Press release -
Edinburgh named second best rated destination in UK for 2016
Two Scottish destinations have been named among the UK’s ten best rated in the eighth annual Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations, announced by TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site.
Edinburgh took second place in the UK list and was also named 21st in Europe, while Glasgow came in at ninth in the UK.
TripAdvisor spokesperson, James Kay, said:
“The destinations best rated by travellers are often those that marry value with great experiences, so it is easy to see why Edinburgh and Glasgow – where the average room rate bookable on TripAdvisor is almost half the price of London– have performed so well this year."
The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations reveal the world’s best rated destinations each year, based on millions of reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions in destinations worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period, as well as traveller booking interest on TripAdvisor.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:
“We are delighted that Edinburgh and Glasgow feature in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Destination awards again this year.
“Its fantastic news that Edinburgh remains in the same position as last year and it’s also pleasing to see Glasgow remain in the top ten within the UK too. Both cities offer a huge number of attractions and experiences for visitors to enjoy so it’s great to see them receive the recognition they deserve through these awards.”
World winners: London comes out on top
Elsewhere in the UK, London celebrates the title of not just number one in the UK but also tops the Europe and world list for the first time since 2012. Istanbul and Marrakech follow London for second and third place in the world.
The win for London comes at a time when the city and the rest of the UK is poised for celebrations as the Queen marks her 90th birthday in April and throughout the summer.
Of the top ten best rated world destinations, Siem Reap (fifth place) offers the cheapest hotel value with average bookable room rates on TripAdvisor at £50 a night.
Travellers’ looking to experience something special there might want to consider a stay at the Golden Temple Residence. The hotel was named number one in Asia for service in the Travellers’ Choice Awards for Hotels this January. Bookable on TripAdvisor for an average of just £99 in 2016, it won’t break the bank. Travellers can get the best deal at this hotel in August when the average rate is £86.
UK category: North trumps South
When it comes to the UK winners, Despite London taking the top spot, this year the north comes up trumps overall as seven out of ten destinations are located north of the midlands.
Edinburgh, Liverpool, Llandudno and Blackpool take second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively, York comes in at seventh and Glasgow and Manchester rank ninth and tenth respectively.
Among the top ten UK destinations, Blackpool offers the cheapest hotel rooms with the average bookable hotel rate on TripAdvisor for 2016 at £66 – less than half the price of a comparable hotel room in London.
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- edinburgh
- tripadvisor
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 - 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the current 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
- Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme
