Tripadvisor Unveils Travellers' Best Destinations

London Fails to Make Top 25 List…but Watch out for Weymouth

LONDON, May 4, 2010 - TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest and most popular travel community,
today unveiled the winners of its 2010 Travellers' Choice(R) Destination
Awards, honouring the world's top destinations based on the reviews and
opinions of millions of travellers worldwide.

The awards, spread across multiple categories, reveal great news for
Scotland but put England's capital to shame. Despite London being crowned the
party capital of Europe, the 2012 Olympic host city fails to even finish as
one of the world's top 25 destinations.

The seaside resort of Weymouth in Dorset has seen a dramatic increase in
popularity and is identified as an 'Emerging Hotspot', and Bath beats off
exotic and tropical destinations in the best spa category.

Top 25 Global and European Destinations

Sadly for England not one single destination made it into the Global or
European Top 25 list, indeed the only UK city to make the grade at all is
Edinburgh, coming in at number 17 in Europe. Monte Carlo is the European
destination most favoured, with Germany's Heidelberg second and Austria's
Salzburg third. The top three destinations remain the same for the global
list with Edinburgh scraping in at number 21.

"Millions of travellers around the world have spoken and this will serve
as a stark wake-up call to London in particular. 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," says Emma O'Boyle, spokesperson for
TripAdvisor.

Top 25 UK Destinations

Scotland steals the show in the favourite UK destinations category, as
chosen by European travellers, scooping four of the top 10 spots. In addition
to the winning city of Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye takes seventh position,
Loch Lomond eighth and the beautiful island of Islay ninth.

Second place goes to cosmopolitan Brighton with the historic city of York
clinching third and London fourth. And it may be England's smallest city but
that hasn't stopped Wells in Somerset from beating many of its much larger
rivals to sixth place.

Emerging Destinations: Watch Out For Weymouth

The TripAdvisor TravelCast identifies up-and-coming travel destinations
based on increases in search activity for the past year.The classic seaside
resort of Weymouth in Dorset is perhaps a surprise entry at number four.

The figures show a growing number of travellers searching for holidays to
Weymouth, which boasts a picturesque 17th century harbour and World Heritage
coastline. "It's fantastic to see travellers appreciating the town's
beautiful beach and old-fashioned English hospitality. What's more, Weymouth
will soon secure its place on the global stage when it hosts the sailing
events for the 2012 Olympic Games," continued Emma O'Boyle.

Culture Vultures Flock to Italy

With its famous regal history, plethora of museums and world-class
tourist attractions London comes in at number six in the European category
and tenth in the world. As one TripAdvisor traveller explains, "London gets
my vote for the city with the most things to do - it's fantastic." Although
it's even better news for Italy - three of its cities make the world top ten
with Florence claiming top stop, Rome third and Venice eighth.

Party Hard in London and Newcastle

The UK and Ireland may not have performed as well in the culture or beach
categories but if there's one thing Britain does well it's partying. Four of
the top 10 European destinations for nightlife are in the UK and Ireland with
London claiming the top honour, followed by Berlin second. Geordies know how
to show tourists a good time too with Newcastle coming third, followed by
Dublin in fourth position and Edinburgh in seventh.

New Orleans has been identified as having the best nightlife in the
world, with New York - the city that never sleeps - living up to its
reputation by coming second and Las Vegas third. London comes in at number
five in the world and Newcastle number seven.

Best for Outdoor & Adventure

The UK can justifiably be proud of its beautiful countryside; the Lake
District takes runner up in Europe's Best for Outdoor and Adventure category,
pipped only to the post by Switzerland's Interlaken. Snowdonia is also
awarded, taking the number 10 spot in Europe. In the global list the Lake
District took seventh place with New Zealand's Queenstown ranking number one
overall.

Bath - Bathe in Glory

The beautiful thermal spa city of Bath beats exotic destinations in the
likes of Indonesia and Costa Rica to come in at number two in the category
for best spa and relaxation in the world. Bath is also the number one spa
destination in Europe and one TripAdvisor traveller explains why, "Visiting
Bath was amazing…we felt like gods - swimming in a huge bath on the roof
tops was just indescribable."

Best for Beach & Sun…Oludeniz

Britain is not famed for its great beach weather so perhaps it's not
surprising that no UK destination made it into this category. Oludeniz in
Turkey is ranked best in Europe while Providenciales in Turks & Caicos is
voted best in the world, followed by Australia's Byron Bay. Other European
beach and sun finalists were Mykonos and Aya Napa.

Please see below for further highlights and for the complete 2010
Travellers' Choice Destination list, and for more reviews, opinions and
candid holiday photographs go to:
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TCDestinations

TRIPADVISOR TRAVELLERS' CHOICE DESTINATIONS AWARDS HIGHLIGHTS :

TOP 25 UK DESTINATIONS (ACCORDING TO EUROPEAN TRAVELLERS)

1. Edinburgh

2. Brighton

3. York

4. London

5. Liverpool

6. Wells, Somerset

7. Isle of Skye, Scotland

8. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Scotland

9. Islay, Scotland

10. St Ives, Cornwall

11. Cardiff

12. Bath

13. Fort William, Scotland

14. Isle of Wight

15. Tenby, Wales

16. Belfast

17. Yorkshire Dales

18. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

19. Windermere, Cumbria

20. Padstow, Cornwall

21. Glastonbury, Somerset

22. Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire

23. Hope Cove, Devon

24. Durness, Scotland

25. Salisbury, Wiltshire

NOTES TO EDITORS:

AWARDS SELECTION

TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards are based on the millions of real
and unbiased reviews and opinions from travellers on TripAdvisor. The winners
were determined by a combination of travellers' destination comments,
favourite places, and overall destination popularity on TripAdvisor.

The TripAdvisor TravelCast identifies up-and-coming travel destinations
based on site data including increases in search activity and postings for
the past year on TripAdvisor.

For further information, images or interviews, please contact: Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor +44(0)20-3320-3210 / +44(0)777-926-2423 / eoboyle at tripadvisor.com