Arizona city named 2nd most restful travel destination. Here's why it's so relaxing
If you've ever felt like you needed a vacation to recover from your vacation, then perhaps sleep tourism would appeal to you.
MattressNextDay, a mattress company based in the United Kingdom, analyzed over 50 of the most visited cities in the United States and Europe and made a list of the five most restful. The study looked at factors such as light pollution levels, number of hotels with four or more stars and the number of walking trails.
A street art project near the Children's Museum in Tucson, conducted in collaboration between Living Streets Alliance and the Tucson DOT funded in part by a Bloomberg Philanthropies' Asphalt Art Initiative grant.
An Arizona city made the cut. Here's where and why.
What is the most relaxing city in Arizona to visit?
The study cited the city's low levels of light pollution which make it easier to fall asleep at night. Tucson is known for its commitment to keeping the sky dark for its observatories, with strict lighting ordinances and several designated dark sky areas, such as Saguaro National Park.
Plus it also has easy access to nature, with 116 walking trails per 100,000 people, giving visitors plenty of places to relax in the desert.
Tucson also ranked highly in more traditional tourist categories. It had the highest percentage of hotels with four or more stars among all the American cities considered, "not to mention having the joint-second highest number of average sun hours per day at 10.6 – giving you plenty of time to get outside and take in the sights while earning a well-deserved tan," the study stated.
Colorado Springs took the No. 1 spot. Raleigh, North Carolina; El Paso, Texas; and Omaha, Nebraska; rounded out the list.
How was this ranking completed?
MattressNextDay sells mattresses in the U.K. and created the study, which looked at 50 of the most visited U.S. cities. The study examined at eight factors to create the final score used to rank the cities:
- Light pollution
- Traffic congestion according to TomTom, a GPS and navigation software company
- Safety according to numbeo, a crowd-sourced online database that provides info about public perception
- Hotels with four or more stars according to TripAdvisor
- Hotels with soundproof rooms and blackout curtains according to TripAdvisor
- Walking trails per 100,000 people according to Alltrails
- Health clubs and yoga studios per 100,000 people according to TripAdvisor
- Average sun hours according to climate-data.org
