'Wake-up' call as travellers reject British destinations

Only one UK destination – Edinburgh – made it into the list of the world's top 25 favourite places in a poll of millions of travellers worldwide, published today by the TripAdvisor company.

Edinburgh was in 21st place in the world list and was also the only UK entry, at 17th, in the top 25 of the most popular European destinations for world travellers.

The world's top three destinations, according to the poll, were Monte Carlo, Heidelberg in Germany and the Austrian city of Salzburg.

Asked to name their top UK destinations, European travellers put Edinburgh first, followed by Brighton, York, London and Liverpool.

There was better news for the UK in other sections of the poll, Weymouth in Dorset being placed fourth in the table of top emerging destinations, while Nairn in Scotland was in ninth place.

Global travellers rated London the top European nightlife destination, with Newcastle upon Tyne third, Dublin fourth and Edinburgh seventh.

London was 10th in the world's top global, culture and sightseeing destination table, which was headed by Florence in Italy, with Washington DC second and Rome third.

World travellers rated the Lake District as the second-best European outdoor and adventure destination, with Interlaken in Switzerland in first place and Killarney in Ireland fifth.

Bath in Somerset was second only to Sedona in Arizona, USA, as the world's top spa and relaxation destination.

TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Boyle said: "Millions of travellers around the world have spoken and this will serve as a stark wake-up call to London in particular, which failed to make it into the top 25 global or European destination tables.

"London is one of the greatest cities in the world but with the Olympics just two years away there is clearly still work to do to convince travellers that England's capital is a world-class tourist destination."

However, three of North Yorkshire's hotels and guesthouses found their way into the top 25 places to stay in Britain in the TripAdvisor poll in January, Rudding Park being voted among the best in the world.

The historic venue near Harrogate was named the UK's best place to stay, as well as securing sixth spot in a list of the world's top 10 luxury hotels, based on millions of internet reviews.

The Waverley in Whitby ranked as the 13th best in the UK, while Broom House, in Egton Bridge near Whitby, secured the 23rd spot in the same category.