Man who sold the world: 1,000 reviews make Ernest Britain's top TripAdvisor

Ernest Swift, Tripadvisor UK Review Contributor of the Year in Svalbard

Semi-retired Ernest Swift, 58, has spent the last two years jet-setting across the globe, but has only been posting his feedback on the travel website for the past 12 months.

Mr Swift started using TripAdvisor to clue up on must-see tourist destinations before uploading snaps of his own travels.

He said he was “flabbergasted” by his win but insisted he wasn’t “addicted” to the website and wrote the majority of his reviews after he comes home off his trips abroad.

Mr Swift said: “I discovered that my opinion is valuable and that it is also, when I come back, a recollection of your memories.

“It’s turned into a monster. I didn’t even know Tripadvisor did awards. It doesn’t even feel like I’ve done hundreds of reviews.”

In the last year, Mr Swift has travelled to more than 10 countries including seeing Switzerland by rail, visiting Christmas markets in Prague and taking photographs of the northern lights in Svalbard, Norway.

After working hard at his own business he now fits his work around his travels.

He said: “I’m not an extravagant traveller, if you know where to look for a bargain and you can get some good deals.

“I didn’t go abroad until I was 21. Our holidays were to Cleethorpes, we didn’t have a lot. Some people buy homes, flashy cars, I go on holiday.”

Mr Swift’s two sons Adam, 26, and Andrew, 21, have inherited the travel bug and he often takes trips with wife Catherine. These days Mr Swift’s favourite destination is a long way from Cleethorpes.

He said; “Nepal is a very special place for me. I just keep going back. I’ve trekked part way up Everest and have a lot of friends there.”

Ernest Swift, Tripadvisor UK Review Contributor of the Year in Japan

Mr Swift has also had some hair-raising experiences – including being arrested at Bucharest airport for taking currency out of the country.

“I’d forgotten I had a £5 note in a pocket. They dragged me off to the cells and I was made to sweat it out for a few minutes. I was terrified. They released me and I had to run to board the plane.”

Mr Swift plans to keep the reviews coming – with visits to Australia and New Zealand on his wish list and the possibility of a trip to the Arctic.

But not, he said, until he is at least 70 and can be ‘pushed around in a wheelchair’ and see the snow while relaxing.