Press release -
Edinburgh Castle named fourth best rated landmark in the UK in 2016 TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards
Edinburgh Castle has today been named as the fourth best-rated landmark in the UK in the Travellers’ Choice TM awards for Landmarks, announced by the travel planning and booking site, TripAdvisor.
The famous Edinburgh attraction which houses the Crown Jewels of Scotland is situated on Castle Rock in the heart of Edinburgh and sits 260ft above the city, visible for ten miles in every direction.
Continuing the success for Edinburgh, the Royal Yacht Britannia has this year been named eighth best rated UK landmark.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive at VisitScotland, said:
"We're delighted that Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia feature prominently in the Travellers' Choice awards, reflecting the worldwide appeal of these iconic landmarks and the quality of the visitor experience. Scotland's history and heritage attract millions of visitors from around the world and top attractions in Edinburgh such as these are why the Scottish capital remains a must-visit destination for travellers."
Travellers’ Choice Landmarks awards honour top landmarks worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for landmarks worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
“This year’s awards prove the enduring popularity of many of the UK’s most recognizable landmarks. For travellers planning a visit to any of the winners during the busy summer season, you can book a tour on TripAdvisor ahead of time, such as those that let you skip the queues at the ticket line,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson Hayley Coleman.
London leads UK with best rated landmarks
Once again, London is home to the biggest number of winning landmarks in the UK. This year the capital boasts six of the top ten in the UK, including all of the top three. Big Ben takes the top spot followed by Tower of London in second and Tower Bridge in third. House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace come in fifth, seventh and tenth place respectively in the UK.
This year not only is Big Ben named number one in the UK, the iconic landmark is also named 19th in the world and beats Mexico’s Mayan Ruins – Chichen Itza, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and the Sydney Opera House.
Birthplace of The Beatles is this year’s newcomer
Liverpool’s The Cavern Club, the nightclub which famously kicked off The Beatles career along with other world famous British music artists, is the only landmark to be named among the UK’s top ten landmarks for the first time this year. The club joins the list at ninth place.
Machu Picchu is world’s #1 landmark
The ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru is this year named as the world’s best rated landmark, rising up from second place last year.
Located at the meeting point between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin, Machu Picchu stands 2,430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest. Built in the fifteenth century, it was abandoned when the Inca Empire was conquered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century and it was not until 1911 that the archaeological complex was made known to the outside world.
Top 10 UK Landmarks
5.Houses of Parliament, London
8.Royal Yacht Britannia, Edinburgh
Top 10 Europe Landmarks
1.St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Italy
2.Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
3.Church of the Savior on Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia
4.The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
5.Milan Cathedral (Duomo), Milan, Italy
6.Hagia Sophia Museum / Church (Ayasofya), Istanbul, Turkey
7.Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
9.Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
For the complete list of winners from the 2016 Travellers’ Choice Landmarks awards, as well as reviews and candid traveller photos, go to www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice-Landmarks.
- ENDS -
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- royal yacht britannia
- edinburgh castle
- tripadvisor
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Average seasonal nightly rates of all bookable accommodations in each destination are based on TripAdvisor pricing data for June 1 through August 31, 2016, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.
About TripAdvisor
- TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travellers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors**, and 350 million reviews and opinions covering 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 48 markets worldwide.
- 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.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
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 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
