There are so many wonderful and diverse travel experiences awaiting groups. Eating, sleeping and shopping are important—so important—but what about the best bird's-eye view of your destination? The best adventure? The best hands-on experience?
The 2017 Groups Today Readers Choice Awards feature new categories for the Best 20 of 2017. We hope you'll find your favorites and discover some unexpected selections to inspire your travels and itineraries.
Best DMO/CVB: City or Region
Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Honorable Mentions: Destination Cleveland | New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism | Visit Sacramento | Virginia Beach CVB
Best DMO/CVB: State or Province
I Love NY
Honorable Mentions: Visit California | Visit Florida | TourismOhio | Tennessee Vacation
Best Hotel: Boutique or Historic
Grand Hotel Mackinac Island
Honorable Mentions: The Greenbrier | The Inn on Baltimore Estate | The Midtown Hotel | The Palmer House Hilton
Best Hotel: Large Group
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
Honorable Mentions: Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | Hilton Hotels & Resorts | Rosen Hotels & Resorts | Witham Family Hotels
Best Beer or Wine Trail
Napa Valley, California
Honorable Mentions: Columbus, Ohio | Finger Lakes, New York | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Best Dining Experience
Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
Honorable Mentions: Cracker Barrel | Golden Corral | Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show | Phillips Seafood
Best Hands-On Experience
Corning Museum of Glass
Honorable Mentions: Great Lakes Science Center | New Orleans School of Cooking | City Museum | WonderWorks
Best Arts Venue
Smithsonian Institution
Honorable Mentions: Art Institute of Chicago | Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park | High Museum of Art | Metropolitan Museum of Art
Best Museum
Madame Tussauds
Honorable Mentions: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum | Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Best Adventure Attraction
All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting
Honorable Mentions: Adventureworks, Nashville | Go Ape Zip Line & Treetop Adventure | Howe Caverns | Wolfe Mountain Zipline and Snoflex Park
Best Amusement Park
Walt Disney World
Honorable Mentions: Cedar Point | Silver Dollar City | Six Flags America | Universal Studios
Best Casino
Atlantic City Resorts Casino Hotel
Honorable Mentions: Jack Cleveland Casino | Mohegan Sun | Oaklawn Racing & Gaming | Tulalip Resort Casino
Best Festival
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Honorable Mentions: ArtPrize | Oregon Shakespeare Festival | Virginia International Music Festival | Winterlude, Ottawa, Ontario
Best Sightseeing Tour
Maid of the Mist
Honorable Mentions: Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise | City Sightseeing | Maverick Helicopters | THE RIDE
Best Shopping
Mall of America
Honorable Mentions: Destiny USA | Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas | Outlets at Tejon | Outlets of Little Rock
Best View
Coca-Cola Orlando Eye
Honorable Mentions: 360 CHICAGO | CN Tower | OUE Skyspace | Top of The Rock
Best Destination: United States
New York, New York
Honorable Mentions: Chicago, Illinois | Nashville, Tennessee | New Orleans, Louisiana | San Francisco, California
Best Destination: North America
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Honorable Mentions: Atlantic City, New Jersey | Orlando, Florida | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Washington, D.C.
Best Destination: International
Ireland
Honorable Mentions: Australia | Barcelona, Spain | Costa Rica | England