I'm surprised to see so many places not on the list, and so many places making it that caused me to question the rationale (to the point where I read the follow

I'm surprised to see so many places not on the list, and so many places making it that caused me to question the rationale (to the point where I read the follow-up article on how they chose places). Then I realised as an NY Times piece, this is for Americans. Lots of the places are Anglo-Spanish-friendly (St Helena, really?), mostly within less than insane flight times (explains the lack of New Zealand on the list) and the inevitable references to Kanye and other celebrities (because you know it'd be insulting to suggest that these places actually have things going for themselves without the affirmation of a celebrity). While I disagree with almost the majority of the choices (choose Melbourne over Sydney any day of the week as a tourist, avoid anything with Democratic Republic of the Congo on it unless you're already familiar with the safety requirements for the region) it's an interesting and thought provoking list, nonetheless.