Hong Kong not among best places to visit in 2018 but China is, new Lonely Planet guide says
World’s most visited city doesn’t make Lonely Planet’s lists of the world’s top destinations for next year, eclipsed in Asia by South Korea, Kaohsiung in Taiwan, China’s Hunan province, and Japan’s Kii Peninsula
Hong Kong has been outshone by Kaohsiung in Taiwan, China's Hunan province, Japan’s Kii Peninsula and South Korea in Lonely Planet’s latest guidebook, which recommends them as places to go in Asia.
Last week, the travel guide publisher released its lists of the best cities, regions and countries to see in 2018. The choices were made by Lonely Planet writers, who took into account significant events as well as recent developments that make locations more attractive to travellers.
“It could be that something special is going on in the year ahead, or there’s been recent development and a lot of buzz about the place; that it offers travellers new things to see or do; or that the Lonely Planet team of experts thinks it’s been overlooked and underrated and suggests travellers visit before the crowds do,” the publisher says.
Spanish-speaking places figure prominently, with San Juan, in Puerto Rico, Guanajuato, in Mexico, Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, and La Paz, in Bolivia, name-checked alongside Chile, the top country, and Seville in Spain, the top city chosen. Chile, which is getting ready to celebrate 200 years of independence next year, is poised to steal the travel spotlight, say editors, who note the extremely varied topography to be found in the “sinewy sliver of a nation”.