Australia takes top award whilst France loses its ‘joie de vivre’ as Italy comes number one for romance, cuisine and culture
With Australians around the world celebrating Australia day, it couldn’t be a better time for the ‘Land Down Under’ to have been crowned ‘most desired’ destination in Skyscanner’s Travel Awards. Skyscanner users have voted Australia the place they would most like to visit if money were no object.
The opinions of more than 600 travellers were collected by the flights comparison site Skyscanner.net, which also found that the love affair with France seems to be over as Italy snatched some of the top awards from France’s grasp.
When it comes to love, many think of Paris as being the place to go for romance, but with Rome, Venice and Lake Como on its side, Italy clearly outshone its neighbour in the awards, winning the title of ‘Most Romantic Country’, with 33% of the votes to France’s 19%.
Culture vultures also favoured Italy; despite France being home to some of the world’s most famous museums and art galleries, Italy was awarded best destination for culture. Italy also trumped France when it came to food even though France is home to twice as many Michelin starred restaurants as Italy.
The Caribbean won awards for most spectacular beaches and the most relaxing destination.
The USA and Australia were considered to have the friendliest locals, with both nations receiving 10% of the vote, but the legendary hospitality of the Irish meant that the Emerald Isle was hot on their heels in third place. In comparison, the UK only ranked 12th, whilst the French lagged behind in 23rd position.
Spain was voted best for nightlife and most family friendly destination, showing it can cater to both crowds. With cities like Barcelona and Madrid renowned for their after dark entertainment, as well as many lively and family orientated resorts along the Costa del Sol, the country remains the most popular holiday destination for British tourists.
Yara Paoli, Skyscanner Italian country expert commented:
“Italy is a very popular destination for British tourists and it’s great to see Italy being recognised for what it can offer; excellent cuisine, romantic cities and a host of great cultural attractions.”
Rodney Harrex, General Manager UK/Europe Tourism Australia commented:
“Australia’s weird and wonderful wildlife, diverse experiences, friendly locals and laidback lifestyle attract visitors from all over the world. 2011 has got off to a strong start in terms of arrivals and we look forward to welcoming many more holidaymakers over the coming months.”
Skyscanner 2011 Travel Awards Winners
If money was no object, where would you most like to go?
Winner: Australia
Runners Up: New Zealand, Caribbean
Most Romantic: Italy
Runners Up: France, Caribbean
Most Beautiful: New Zealand
Runners Up: Italy, Australia
Most Spectacular Beaches: Caribbean
Runners Up: Australia, Thailand
Most Relaxing Destination: Caribbean
Runners Up: Thailand, Greece
Most Family Friendly: Spain
Runners Up: USA, Australia
Friendliest Locals: USA and Australia
Runner Up: Ireland
Best Food: Italy
Runners Up: France, Thailand
Best Nightlife: Spain
Runners Up: UK, USA
Best Culture: Italy
Runners Up: UK, Japan
Best for Business: USA
Runners Up: UK, Germany
If you had to live abroad, where would you go?:
Winner: Australia
Runners Up: USA, Spain
