The San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas may be on the verge of a big increase in tourist visits following a top ranking.
On Tuesday, at the North American Garden Tourism Conference in Toronto, the 37-acre garden was ranked as one of the “‘Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For.”
The San Diego garden ranked ninth, behind Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans but ahead of the Tucson Botanical Garden. The Chicago Botanic Garden ranked first.
The ranking is part of the annual Garden Tourism Awards, which are presented to gardens that have distinguished themselves in the development and promotion of the garden experience as a tourism attraction.
“More people visit gardens in the United States than go to Disneyland and Disney World combined, and more than visit Las Vegas annually, making garden tourism one of the largest sectors in the tourism market,” noted Richard Benfield, chair of the International Garden Tourism Network.
