LONDON, UK – 21 March, 2017 – London is today named the second best rated destination in the world and number one in Europe in the ninth annual Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations, announced by TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site.

London beats traditional favourites Paris, Rome and New York City, which come in third, fourth and fifth, place in the world respectively, but is just pipped to the top spot by Bali in Indonesia, which enters the Travellers’ Choice Destinations Awards for the first time 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. This year, for the first time, islands are included among the award winners which were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions at destinations and islands worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period, as well as traveller booking interest on TripAdvisor. Previously the awards had focused on urban destinations only.

Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business and Chairman of London & Partners, said: “London has the best selection of food, theatre, cultural events, museums and galleries anywhere in the world, and we are welcoming more visitors than ever to enjoy the diversity of our great city. With new blockbuster exhibitions and shows opening, plus Harry Potter’s 20th anniversary and the ‘IAAF World Championships London 2017 and World Para Athletics Championships’ in the capital this year, we hope to further cement the city’s global status as one of the best places that there is to visit.”

European destinations dominate the world winners list this year with six of the top ten from the region; London, Paris, Rome, Crete, Barcelona and Prague, rank second third, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth.

“This year’s awards show that the UK’s capital can more than hold its own among the world’s best loved destinations as it is named Europe’s number one and second in the world. Travellers planning a visit to one of the top 10 destinations in the world will get the best value in Crete, with the average nightly hotel rate on TripAdvisor coming in at £95,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, Hayley Coleman.

UK category: North trumps south five years running

The awards also reveal the UK and Channel Isles best-rated destinations and while London ranks as the UK’s number one destination overall, the north also has a lot to celebrate with six winning destination in the top 10 versus four southern winners. And it is not the first time that the north has boasted more winning destinations than the south in the Travellers’ Choice Destinations awards; in fact, this has been the case for five years running.

Cumbria in particular has cause for applause this year as two of its destinations, Windermere and Keswick are named in the top 10 – Cumbria is the only UK county to boast two winners.

Edinburgh, Windermere, Liverpool, Keswick, York and Glasgow take second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively. While to the south of the UK and Channel Isles, London, Jersey, Isle of Wight and Bath come in first, third, ninth and tenth respectively.

Visiting the world’s 10 best-rated destinations:

For those interested in visiting one of the Travellers’ Choice world top 10, TripAdvisor has outlined highly rated hotels available to book and top things to do in each destination to maximise the full potential of the trip:

1. Bali, Indonesia - Average nightly rate of all Bali hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £166

Highly rated hotel: The Trans Resort Bali

Highly rated things to do: Half-Day Electric Bike Tour of Ubud

 

2. London, UK  - Average nightly rate of all London hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £209

Highly rated hotel: Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London

Highly rated things to do: Private Tour: London Walking Tour of the British Museum

 

3. Paris, France  - Average nightly rate of all Paris hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £185

Highly rated hotel: Hotel de Londres Eiffel

Highly rated things to do: Nightlife with a Local

 

4. Rome, Italy - Average nightly rate of all Rome hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £172

Highly rated hotel: Hotel Artemide

Highly rated things to do: Rome Food Walking Tour

 

5. New York City, United States - Average nightly rate of all New York hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £282

Highly rated hotel: YOTEL New York at Times Square West

Highly rated things to do: New York TV and Movie Tour

 

6. Crete, Greece - Average nightly rate of all Crete hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £62

Highly rated hotel: GDM Megaron Hotel

Highly rated things to do: Private Tour: Chania Old Town Trikke Tour

 

7. Barcelona, Spain  - Average nightly rate of all Barcelona hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £174

Highly rated hotel: Hotel Jazz

Highly rated things to do: Early Access to Sagrada Familia with Optional Tower Access

 

8. Siem Reap, Cambodia  - Average nightly rate of all Siem Reap hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £80

Highly rated hotel: Shinta Mani Resort

Highly rated things to do: Half-Day Bike Tour from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat

 

9. Prague, Czech Republic  - Average nightly rate of all Prague hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £120

Highly rated hotel: Hotel Residence Agnes

Highly rated things to do: Private Old Town and Riverside Segway Tour in Prague

 

10. Phuket, Thailand  - Average nightly rate of all Phuket hotels bookable on TripAdvisor, £80

Highly rated hotel: Amari Phuket

Highly rated things to do: Full Day Thai Cooking Class from Phuket

 

UK top 10

1. London, London
2. Edinburgh, Scotland
3. Jersey, Channel Isles
4. Windermere, Cumbria
5. Liverpool, Merseyside
6. Keswick, Cumbria
7. York, North Yorkshire
8. Glasgow, Scotland
9. Isle of Wight, Hampshire
10. Bath, Somerset

 

Europe top 10

1. London, UK
2. Paris, France
3. Rome, Italy
4. Crete, Greece
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Prague, Czech Republic
7. Istanbul, Turkey
8. St. Petersburg, Russia
9. Lisbon, Portugal
10. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

Notes to editors:

Average nightly rates of bookable hotels in award-winning destinations are based on TripAdvisor pricing data for March 1 – August 31, 2017, aggregated from booking partners.

 

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world’s largest travel site*, enabling travellers to unleash the potential of every trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travellers, with 465 million reviews and opinions covering 7 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions, and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features — checking more than 200 websites to help travellers find and book today’s lowest hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 390 million average unique monthly visitors** in 49 markets worldwide. TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP), through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 23 other travel media brands:

www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, November 2016

**Source: TripAdvisor log files, Q3 2016