[imagesource: Getty Images]

A desert city has been slowly rising in the ranks of Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards over the past few years.

Now in 2022, it has taken the crown as the number one most popular destination in the world.

Justin Reid, director of media, destinations, and travel at Tripadvisor, revealed the news to CNN Travel.

Yup, Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for 2022: The Best of the Best Destinations is here, and brings us all its top-reviewed hotspots from the dry to the tropical.

The desert getaway that everyone seems to rate so highly is Dubai:

Image: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

If you are as taken aback as I am, consider this:

“Dubai is an ultramodern city that has it all: golden beaches, world-class dining, and gorgeous hotels. Since the Travelers’ Choice Awards are based on reviews of places to go, stay and things to do in destinations, to rank as the world’s best means a destination has obtained stellar traveler reviews across all of its tourism sectors,” Reid said.

“Despite the effects of the pandemic, Dubai still attracted visitors from near and far over the past year, and has stood out as their favorite place to go in a year when they really needed some excitement,” he said.

It turns out the whole “ultramodern” thing is very popular, but I just can’t shake the whole fake rain, fake islands part.

Not that getting there will be very easy, anyway:

The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, has opened applications for tourist visas to vaccinated travelers from all countries, apart from a dozen African nations.

Per Skyscanner’s mapping tool, a South African passport holder would have to be fully vaccinated, present a negative PCR test, and still quarantine for 10 days on arrival.

I’m good, thanks.

Anyway, here are Tripadvisor’s highest-rated, most-loved overall places for 2022:

1. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2. London, United Kingdom
3. Cancún, Mexico
4. Bali, Indonesia
5. Crete, Greece
6. Rome, Italy
7. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
8. Istanbul, Turkey
9. Paris, France
10. Hurghada, Egypt

As for trending destinations, based on “year-over-year increase in a combination of positive Tripadvisor traveller reviews and ratings for accommodations, restaurants and things to do”, the list looks like this:

1. Mallorca, Spain
2. Cairo, Egypt
3. Rhodes, Greece
4. Tulum, Mexico
5. Dubrovnik, Croatia
6. Ibiza, Spain
7. Natal, Brazil
8. Arusha, Tanzania
9. Göreme, Turkey
10. Santorini, Greece

Not much love for Africa, aside from Arusha.

Lastly, Tripadvisor has some speciality categories, too:

• Food lovers: Rome, Italy
• Outdoor enthusiasts: Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica
• Skiers: Zermatt, Switzerland
• City lovers: Dubai
• Sunseekers: Cancún

Ah, what I would give to be stuffing my face in Rome right now.

[source:cnn]