Panama: Go for the canal. Stay for everything else.
It?s been 12 years since Panama regained control of its canal, and the country?s economy is booming.
Helsinki, Finland: Design. Design. Design. Aesthetics fuel a new cool.
The world is infatuated with Nordic culture and now Helsinki is poised for the spotlight.
Myanmar: Back on the tourist map after being off-limits.
With renowned cultural treasures, world-class boutique hotels and deserted beaches, Myanmar has long been high on the travellers? lists.
London: The Olympics! The Queen! Charles Dickens turns 200!
London is preparing for the Olympic Games, the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Queen?s 60th year on the throne and Charles Dickens?s 200th birthday.
Oakland, California: New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit.
The city?s ever more sophisticated restaurants are now being joined by upscale cocktail bars, turning once-gritty Oakland into an increasingly appealing place to be after dark.
Tokyo: With some tourists slow to return, greater opportunities for those who do.
Though the city is about 180 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Tokyo has suffered as well. But from another vantage point, it?s a perfect time to visit. A decrease in tourism and business travel is making the city all the more accessible and welcoming.
Tanzania: Coming into its own as an upscale safari destination.
After several violent attacks on visitors to neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania has started to absorb skittish Kenya-bound safari seekers.
Chilean Patagonia: Proof that adventure doesn?t have to mean roughing it.
With its mix of snowy peaks, pristine rain forest and network of virgin national parks, Chile is emerging as an adventure hot spot.
Lhasa, Tibet: New luxury hotels bring respite?and controversy.
Tibet?s holy capital is in the throes of a luxury-hotel boom. In Lhasa, this is news: not only is operating an upscale hotel?162-room St. Regis Lhasa Resort?at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level no small feat, but real-estate developments here are also culturally loaded.
Havana, Cuba: The Cuban capital is once again within Americans? reach.
The only thing that lies between Americans and the streets of Havana is the Florida Straits, since the Obama administration has widened the kind of travel allowed.
Moscow: New cultural venues add a dash of the sacred and profane.
The extravagantly renovated Bolshoi Theater has been preening like a prima donna before the news media?s flashbulbs since it reopened in October. But beyond the spotlight, two compelling museums have also made their debuts?the Russian Icon Museum and the Tochka G.
Glasgow: Zaha Hadid takes on a Scottish waterfront.
Scotland?s second city now has the $115 million Riverside Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid.
Puebla, Mexico: International mole festival. Need we say more?
May 5, 2012, is the 150-year anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, the date when, in 1862, the Mexican army defeated the French troops of Louis-Napol?on Bonaparte.
San Diego: With breweries and brewpubs, a sunny heaven for suds lovers.
Even in times of tight budgets, finely crafted beer remains a relatively approachable luxury, and few American regions have more brewing momentum than San Diego County.
Halong Bay, Vietnam: New ways to visit a natural wonder in Southeast Asia.
Though Halong Bay, a staggering seascape of some 1,600 limestone islands and islets in the Gulf of Tonkin, formed over millions of years, there?s never been a better time to visit.
Florence, Italy: A Renaissance city gets a contemporary kick.
An energised arts scene unfolding inside various medieval palazzi, ancient landmarks restored and reopened to the public for the first time in decades.
St Vincent: A new resort may put this Caribbean island on the map.
St Vincent is a stunningly lush, unspoiled gem of an island surrounded by water cerulean enough to render that of other islands murky by comparison.
Moganshan, China: Luxury in the former mountain hideaway of Shanghai gangsters.
After a lull, the past decade has seen foreigners repopulating Moganshan?s sleepy slopes, transforming old villas into homes and guesthouses.
Birmingham, England: Could England?s second city be first in food?
Olive, the BBC?s food magazine, declared Birmingham, the UK?s ?foodiest town.?
Space: The final frontier now has a ticket agent.
It?s not just the imaginings of science fiction geeks. Pretty soon anyone with $200,000 will be able to travel to the last frontier: space.
Kerala, India: A new Indian biennale will make its debut in this coastal state.
This year India will inaugurate a biennale of its own. To be held in Kerala, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale will feature contemporary painting, film, sculpture, installations, new media and performances by Indian and international artists.
Paraty, Brazil: Putting Brazil?s Costa Verde on the cultural map.
This peaceful hideaway is swiftly becoming the most culturally rich destination in Costa Verde.
Koh Rong, Cambodia: A string of islands recalls an undiscovered Asian paradise.
Koh Rong Archipelago is a 30-minute boat ride from the coastal town of Sihanoukville.
Vienna: Modern art spruces up Austria?s imperial capital.
After a flurry of activity, Vienna?s venerable museum scene is prepped for a banner year.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: A city stages a comeback fueled by artists and retailers.
Chattanooga has undergone a dramatic overhaul with a radical gentrification plan and an aggressive citywide push to lure artists.
Dakhla, Morocco: In Morocco?s south, an arty hideaway.
Morocco?s cool crowd doesn?t want anyone else to discover this remote but strangely beautiful desert town on the Atlantic Coast of the Western Sahara.
Maldives: A cushy place for hard-core surfers? Here it is.
This past summer six world champion surfers headed to the Maldives for what was billed as the world?s most exclusive surfing event: Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy.
Malacca, Malaysia: A World Heritage site ramps up its tourism options.
With its lantern-lighted canals and silent, narrow streets lined with decades-old ornate temples and shop houses, few places in Southeast Asia conjure romantic images of the past as effectively as Malacca, Malaysia?s oldest city.
The Algarve: Portugal?s Riviera gets a new spate of luxury hotels.
This sun-drenched region is aiming to attract a wider crowd as it recycles itself with a crop of new or renovated luxury hotels emphasising style, authenticity and eco-friendliness.
Tahoe, California: New lifts, lodging, trails and snowcat rides.
Lake Tahoe?s seven major ski areas have been undergoing a dizzying slate of improvements that will eventually tally at least $100 million.
Wales: A new hiking path brings new views of rugged shores.
Exploring the country by foot will become easier in May, when the Wales Coast Path is completed, connecting several disparate paths and creating a 1,030-mile pedestrian route that rings the country.
Antarctica: Still remote and exotic. Now luxurious too.
White Desert is marking the 100-year anniversary of the arrival of explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen with a new camp that allows travellers to spend the night in accommodations of fiberglass pods with en-suite bathrooms, dressing rooms and comfy beds.
Uganda: Stability and sustainable tourism restore luster to Africa?s pearl.
Marred by the murderous regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s, Uganda is regaining some of its allure for tourists.
Ukraine: Virginal beaches and czarist palaces?at Old World prices.
Beautiful, historic cities like Kiev, Odessa and Lviv have seen modernisation, restoration and fresh cultural energy, but are still cheap, laid-back and largely free of tourist traps.
Saman? Peninsula, Dominican Republic: Unspoiled beaches, but not for long.
With an international airport, and, more recently, a highway, Saman? Peninsula is bringing in new development.
Dubrovnik, Croatia The St Tropez of the Balkans, equal parts classic and modern.
Often called the Jewel of the Adriatic, this seaside city features marble streets, Renaissance fountains and white sand beaches.
Chilo? Island, Chile: A new look, and controversy, on the edge of South America.
Chilo? Island?known for its stilt houses, Unesco-anointed churches , nature preserves, unusual wildlife and raw natural beauty ? is getting a facelift.
Jordan: New flights and a new modernist airport ease the way for visitors.
Starting this summer, travellers will be able to disembark at the new state-of-the-art terminal of Queen Alia airport. The building is a fitting welcome to a country that is trying to modernise while maintaining its natural beauty and traditions.
Crans-Montana, Switzerland: Restaurants and luxury chalets shine a light on an Alpine resort.
With its upmarket designer shops, five-star hotels, Michelin-starred dining and 87 miles of downhill slopes, the word is getting out for Crans-Montana.
Montpellier, France: France?s eighth-largest city is dressing up in designer style.
The most celebrated architect in France, Jean Nouvel, and a collaborator, Fran?ois Font?s, introduced their blue and cube-like city hall in November, and early next year Nouvel?s RBC Design Center is to open its doors in Montpellier. And the long-awaited Pierres Vives Building from the star architect Zaha Hadid will be ready by year?s end.
Nosara, Costa: RicaSurfing geeks have descended on a remote little town.
With sandy beaches, warm, jade-green waters and rolling waves that rarely get too big, the remote jungle community of Nosara on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica has become the ideal spot to learn to surf.
South Korea: Is golf?s newest hot spot in Asia?
South Korea is redefining just how luxurious golf resorts can be. A slew of new private clubs have opened recently in the country.
Lodz, Poland: The Hollywood of Poland reclaims its industrial past.
Director David Lynch has a deal to establish a major film studio in a former 19th-century power plant in the city.
Dalarna, Sweden: A storied region offers a getaway from Stockholm.
Dalarna’s deep forests and glimmering lakes host traditional midsummer parties, and every brick-red farmhouse deserves its own postcard.
Portovenere, Italy: Stepping in while the Cinque Terre rebuilds.
In late October, torrential rain caused catastrophic mudslides and flooding that devastated Monterosso and Vernazza, two of the cliff-clinging, seaside villages in the famed Cinque Terre on Italy?s northwestern coast. Like its more famous neighbours, Portovenere is a traditional fishing village with a picturesque jumble of pastel houses, boats bobbing in the harbor and a network of meandering hiking trails.