, a giant cinema and a monorail. It’s set to open in 2009.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/luxury/asian-mega-malls-story.html

Best Airports for a Layover

1. Changi International Airport, Singapore
URL: http://www.changi.airport.com.sg/
Rightly lauded in reverent tones by many of the 35 million travelers who have passed through it, Singapore’s Changi is what most airports strive to achieve in their services to the weary traveling classes—many of them unsuccessfully. The duty-free Shopping City offers everything from fashion and accessories to fine jewellery and fragrances. It also boasts a fitness center and shower facilities, complimentary Internet and charging facilities and a movie theater. But it’s the small touches that enable Changi to standout: a palm court with comfortable loungers and lily ponds that have massive goldfish.

2. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
URL: http://www.hongkongairport.com/
Having replaced the cramped and overtaxed Kai Tak, Hong Kong’s iconic former airport, the new International Airport—located on a man-made island and connected by a high-speed train and a speedy Ferry Transfer service—has become a favorite for travelers. In addition to two sprawling terminals with world-class shopping, it features a 2,000-square-foot lounge with eight shower rooms and nine semi-private rooms for napping. For those who want more time to themselves, there—s the Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong, which features two swimming pools, a manicured courtyard garden and a fitness center with spa facilities, connected to the airport by an air-conditioned gangway.

3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, Texas
URL: http://www.dfwairport.com/
Sprawling over two million square feet and built at a cost of $1.4 billion, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal D brings a touch of European élan to the world’s third-busiest airport. The state-of-the-art, 28-gate terminal features a dozens of shops and upscale eateries, as well as a posh, 298-room Grand Hyatt Hotel. To help liven up its hangar-like spaces, travelers will encounter large sculptures, outsized landscape paintings, multimedia displays and colorful abstract mosaics.

4. Zurich Airport, Kloten, Switzerland
URL: http://www.zurich-airport.com/
Just 15 minutes from the city center by rail, Kloten is often lauded as Europe’s best. The airport features clean dayrooms, a bustling nursery, and (new this year) a slew of eateries and lounges, along with the more than 50 shops and concept stores that have been luring shoppers for years. There’s also a Swiss International Airlines lounge which supposedly features the “world’s longest bar.” Best of all, the airport provides seamless transport links from its basement-level train terminal to any destination in Switzerland, thanks to a rail network that is never, ever late.

5. Munich Airport International, Munich, Germany
URL: http://www.munich-airport.de/
Built on the outskirts of Munich, 45 minutes by rail from the city center, Munich Airport’s Terminal 2 takes eco-friendly construction to new heights: The airy steel and glass structure is powered by solar panels. Beneath this expansive superstructure are duty free shopping and (next door) a Kempinski Hotel with a proper Presidential Suite, for those who wish to overnight. For business travelers, though, the most important feature is this: Terminal 2 boasts the shortest connecting times on the continent. But the airport isn’t for just grown-ups. At Kinderland, children can do arts and crafts, climb a tower with a ball basin and play with giant soft LEGO blocks—all under the supervision of trained staff.

6. Incheon International Airport, Seoul, South Korea
URL: http://www.airport.or.kr/
Asia’s sixth-busiest airport is a six-year-old architectural marvel of sweeping steel and glass that’s regularly awarded top honors—most recently as the “Best in Service Award in Class” at the 1st International Conference on Airport Quality and Service by the IATA. They got it right: Beneath the airport’s sprawling dimensions (it’s the third-largest passenger terminal in the world, after Hong Kong and Bangkok International) are a slew of unique amenities, including an indoor driving range and golf course, a billiards hall, a hospital and an endless bounty of food and beverage outlets.

7. Central Japan International Airport, Ise Bay, Japan
URL: www.centrair.jp/en
This is the country’s third-largest airport, and like most new-build projects in the land-squeezed country, it was created on a D-shaped artificial island. The two-year-old enterprise is clean and efficient, of course, but what makes it especially notable is its jaw-dropping fourth-floor Sky Town shopping center, which features 61 shops and restaurants organized into a pair of streets. There are top-notch noodle canteens, superlative sushi bars and full-out restaurants that are so popular with locals that waits of up to an hour are not unheard of. There’s also an equally impressive duty-free area airside.

8. Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Frankfurt, Germany
Designed by Frankfurt architects Hollin & Radoske in a former Frankfurt Airport parking lot, the €30 million, two-story structure is an beautiful appointed space awash in hand-tufted woollen carpets and bespoke designer fixtures. It’s available only to first class passengers or Lufthansa’s elite frequent fliers. Russet shades from B & B Italia, meantime, dull the daylight filtering into the cigar lounge, where some 36 single-malt Irish whiskeys are on offer. Boarding is unlike that at any terminal: it’s done via a chauffeured Mercedes S-Class or Porsche Cayenne that will elegantly whisk guests plane-side.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/jets-planes/best-airports-layover-slide.html