LONDON, UK, January 9, 2024 – TripadvisorⓇ, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, today announced its first Travellers’ ChoiceⓇ Award for 2024: Best of the Best Destinations. With four in five (83%) Brits planning a holiday in 2024, these are the most sought after destinations for the year, according to Tripadvisor reviewers.
Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best Destinations span seven categories for 2024: Top Destinations (formerly Popular Destinations), Trending Destinations, Culture Destinations, Food Destinations, Nature Destinations and two new subcategories this year: Honeymoon Destinations and Sustainable Destinations.
2024 Travel Outlook
Last year saw a resurgence of people taking holidays to all corners of the globe and Tripadvisor research indicates that travel is set to see sustained momentum in 2024. Tripadvisor data reveals more than half (62%) of Brits are planning one-two trips, and one third (31%) are planning three-four, with 83% of British holidaymakers planning to spend the same, if not more, on travel this year.
The Best of the Best Destinations lists offer inspiration from Tripadvisor’s global travel community for those planning trips for 2024 . Winning destinations are determined by analysing Tripadvisor reviews and rankings from the last 12 months, and with a multitude of destinations spanning 80 countries, there’s something for everyone.
Sarah Firshein, Head of Editorial at Tripadvisor, said: “With 90% of Brits planning to travel as much, if not more, than last year, enthusiasm is high and this year’s list of Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Destinations — totaling a whopping 221 destinations — really reflects that excitement.
“Winners like Dubai, Tokyo, Paris, and Marrakech indicate that our community has an unbridled appetite for destinations with vibrant arts-and-culture scenes, top-notch restaurants, and seemingly limitless attractions and experiences. It’s also great to see a rebound on long-haul trips to Asia, with the region having fully opened up post-pandemic; as Tripadvisor’s Trending Destinations list shows, travellers are keen to get out there and explore with gusto.”
Trending for 2024
When it comes to emerging travel hotspots for 2024, Asia takes the crown, securing the top five places in the world for Trending Destinations and making up an impressive eight out of the top 10 destinations. Identifying the places that have seen the greatest year-over-year growth in interest, Tokyo, Japan is No. 1 Trending Destination in the World for 2024, followed by Seoul, South Korea at No. 2 and Halong Bay, Vietnam at No. 3. Central and South America are the only other regions to make the top 10, with Bogota, Colombia at No. 6 and Alajuela, Costa Rica at No. 8.
Travellers’ Favourite Spots
With almost three quarters (71%) of Brits planning to return to their favourite places this season, reviewers on Tripadvisor are loud and proud about their most beloved destinations. The reigning champion, Dubai, has been named Top Destination in the World for the third year running, solidifying its position as Tripadvisor reviewers’ No. 1 destination. Following Bali at No. 2, London takes third place in the World and comes out No. 1 in Europe. Edinburgh misses out on a world spot, but makes it into the Top Destinations in Europe at No. 12.
New for 2024
With 74% of British travellers concerned about the impact of ‘overtourism’ on destinations*, Tripadvisor has partnered with Corona, a global AB InBev brand, to launch a new subcategory for 2024 Best of the Best Sustainable Destinations. Recognising winners from around the world deemed to have strong commitments to sustainability, Europe is leading the way when it comes to environmentally responsible cities, taking 8 of the top 10 spots. Copenhagen, Denmark takes first place, and Asia Pacific is also well represented, with Singapore and Melbourne lauded for their efforts. In the U.K., Belfast comes in at No. 10.
Best of the Best Honeymoon Destinations is a new category for 2024 and island retreats are the most romantic getaways, according to Tripadvisor reviewers. Destinations across Indonesia, the Maldives, Mauritius, the Caribbean and Greece all make up the top 10. Bali takes the No. 1 spot, followed by Hoi An, Vietnam at No. 2 and the Maldives at No. 3.
Best of the rest
Culture is the most popular trip type, according to Tripadvisor’s most recent Seasonal Travel Index, with one third (31%) of Brits planning cultural sightseeing holidays in the coming months. The top three in Best of the Best Culture Destinations sees two new entries for 2024, with Cusco, Peru at No. 2 and Agra, India at No. 3 but it’s Cuba that takes the top spot, climbing five places from last year to be named No. 1 in the world. For Brits seeking culture a little closer to home, Dublin, Ireland is No. 6 and Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, comes in at No. 9.
Nature holidays are the second most popular trip type for Brits, according to Tripadvisor’s latest Seasonal Travel Index, with nearly a quarter looking forward to enjoying nature on their upcoming holidays. To best fulfil travellers’ desires to celebrate the living world, Tripadvisor, in partnership with Corona, a global AB InBev brand, provides a diverse array of pristine holiday spots in its Best of the Best Nature Destinations list. From hiking the Himalayas from Kathmandu (No. 1) to taking in sunset over the emerald waters of Halong Bay (No. 2) and scuba diving in Hurghada’s Red Sea (No. 3), there’s something for every type of traveller. The UK is represented by Snowdonia National Park, which comes in at No. 25 in the world.
“As a brand born at the beach, preserving the natural world is core to who we are and we believe that spending time in nature relaxes us, helps us unwind and disconnect to reconnect. That’s why we’re excited to collaborate with Tripadvisor, who shares our belief that people are at their best when outdoors and exploring, and announce the 2024 Best of the Best Nature Destinations and sponsor a new category for its annual destination awards – Best of the Best Sustainable Destinations,” said Clarissa Pantoja, Global Vice President of Marketing Corona, AB InBev.
More than half (61%) of Brits are most excited about what they will eat on their upcoming trip, and this year’s Best of the Best Food Destinations serves up a diverse culinary delight. Europe takes half of the top 10 world spots with Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal all trending, but it’s Hanoi, Vietnam, that comes out top for foodies on Tripadvisor, climbing two places this year to claim the No. 1 spot in the world. Edinburgh makes the Europe list coming in at No. 10.
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*Source: Phocuswright's Sustainability in Travel, 2023
Methodologies
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Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Destinations
The 2023 Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Destinations are calculated based on the quality and quantity of reviews, specific to each award subcategory, for accommodations, restaurants, and things to do in destinations from travellers globally on Tripadvisor between October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023.
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Travellers' Choice Awards Best of the Best Sustainable Destinations List
In partnership with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDSM), the 100 destinations were assessed according to detailed methodologies and metrics focused on measuring sustainability. Tripadvisor then overlaid its traveller data by identifying traveller reviews containing terms referencing sustainability, such as “environmentally friendly”,”eco-tourism”, “waste reduction”, etc. and searched through 300,000 English language Tripadvisor reviews, with a four bubble rating or higher, over a 12-month period (1st October 2022 to 30th September 2023). This allowed the identification of destinations in order of rank, starting with the destination with the highest percentage (%) of reviews discussing sustainability (and had a bubble rating of 4 or above) amongst all reviews of that destination. Please see full methodology here.
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Tripadvisor Seasonal Travel Index
The data cited in this release was gathered and analysed from two key sources:
i) A Tripadvisor Consumer Sentiment Survey, based on data drawn from an online survey of over 2,400 consumers, in partnership with Qualtrics, conducted between October 9-13, 2023 across six countries, including Australia, Italy, Japan, Singapore, U.K. & U.S.
ii) Site behavioural data sourced from first party traffic data on the Tripadvisor platform for searches made by travellers in the U.S., U.K. and Japan between August 1 - September 30, 2023 for travel between December 1, 2023 - February 29, 2024.
About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps millions of people each month** become better travellers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travellers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and contributions, travellers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby.
Tripadvisor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP). The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps, including the following:
www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com, www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.viator.com.
* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, September 2023
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files
For further information: emeapressoffice@tripadvisor.com
