How Destination Score™ Works

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 Destination Score™ is built using a wide range of public, open, and non-proprietary data sources. These sources are combined, normalized, and interpreted to produce globally comparable travel insights. Destination Score™ is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organizations listed below.

All data is used for research, evaluation, and exploratory use during active development.

Core Geospatial & Infrastructure Data

OpenStreetMap (OSM)

OpenStreetMap contributors
License: Open Database License (ODbL)

OpenStreetMap provides the foundational geospatial data used across Destination Score™, including transit access points, amenities, civic infrastructure, environmental context, and accessibility signals. OSM data is community-maintained and globally available, making it essential for consistent cross-destination comparisons.

Natural Earth

Natural Earth
Public domain

Natural Earth provides global geographic reference layers, including coastlines, landforms, and physical geography features used for baseline spatial context and environmental classification.

Attractions, Culture & Place Identity

Wikivoyage

Wikivoyage contributors
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)

Wikivoyage is used as a structured, narrative-driven source for attractions, landmarks, cultural institutions, and destination identity. Destination Score™ extracts and tiers relevant content to create globally consistent Attractions and Culture signals.

Wikidata

Wikidata contributors
License: Creative Commons CC0

Wikidata provides structured metadata for landmarks, cultural sites, and notable places, supporting entity matching, classification, and enrichment across multiple Destination Score™ categories.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre

UNESCO World Heritage List
Source: whc.unesco.org

UNESCO World Heritage data is used as a contextual cultural signal, indicating globally recognized sites of cultural or natural significance. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by UNESCO.

Climate & Seasonality

Open-Meteo

Open-Meteo.com
License: Open data / API terms

Open-Meteo provides historical and modeled climate data used to calculate seasonal comfort and climate variability. Weather data is aggregated and normalized to reflect traveler-relevant seasonal conditions rather than short-term forecasts.

Cost & Economic Context

Numbeo

Source: numbeo.com

Numbeo provides global, city-level cost-of-living and safety perception indicators that inform certain contextual inputs within the Destination Score™ framework where available.

Destination Score™ is not affiliated with or endorsed by Numbeo. Numbeo-derived signals are normalized, aggregated, and interpreted as part of a broader, multi-source reference methodology and are presented for research, evaluation, and exploratory use during active development.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

OECD Statistics
Source: oecd.org

OECD data is used for regional and national economic context, price-level anchors, and comparative normalization where city-level data is unavailable.

Safety & Crime Data

Local & National Crime Data Sources

Crime data is sourced from official local, regional, or national public safety agencies, including but not limited to:

• Municipal open-data portals
• Police department crime statistics
• National statistical agencies
• Government crime reporting systems

Because crime reporting standards, jurisdictions, and update cycles vary by destination, the specific crime data source used for each destination is listed directly on the Safety dashboard. This destination-level disclosure ensures transparency while avoiding oversimplification or misattribution at a global level. Destination Score™ does not generate or alter underlying crime records; it standardizes reported data for comparative analysis.

Additional Public Data Sources

Depending on destination coverage and availability, Destination Score™ may also incorporate data from:

• National statistical offices
• Government tourism authorities
• Transportation agencies
• Environmental and geographic public datasets

All such sources are publicly available and attributed where used.

 
Framework and methodology documented at github.com/destinationscore/destinationscore 

Legal Disclaimer

Destination Score™ is an independent analytical and informational platform designed to provide comparative travel insights based on publicly available data. All scores, analyses, and descriptions are provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as guarantees, certifications, endorsements, or professional advice of any kind.

Destination Score™ does not claim to provide real-time, complete, or error-free information. Conditions related to safety, accessibility, cost, infrastructure, climate, and experience can vary by location, time, season, and individual circumstance. Users should exercise independent judgment and consult official sources when making travel decisions.

Destination Score™ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with any government agency, tourism board, data provider, or institution referenced within the platform, including but not limited to OpenStreetMap, Wikivoyage, Wikidata, UNESCO, Open-Meteo, Numbeo, OECD, or any local or national statistical authority. All trademarks, dataset names, and institutional references are the property of their respective owners.

Crime, safety, and risk-related information is derived from publicly available sources and standardized for comparative purposes. Destination Score™ does not create, modify, or verify underlying crime reports and makes no representations regarding the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such data. Individual destination-level data sources are disclosed where applicable.

Accessibility-related information reflects infrastructure availability and capacity signals based on available data and does not constitute legal, medical, or regulatory determinations, including compliance with accessibility or disability standards.

Destination Score™, the Destination Score™ name, logos, scoring framework, and associated methodologies are trademarks and/or proprietary intellectual property of Destination Score™. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or redistribution of Destination Score™ content, branding, or scoring systems without prior written permission is prohibited. Use of Destination Score™ constitutes acceptance of these terms.