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Gov. Jim Justice announced this week that the popular travel guide, "Lonely Planet," has named West Virginia one of the top 10 destinations in the world for 2022.
This global designation also goes to Burgundy, France; Scenic Rim, Australia; Vancouver Island, Canada; and West Fjords, Iceland. West Virginia is the only site in the USA.
The Lonely Planet team conducted a Best in Travel survey of 200 bloggers, travel writers, and publishers during the Pandemic. West Virginia emerged as a "Lovely Place" because it has uncrowded and unspoiled mountains, charming small towns with unmistakable heritage, a leisurely tempo, and exciting outdoor adventures.
"Lonely Planet" began as a travel guide publisher after the Australian founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, made a trip through Europe, Asia, and Australia in 1972 and wrote the book, 'Across Asia on the Cheap.' They took the name "Lonely Planet" for their publishing company after they misheard the song title, "Lovely Planet."
They sold the publishing company to the BBC in 2012, and it has been bought recently by a company with headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.
Having the "Lonely Planet" headquarters closer to West Virginia helps to attract attention to our state, but this state does meet the "Lovely Place" criteria, and we are learning how to manage and market our tourism assets more effectively.
The Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area designation is an excellent initiative designed to bring new attention to the 101-year-old Monongahela National Forest and the nine towns it surrounds. This area includes places like Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, Cranberry Glades, Dolly Sods Wilderness, and Seneca Rocks. The area has had unprecedented numbers of visitors during the pandemic, but rock climbing, skiing, and snowboarding have been available for many decades.
The New River Gorge National Park & Preserve has just reached its official status as a national park this year. It offers exciting outdoor adventures including bike trails, rock climbing cliffs, whitewater rafting, zip lines, and Bridge Day. The historic towns in this area reflect the industrial history of the state.
From my point of view, the network of rail trails offers one of the most enjoyable types of outdoor tourism in West Virginia. We love to bike from one quaint little town to the next on the old railroad rights of way.
We can go north to Parson, Thomas, and Davis from Elkins, or we can start at Glady going south almost to Lewisburg.We have traveled along the Mon River near Clarksburg to Morgantown and north to Pennsylvania. The West Bend Trail goes west to through tunnels near Huntington, and we have met international travelers in some of these "Lovely Places."