16,000 votes, 32 nations – so which is the greatest holiday destination in the world?
Over the past month we have pitted 32 nations against each other in our World Cup of Travel, to find out which is the greatest holiday destination on the planet.
After more than 16,000 votes on Twitter, and some seriously nail-biting contests, we can reveal that the winner of our tournament is neither France nor Croatia. Our own virtual version of the Jules Rimet trophy (or should it be Jules Verne?) goes to Spain.
In the final, Spain took on Australia in a public vote that remained open all weekend. In the end, the former took 57 per cent of the vote while the latter received 43 per cent.
It's time. In the beginning there were 32 countries - now there are just two.
The Final in our #TravelWorldCup:
Which is the greatest holiday destination?
���� vs ����— Telegraph Travel (@TelegraphTravel) July 13, 2018
In terms of total visitor numbers, it comes as little surprise to see Spain emerge victorious. The Iberian country receives 82.2 million visitors per year, 10 times the 8.3 million who visit Australia. It is also the most popular foreign holiday destination for Britons, with around 8 millon of us enjoying its beaches, food and culture annually.
The story of our Travel World Cup
The over-achievers
Australia could be described as the "giant killer" of the tournament. It finished above France in the group stage, defeated Croatia in the second round and eliminated Portugal in the quarters before shrugging off Switzerland in the semis - all hugely popular destinations that receive more annual tourists. So while Australia may have lost to Spain in the final, it can hold its head high. The country's popularity is echoed in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, voted for by readers. Australia has been among your 10 favourite countries for six consecutive years.
Another noteworthy performance was Japan. In 2010 the country only received 8.6 million incoming tourists, a number that has sky-rocketed to 28.7 million in just eight years. By reaching the semi-finals, Japan has shown the world that it is now up there with the most popular holiday destinations.
The dramas
Nobody wants to see a penalty shoot-out, but sometimes there is nothing else to separate two teams. And in our second round fixture between France and Iceland, each country received 50 per cent of the vote. In a deadlock scenario, our Telegraph Travel VAR experts reviewed which nation has more World Heritage Sites. France comfortably progressed to the next round with 43 to Iceland’s two (although Iceland does have seven on Unesco’s tentative list).
The upsets
Some nations will feel like they could have performed better in our Travel World Cup. Argentina, Morocco, Peru and Denmark all failed to progress from the group stages. Other popular holiday destinations, such as Egypt, Croatia and Iceland, may wonder why they did not progress beyond the second round.
England may also feel that, with the ongoing rise in popularity of the so-called "staycation", its narrow defeat to Switzerland in the quarter-finals was a missed opportunity.
It's time for the third of our #TravelWorldCup quarter finals.
Which is the best holiday destination?
���� or ��������������?— Telegraph Travel (@TelegraphTravel) July 5, 2018
The no-shows
Spare a thought for the countries that didn't qualify for the FIFA World Cup and therefore did not stand a chance in our Travel World Cup. We suspect that Italy, Greece, Scotland and the USA may have been up there with the top-performing countries had they made it to Russia. The Netherlands, Indonesia, Wales and Turkey may also regret their footballing ambassadors ruling them out of our travel tournament.
