This is nonsense. San Marino is almost entirely dependent on tourism from Italy, and is very, very heavily trafficked. This list seems to be based on some arbitrary absolute value and not on rate.

Similarly, I noticed at least 3 of these are US territories, and are heavily traveled to by Americans, though that may cause the "foreign visitors" to be quite low.

While the CNN list feels somewhat variable, I'd highly recommend visiting countries that aren't on any "top destination" lists. I just got back from a trip that included Kyiv and Minsk, and I'd have to say that Minsk in particular exceeded any expectations I had. Clean, beautiful, a feeling of safety in the downtown, and plenty of sights (and alcoholic beverages) made for a great visit.

Arguably May is the best time of the year to visit Kyiv. This chestnut bloom!

population of Anguilla: 14,764; 2017 tourist total from article: 68,000

Using absolute numbers for this sort of list doesn't work.

it's just a list of the smallest countries with lowest populations masking as if it's a different kind of data.

What utter crap.

+1 for Vanuatu and specifically the volcano mentioned in the article in Tanna. Absolutely phenomenal experience in an almost entirely undeveloped island. We spent 3 days in a tree-house handmade by our local host facing the volcano (think of sleeping and seeing lava chunks flying in the night sky from your window). Also you can literally walk up to the caldera and watch for hours while the volcano is erupting and molten rocks are falling a few meters from your head. Absolutely mind-blowing.

So these are all remote islands, microstates, two west African countries and one east African countries that all have U.S. State Dept. travel warnings, and Moldova.

As a Moldovan citizen: There's nothing[1] to see in Moldova (even if you get a good local guide [2], and are willing to travel to the country side and outside the capital).

Watch Eurotrip instead, and you'll get an accurate depiction of a yet another poor post-Soviet East European country.

[1] Well, there's something to see, obviously, but you need to know exactly what, and where, and it will be overwhelmed by, well, how poor, bad and shoddy everything else is.

[2] If you are going, ask Azbuca Travel on Facebook, they specialise in local tours. Sorry for advertisement :D

>From civil war to Ebola outbreaks, this west African country has faced hard knocks in recent decades

Sometimes countries are not visited a lot for good reasons. Hemorrhagic fever outbreaks seem like a very good reason.

It reminds me of this guy: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnDxHTaeNX0

Not sure how to feel about it. Goes to a poor country, complains that it's poor.

Yeah, I thought that at the beginning but he makes a point at the end saying corrupt politicians have messed up the country and fled leaving the people to deal with it.

I don't think he's trying to insult the country, just saying how it is. I think he speaks fluent Russian so must have at least some interest in this part of the world.

I expected to see some countries in NE S. America like Guyana and Suriname.

I expected Uzbekistan and maybe Georgia and Armenia.

I became fascinated with these places after watching their Lonely Planet guides in the 1990s. But they are so far away!