There were several close races to the end of the Second Round of The Best City To Visit Travel Tournament 2013. Dublin squeezed past Bangkok with 3 votes while Tunis was eliminated by one. A few countries mounted social media campaigns, like Romania, whose Sibiu and Bucharest comfortably made it to this Round of 32. Reader Dino also noted a crazy turn (and error on my part) in which Baku competed twice. It all balanced out however and didn’t change the outcome of any races or the tournament. Now keep in mind that the Round of 32 is a fast sprint – don’t hesitate to vote and spread the word for your favorite cities. Are you a Chicago or Boston supporter? Can New York City hold off the Stockholm vikings? We’ll find out before Thursday.
Half of these 32 cities will be eliminated within 48 hours. You have until this Wednesday, March 13th 18:00 US EST to vote for your favorites and decide the cities that advance on to the Sweet 16. Also, please excuse the captchas you have to enter before each vote, they help reduce spam and other Internet clogging junk from the contest. Those of you reading through email and RSS will have to click-through to this page to vote. Good luck!
Many of you have been asking for advice on how to gather support and votes for the cities you’re rooting for. Based on what I’ve seen from the 4 previous contests, getting in touch with the government agencies, tourism boards, and other entities already representing your favorite cities can help push them further. A tweet, Facebook message, or the proper smoke signal might just make your city the best in the world.
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Please keep in mind the final votes for any poll aren’t final until they’re verified by my diligent verification team. The Sweet 16 comes around quickly this Thursday, March 14th.