Sarasota Named 1 Of '52 Places' For Travelers To Visit: NY Times

SARASOTA, FL — Less than two weeks into 2022, the accolades are already coming in for Sarasota, as the city found itself on the New York Times’ annual “52 Places” list travelers should visit in 2022.

The Times calls the list “52 Places for a Changed World,” touting 52 locales around the world as “spots where visitors can be part of the solution to problems like overtourism and climate change.”

It includes such places as Marrakesh, Morocco; Greenland; Chioggia, Italy; Sierra Leone; Kyoto, Japan; Slovenia; and Queens, New York. Check out the full list of destinations here.

The Times took the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic into consideration when compiling the list. Outside of North America and Europe, many people are unvaccinated, and some Asian countries, including China, have closed to most visitors, the media outlet said.

It also acknowledged that “there is a profound shift underway in the world’s understanding of climate change and the swiftness and degree to which we are already seeing its effects. Wildfires, floods, dangerous storms, rising water levels and temperatures: all remind us how fragile our world really is.”

The travel industry plays a role in this, as it’s responsible for between 8 and 11 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Times.

In the past, these "52 Places” lists have focused on exciting destinations, the Times said, while the 2022 “list, instead, highlights places where change is actually happening — where endangered wild lands are being preserved, threatened species are being protected, historical wrongs are being acknowledged, fragile communities are being bolstered — and where travelers can be part of the change.”

Sarasota made the cut thanks to Architecture Sarasota, “a new organization founded to protect and promote the most spectacular concentration of modernist buildings east of the Mississippi,” the Times said.

Related Story: Sarasota's Iconic ZigZag House Hits The Market For $3 Million

These modernist buildings were created by what is known as the Sarasota School of Architecture, whose architects designed innovative homes and other spaces from the 1940s through the mid-1960s.

Architecture Sarasota, a member-supported non-profit organization, promotes the legacy of the Sarasota School of Architecture through education and advocacy, including its Mod Weekend. The organization launched nearly a year ago when the Sarasota Architectural Foundation and the Center for Architecture Sarasota merged.