The listicle Gods giveth and they taketh away. Earlier today we told you that Parents Magazine ranks San Francisco as the Healthiest City for families in the United States, which is awesome if you can afford to actually raise a child here. Now we find that after 18 years in the top spot, San Francisco has been demoted the second favorite tourist destination in the United States. Which city snatched up the numero uno spot? Charleston, S.C., at least to 29,000 readers of Condé Nast Traveler. San Francisco, it would seem, is not as friendly as Charleston. "When it comes to natural beauty and the culinary scene, we're going to beat Charleston every time," said Joe D'Alessandro, head of the San Francisco Travel Association. "But when guests come out of hotels and are harassed, many times people interpret that as an unfriendly environment." More than 90 percent of the travel readers rated Charleston as a friendly place, SFGate reports, compared with 66.9 percent for San Francisco.
· 2011 Readers' Choice Awards [Condé Nast Traveler]
· Aggressive Panhandlers Blamed for San Francisco's Slipping Tourism Ranking [SFist]
· S.F. slips a notch with tourists amid panhandling [SFGate]
· San Francisco: A Great Place to Raise Kids (If You Can Afford It) [Curbed SF]
[Segway Tourists in North Beach via Alexandera Jones]
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