The Most Popular Vacation Spots For Americans The Year You Were Born

For many Americans, the warm days of summer often bring back memories of past vacations to favorite destinations. Whether they were family road trips, cross-country excursions, or international explorations, they flood the minds of yesteryear's youth with nostalgia and sentimentality. As times have changed and traveling large distances has become easier and easier with the advance of technology, vacation destinations have become more and more extravagant. Many cities and towns revolve almost entirely around tourism, surviving on an ever-changing cast of characters stopping by for, mostly, ephemeral visits. Places that were previously only known only to a precious few locals are now some of the most well-trodden destinations in the entire world.

Over the past 70 years, many different spots have seen their popularity come and go, while some have managed to hang on as must-see tourist destinations. It seems like every year there is a new popular place to travel to, highlighted by a unique event or an assortment of attractions. Let's take a look back at some of the most popular vacation spots for Americans the year you were born.

In 1952, just four years after gaining independence from the British, Tel Aviv, Israel, was already a tourist hotspot. Located on the coast of Israel, halfway between the city of Haifi and the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv has long been known for its beautiful beaches and incredible scenery. Two years prior to 1952, Tel Aviv and the major port of Jaffa had united to create Tel Aviv-Jaffa, which increased the coastline belonging to Tel Aviv (via Aaron Golan). According to Haaretz, the total Tel Aviv coastline is an incredible 14 km long and is composed of 13 separate beaches. While the atmosphere and feeling have certainly changed in the 70 years since 1952, the natural beauty and vivid landscape have always been incredible to observe firsthand.

Since Israel was still a young country in 1952 and the infrastructure had not been completely built, people had limited options on where they could stay. One of the hotels being built at the time was the famous Dan Tel Aviv hotel, Israel's first modern luxury hotel. Though it was still under construction in 1952 and would not open until November the following year, tourists could view the massive construction project and see the beginnings of the marvelous hotel.

Among some of the most beautiful areas of the American coastline are the amazing sights of West Palm Beach, Florida. Golf was one of the biggest draws for tourists back in 1961, and that put West Palm Beach on the map. The PGA Tour put on the West Palm Beach Invitational from January 1-5, and that year, the famous Palm Beach Par 3 golf course was designed. Even back in 1961, it was a tourist hotspot that attracted some of the most powerful people in the world. President John F. Kennedy and several members of his family would visit West Palm Beach throughout 1961 to enjoy the weather, scenery, and to golf. 

According to the Palm Beach Post, the Kennedy family had been visiting West Palm Beach since the 1920s, and in 1933 they bought a house that they still owned by the time Kennedy was elected president in late 1960. Kennedy actually traveled to Florida after the 1960 election and stayed there over the start of the new year. He came back in the summer of 1961 to rest (per the New York Times), though in tragic news, his father, Joe, had a stroke while at his house in West Palm Beach in late December (per the New York Times). According to a 1961 planning document, West Palm Beach was considered the major commercial and tourism hub of the area, and that year the South Florida Science Museum opened, attracting both visiting tourists and locals. 

Already in 1966, the new upstart town in Nevada known as Las Vegas was well on its way to making a name for itself. According to History, in 1941, the first hotel-casino in Las Vegas, the El Rancho Vegas Resort, officially opened. Soon, other similar resorts followed and before long, that area of the highway became known as "the Strip."

The popularity of Las Vegas had increased significantly during the 1950s and 1960s, and by 1966 it was heavyweight for adult tourism. It was not the more family-oriented Las Vegas today, but it still attracted Americans from throughout the country looking to blow off some steam and legally gamble. Not everyone who wanted to could visit Vegas in 1966, but it's popularity was just starting to grow. According to Las Vegas, in 1966 casinos on the strip started making multi-story additions and other remodels to cope with the burgeoning tourist industry. 

Also in 1966, the famous Caesar's Palace hotel and casino opened. Jay Sarno was the visionary behind the Palace's conception, and he based it heavily on elements from the former Roman Empire — hence the name. When Caesar's first opened, the hotel was 14 floors and 700 rooms, which was quite extravagant for the time (per Forbes). The opening drew thousands of visitors and several celebrities, and was already the 12th casino built on the strip- a sign of how popular it was becoming (via the Las Vegas Sun).

While only truly accessible to the wealthy and elite, the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire celebration held in 1971 in Persepolis, Iran, was by far the most wanted vacation destination for any American who knew about it. According to James Bill in "The Eagle and the Lion," the Shah of Iran (pictured above at his coronation) hosted a weeklong benefit in October 1971, celebrating the supposed 2,500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy. High ranking officials from throughout the world came to the celebration, including many Americans, like Vice President Spiro Agnew.

The preparations are thought to have cost in excess of $200 million dollars (over $14 billion in 2022 dollars), and included 60 miles of cables along with 20 miles of garlands with 130,000 bulbs. Hundreds of journalists wrote about the party in grand fashion, and NBC covered the event live on television for 10 million Americans. The New York Times also had reporters on scene for the opening of the festivities, and they reported in vivid detail the incredible atmosphere and extraordinary culinary preparations for the night to millions of envious Americans back stateside.

For those lucky enough to visit Iran in 1971, the New York Times gave readers suggestions on what to do. The Times pointed out the natural beauty of the Iranian mountains and the Persian Gulf, and recommended local "tea houses" located in many of the big cities like Tehran or Isfahan.

In 1979, Havana, Cuba, found itself as a highly sought out destination for American vacationers. Though the U.S. had severed diplomatic relations in 1960 after problems with Fidel Castro, in 1977, President Jimmy Carter removed the travel restrictions, allowing Americans to freely vacation in Cuba once again (via the New York Times). Cuba had also started openly courting tourists from the west, including the United States, to try and bring in much needed revenue to their fledgling economy (per the Washington Post). Though he was reluctant, Castro saw opening the country to western and American tourism as the only realistic option to grow the hospitality industry.

According to the Post, Cuba expected to see over 100,000 tourists throughout the year, a decline from the peak of the 1950s, but still a sharp increase from the years of isolation in the 1960s just after the revolution. Americans tourism was on the rise, with four times as many travelers coming in 1978 as the  year before. Cuba was just beginning to enter the vacation plans for Americans again, and 1979 was an important early year in the continuing trend. 

Americans that year came to see not only the incredible views of Havana, with its historic beaches and noted nightlife, but many were also drawn by the exuberant music coming from the jazz clubs. In March, there was a three-day festival called "Musica Cuba-U.S.A." that highlighted the newfound tourism relationship (via the New York Times).

Formerly known as Constantinople, Istanbul, Turkey, has long been one of the most coveted and well known tourist destinations in the entire world. According to History, the city was formerly the seat of the Roman Byzantine Empire from the fourth century until the Ottoman Empire's conquest of it in 1453. The Ottoman Empire lasted until the early 20th century, when modern Turkey came into existence after the first World War. Incredibly, one of the country's biggest tourist attractions is the famous Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, which was built, destroyed, and rebuilt numerous times throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. According to History, the Hagia Sophia was originally built as a Christian basilica during the early Byzantine era, before it was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman period. When tourists came in 1984, they could see the Hagia Sophia in all of its incredible glory as a state run museum.

Other tourist must-sees in Istanbul in 1984 were the Grand Bazaar market and Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the latter of which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bazaar originally opened in the 15th century, and was still one of the largest markets in the entire country in 1984. The mosque, while a religious center and not merely a tourist destination, attracted vacationers with its incredible beauty, which included 20,000 hand-painted blue tiles and 260 stained glass windows.

According to the Library of Congress, tourism was rapidly increasing in Istanbul in the early 1980s, driven primarily by the government's promotion of tourism. Americans were particularly drawn to the beautiful beaches and historical sites, like the famous mosques. 

In 1992, the famous city of Prague was the destination of choice for many Americans looking to travel in Europe. A few years after the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of communism in the Czech Republic (via History), then known as Czechoslovakia, the city of Prague was openly courting American tourists to rebuild its tourism industry. According to the New York Times, the city was trying to bring itself out of the economic stagnation that plagued the country during its years of communism. Newspaper stands and neon-lighted currency exchange stations were put in to make the area more inviting to tourists, and they even got their first McDonalds in the spring.

American expatriates were also doing their best to attract fellow westerners, by setting up an English language newspaper known as the Prague Post. There was also an international music festival called Prague Spring held for three weeks in May, which featured the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. There was also an abundance of parks and historic neighborhoods for tourists to discover and take pictures at, and the city was full of beautiful art museums and elegant hotels. According to Deseret News, the city expected to see 50 million tourists on the year, averaging over 165,000 people per day.

Though it attracts a specific type of crowd, in 1996, Kruger National Park in South Africa was a top spot for American tourists looking to experience African wildlife up close and personal. The park was first created in 1898 by the president of the Transvaal province, Paul Kruger, and was originally known as the Sabie Game Reserve. Even though admission prices had increased since the £1 rate of 1927, it was still one of the most sought out parks in the entire country in 1996. The park is over 19,500 square km, and it contains nearly 800 different species of animals and 1,982 different species of plants.

In 1996 the park was offering walking safaris and had vast wilderness trails, and there were artifacts and fossils estimated to be around 500,000 years old. In 1995, the culling of elephants was officially prohibited in the park, and even a year later in 1996 tourists could already see a sizable increase in the number of elephants roaming the park (via the African Wildlife Foundation). Previously, upwards of 500 elephants were killed yearly, and the population got as low as 1,300 before the moratorium was enacted. 

According to a report from the University of Zululand, there were nearly 800,000 visitors to the park between 1995 and 1996, an increase of around 200,000 from 1993-1994. Also at the same time, the Tamboti Tented Camp on the Timbavati River opened; it attracts guests by being the only exclusive tented camp in the park. 

While not quite a family vacation destination, for many adults looking for a good time and a raging party, New Orleans, Louisiana, was their top choice in 2007. Just two years after the infamous Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city, residents and tourists alike were ready to come out and celebrate the rebirth of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. According to the New York Times, the city was full of boisterous celebrations, with brass bands and impromptu parades occurring everywhere. Though much of the city was still struggling to recover from Katrina, significant pieces had been rebuilt in time for Mardi Gras 2007, and tourists could experience warm southern hospitality emanating throughout New Orleans.

People from all walks of life attended the celebration, which took place on February 20 that year (via CBS). Numerous celebrities and politicians appeared at the parade on floats, including actor James Gandolfini, Jazz legend Pete Fountain, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, and actress Patricia Clarkson.

According to a 2007 report from the city, tourism exploded that year, with over 7.1 million people visiting the city and spending $4.8 billion. That was an increase of over 3.4 million from the year before, and was almost comparable with pre-Katrina levels. 86% of tourists visited the French Quarter during their stay, and over 80% saw Bourbon Street. Mardi Gras alone was responsible for nearly 800,000 visitors (via New Orleans).