Great Smoky Mountains National Park between North Carolina and Tennessee is the most popular national park by number of visits in the US. During 2005 the park had almost 9,200,000 visitors, more than any other US National Park in 2005. The second most popular national park was the Grand Canyon with over 4,000,000 visitors.

The old Southern Appalachian mountains of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have diverse animal and plant life in their temperate deciduous forests. Activities in this popular national park include more than 800 miles of trails for hiking and grounds for picnicking, fishing, and horseback riding.

The United Nations have designated America’s most popular national park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as an International Biosphere Reserve.

Las Vegas is the entertainment capitol of the world and also the most popular destination in the world. Every year, 36.7 million visitors come to Sin City looking for relaxation, entertainment, or that chance to strike it rich. The Las Vegas city limits and surrounding Clark County boast a permanent residency of only 2 million. Of all the tourists converging on Vegas annually, 25% come from the southern California area, and 12% came from outside the United States.

Las Vegas is a hub for airlines, railroads, trucking and highways. Major and regional airlines find Las Vegas to be one of their most popular destinations. McCarran International Airport is the 8th busiest airport in the US. Las Vegas was founded as a railroad city. Because of its central location, it is still a principal on-route destination for the railroads.

The average stay in Vegas is 3.7 nights, with rooms costing about $103 on average. Of all visitors, only 5% say they come to the desert mainly to gamble, although 87% end up gambling at some point during their stay. A typical Vegas tourist will spend 3.9 hours a day in the casinos, and that same typical tourist will loose $559 to the house before their vacation ends. The state of Nevada makes 9 billion dollars a year off it’s cut of legal gambling. It is no wonder that Nevada has encouraged turning Las Vegas into a popular vacation destination.

Current estimates suggest that 3% of the adult population will experience a serious problem with gambling that will result in significant debt, family disruption, job losses, criminal activity or suicide. Americans seem to be rediscovering a love for gambling of all types, giving Las Vegas a firm grasp on it’s title as the most popular vacation spot in the world.