Oakland named one of 'the world’s most exciting destinations' for travel in 2019

Aerial: Oakland City Skyline and freeway at sunset. California, USA Aerial: Oakland City Skyline and freeway at sunset. California, USA Photo: Jonathan Clark/Getty Images Photo: Jonathan Clark/Getty Images Image 1 of / 42 Caption Close Oakland named one of 'the world’s most exciting destinations' for travel in 2019 1 / 42 Back to Gallery

The Peruvian Amazon, Cairo, Greenland, French Polynesia, Perth, and — Oakland, California.

National Geographic released its 28 best travel destinations for 2019 and the "East Bay star" made the cut, alongside exotic and far-flung locales all over the world. Three other American locations — Kansas City in Missouri, Florida's South Walton County and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness in New Mexico — were also chosen.

The editors of Nat Geo's "Traveler" Magazine selected its 2019 picks in four categories: cities, nature, culture and adventure. Oakland fell under the culture category.

"Oakland was selected for its vibrant and diverse culture," said Mark Everton, CEO of Visit Oakland in a press release, "and we welcome visitors to experience our culture by immersing themselves into our community and exploring our many neighborhoods."

National Geographic hailed Oakland for its multicultural food scene, LGBTQ history and its "revitalized Jack London Square and Temescal Alley," but also noted the widespread concern about the city's gentrification struggles.

"The tragedy of Oakland getting gentrified is that Oakland's 'there there' is in its diversity, its distinction, its sense of place, its people," as Tommy Orange, an author from Oakland, is quoted in the issue.

Last summer was Oakland's busiest for travel on record, according to the Oakland International Airport, following a 4.1 percent increase over the previous year. September travel yielded the same percent increase, with more than 1.1 million people traveling through the airport that month.

Visit Oakland echoes those findings, telling KPIX that in 2017, 3.7 million visited the city, up 10 percent from the year prior.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

