LONDON, U.K. – 20 September, 2010 – TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today reveals its list of the Top 10 fastest growing, up-and-coming hot spots, based on TripAdvisor.co.uk site data monitoring traffic uplift over the past year.
You may love Bath, Barcelona and Berlin but if you’re looking for the new 2011 weekend break destination look no further than Lacock in Wiltshire. This charming rural village may not be as well-known as its Cotswold neighbours, but this all looks set to change as interest in Lacock on TripAdvisor UK has increased more than any other European destination over the last 12 months.
Largest Lift for Lacock
Lacock’s beautiful abbey has been a local point of interest for centuries but the use of the village as a film set over the last few years may partly explain its significant soar in popularity. In recent years period dramas such as Pride and Prejudice, Moll Flanders and Emma have taken advantage of Lacock’s charming setting, and even some scenes from the Harry Potter films have been shot there.
Top 10 European Emerging Hotspots (based on UK site data)
1. Lacock, Wiltshire
2. Portreath, Cornwall
3. East Kilbride, Scotland
4. Tarporley, Cheshire
5. Colchester, Essex
6. Ripon, North Yorkshire
7. Lancaster, Lancashire
8. Limerick, Ireland
9. Doncaster, South Yorkshire
10. Dawlish, Devon
“Although the past year has seen consumer travel confidence grow, setbacks such as the volcanic ash cloud and airline strikes may explain why nine of the top 10 emerging hotspots for British travellers are in the UK. Brits are clearly rediscovering domestic travel and realise there’s an awful lot to see on a weekend break without leaving the country,” comments TripAdvisor spokesperson Emma O’Boyle.
Watch Out Newquay...
Second on the TripAdvisor emerging destination list is the pretty seaside resort of Portreath in Cornwall. Portreath is becoming increasingly popular with surfers, who turn up in force at high tide on big swells to tackle the harbour wall, or the ‘Vortex’ as it is known locally.
Interest in the area, according to the TripAdvisor data, has increased so significantly in the last 12 months that Portreath, with its comparatively cheaper hotel prices and more relaxed holiday vibe, could become a real contender to rival nearby Newquay.
Keep an Aye on East Kilbride
Perhaps a surprise entry at number three in TripAdvisor’s emerging destination list is the South Lanarkshire town of East Kilbride. This large suburban town was designated Scotland’s first ‘new town’ in 1947 and is perhaps better known as an urban housing area with a plethora of roundabouts than as a buzzing tourist destination.
East Kilbride's town centre does in fact boast the largest indoor shopping area in Scotland and one of the largest in Europe. It has also begun a major 10-year redevelopment program which will see the creation of a landmark arts and culture complex with a theatre, a 500-seat conference centre, a museum and a new town square.
-Ends-
Notes to Editor:
Data based on % lift in page views 1st Aug 2009 – 8th Sep 2010 on www.tripadvisor.co.uk.
