Australia takes top award while France loses its joie de vivre as Italy comes number one for romance, cuisine and culture.
Australia has been crowned “most desired” destination in Skyscanner’s Travel Awards. Skyscanner users voted that if money were no object, they would prefer flights to Australia over any other destination.
The opinions of more than 600 travellers were collected by the flights comparison site Skyscanner, which also found that the love affair with France seemed 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 per cent of the votes to France’s 19 per cent.
Culture vultures also favoured jumping on flights to 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 US and Australia were considered to have the friendliest locals, with both nations receiving 10 per cent 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 ranked only 12th, while 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 destin-ation for British tourists and it’s great to see Italy being recognised for what it can offer; excellent cuisine, romantic cities and superb cultural attractions.”
Rodney Harrex, general manager UK/Europe Tourism Australia, said: “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 is a leading travel search site providing instant online comparisons on flight prices for over 670,000 routes and on over 600 airlines, including flights to Spain as well as car hire, deals and holidays.