Readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have voted Charleston the world’s best city, the first time a U.S. destination has earned the World’s Best City title in the magazine’s annual World’s Best Awards, according to the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Senior editor Jacqui Gifford shared the result Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show, the bureau said. The bureau also said that “for the fourth consecutive year, the readers of Travel + Leisure ranked the Charleston area the No. 1 City in the U.S. and Canada.”
Charleston scored 91.66 overall in a survey that rated cities on sights and landmarks, culture and arts, restaurants and food, people and friendliness, shopping and value, the bureau said. The full results will appear in the magazine’s August issue, on newsstands July 15.
“Charleston is a remarkably dynamic place, so it’s no surprise that it has achieved its highest ranking ever in our survey as this year’s best city in the world,” Travel + Leisure Editor Nathan Lump said in the bureau’s announcement.
The visitors bureau, which markets the region to travelers, ties the rankings to the local economy. Tourism’s total economic impact on the area has risen 14% since 2012, reaching $3.68 billion in 2015, according to the College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis, the bureau said. Average spending per adult visitor and total labor earnings also increased, it said.
“We look forward to continued and responsible economic impact as a result of the No. 1 City in the World ranking,” said Dan Blumenstock, the bureau’s chairman and director of hotel operations at Fennell Holdings.
A downtown hotel also topped its category. Readers ranked The Spectator Hotel, which opened less than a year ago, the No. 1 city hotel in the United States, according to the bureau. “We are truly honored,” said Michael Tall, president and chief operating officer of Charlestowne Hotels, in the bureau’s announcement.
