It’s a decision faced by many a traveler heading to a new city.
Do you: A) Stay in the most popular area for tourists, thereby ensuring you’re close to all the action?
Or B) Try to find accommodation in an up-and-coming neighborhood to get a better sense of how the locals really live?
If Airbnb’s latest travel trends report is anything to go by, today’s tourists are increasingly going for the latter.
The report is based on bookings made by 40 million site users in 190 countries.
“We examined not only which countries and cities were becoming increasingly popular for travelers, but also which local neighborhoods were surging in popularity,” says the report.
“We looked at which neighborhoods in some of the most popular cities around the globe were growing particularly fast in bookings and give people a chance to not just visit a neighborhood but feel like they live in a neighborhood.”
Backpacker central
Some of the neighborhoods are hardly tourism up-and-comers — Banglampoo in Bangkok, for one, is home to backpacker central — Khao San Road.
But the surrounding streets are starting to offer a few surprises of their own.
As for the major draws of these neighborhoods, Airbnb’s report said some patterns emerged.
Namely, travelers want to be in neighborhoods with thriving arts scenes, great local food and easy access to outdoor experiences.
Here’s a quick look at the site’s top 16 neighborhoods to visit in 2016, including the level of growth each area experienced in 2015.
More info on each area in the gallery above.
1. Chuo-ku (Osaka, Japan): 7,471% growth
2. Banglampoo (Bangkok): 1,239% growth
3. Brickfields (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia): 1,231% growth
4. Capucins (Bordeaux, France): 966% growth
5. Koukaki (Athens, Greece): 801% growth
6. Triana (Seville, Spain): 774% growth
7. Hammerbrook (Hamburg, Germany): 418% growth
8. Kaneohe (Oahu, Hawaii): 324% growth
9. Meireles (Fortaleza, Brazil): 287% growth
10. Roma Sur (Mexico City): 279% growth
11. Oak Lawn (Dallas, Texas): 264% growth
12. Poncey-Highland (Atlanta, Georgia): 242% growth
13. District VII (Budapest, Hungary): 148% growth
14. The Bukit Peninsula (Bali, Indonesia): 134% growth
15. Richmond (Melbourne, Australia): 126% growth
16. Constitucion (Buenos Aires, Argentina): 125% growth
