A poll of 800,000 travellers across the world names Liverpool as the third most popular tourist destination in the UK. Tony McDonough reports
A global poll of the most popular cities in the world for tourists has ranked Liverpool third in the UK, only behind London and Edinburgh.
Condé Nast Traveller, a leading travel publication, has published the results of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards. This is a poll of 800,000 readers across the globe who submit responses rating their travel experiences.
They provide a full snapshot of the places they love and can’t wait to return to. With such a large sample size, the Readers’ Choice Awards are the longest-running and most respected recognition of excellence in the travel industry.
Liverpool scored 89.05 from a maximum 100, just short of London (89.68) and Edinburgh (89.49) and significantly ahead of 4th-placed Glasgow (86.67). It follows an encouraging summer for Liverpool’s visitor economy, with domestic visitors returning in strong numbers following a stop-start year of travel restrictions.
Councillor Harry Doyle, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture & Visitor Economy, said: “This is fantastic news for our city and it really cements our belief that Liverpool is a top destination city.
“Coming third to only London and Edinburgh shows how highly our city is regarded not just nationally, but internationally. Whether it’s our cultural heritage, music, nightlife, sport or shopping, Liverpool has a way to pull people in and visitors can’t help but leave our city wanting to come back.”
The 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards are published on Condé Nast Traveler’s website at www.cntraveler.com/rca and reported in the November issue.
Laura Pye, director of National Museums Liverpool and chair of the LCR Visitor Economy Board, added: “It comes as no surprise to those of us who are lucky enough to live and work in Liverpool that the city ranks so highly.
“As Liverpool continues to rebuild its tourism offer after the huge difficulties we’ve all faced over the past almost two years, this is a huge boost to everyone who has worked so hard to safely re-open our beautiful, vibrant and creative city.”