The publication's sixth annual rating of 133 worldwide travel destinations characterized the Smokies as "a national treasure surrounded by a bathtub ring of ugly, unplanned development," especially in and around Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Air pollution is a growing issue. "Between the crowds and the pollution, a mess."
One judge said "the worst excesses of mass tourist development are apparent just outside the national park, in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg," though another said Gatlinburg has done a better job sprucing itself up over the past decade.
Western North Carolina, including Asheville, received much more favorable ratings from the judges, "Western NC is a wonderful place to visit, from the artists and craftspeople in the Asheville area to the adventure tourism of Nantahala Outdoor Center and the many white-water rivers and mountain-biking trails".
The magazine emphasizes that the list isn’t a popularity contest, but rather an assessment of authenticity and stewardship, evaluating the qualities that make a destination unique and measuring its "integrity of place."
The survey of 437 well-traveled experts in a variety of fields, including; historic preservation, site management, geography, sustainable tourism, ecology, indigenous cultures, travel writing and photography, and archaeology, placed the Smokies in the next-to-worst category: "Places with Troubles."
The panel used six criteria in judging the destinations, and weighted them according to importance - environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and outlook for the future.
Although there is certainly an element of truth in the magazine's assessment of the region, you can't really put a lot of stock in the rankings. There are 437 experts rating 133 travel destinations. The problem is that experts were only allowed to rank destinations they were familiar with. Therefore, I would argue, individual destinations were not judged on the same scales due to the number and mix of experts that ranked a given destination.
You can read the full National Geographic Traveler article by clicking here.
Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
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