The up-and-coming tourist destinations of Europe have been revealed in TripAdvisor’s 2012 Travellers’ Choice Destinations on the Rise awards. (The featured image is by hoodrat.)
The awards aim to find the fastest-growing tourism hotspots by revealing the places that have seen the greatest increase in interest and positive feedback from visitors year-on-year.
Destinations from across Europe have been included in the top ten, with Eastern Europe experiencing a significant boost with three cities on the list.
The Ukrainian city of Kiev took the top spot in Europe and came third in the world ranking, which could be the result of Ukraine, alongside Poland, hosting Euro 2012 in the summer.
The other Eastern European destinations were the Russian cities of St Petersburg and Moscow, which has seen a boost to its tourism industry recently, with several airlines announcing new routes to the city.
Other cities in the top ten include the Italian cities of Turin and Naples, and Valencia in Spain.
“These awards are decided by those judges that really matter – travellers themselves. For those unsure about where to travel next year, this list may offer welcome inspiration,” said Emma Shaw, a TripAdvisor spokesperson.
While Eastern Europe has had good year for tourism it was actually the UK that performed best, with four cities in the top ten.
Liverpool, Belfast, Manchester and Glasgow all made the cut, reflecting the sterling year that the UK has had in 2012.
The result is particularly good news for Glasgow, which was the highest ranked UK city on the list in sixth place. The city is currently preparing for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, so can expect to see plenty more visitor interest in the coming months and years.
“These awards are based on the reviews and opinions and interest from millions of travellers across the world so to be recognised as the number one destination on the rise in the UK and one of the top 10 in Europe demonstrates a real vote of confidence in Glasgow,” said Cllr Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council.
Here’s the top 10 cities:
