Tripadvisor names St Ives as one of its top emerging destinations for 2021
The popular Cornish coastal town of St Ives has been named the fifth top ‘emerging destination’ in the world by Tripadvisor.
The travel review site announced the winners of its annual Travellers’ Choice® Best of the Best Awards for Destinations today, with the Cornish gem being named as one of the places travellers want to visit next.
Read more: The eco-friendly destinations to visit in 2021
Martinique in the Caribbean was named as the world’s top emerging destination, followed by Panama City Beach in Florida, and Brazil’s Armacao dos Buzios.
Tripadvisor’s top 10 emerging destinations for 2021
Martinique, Caribbean
Panama City Beach in Florida, US
Armacao dos Buzios, Brazil
Holbox Island, Mexico
St Ives, UK
Mazatlan, Mexico
Colorado Springs, US
Shoalhaven, Australia
Wroclaw, Poland
Mudgee, Australia
Tripadvisor awards its emerging destination winners based on the spots that travellers are saving on the site.
“These are destinations that travellers want to visit next – whether an existing tourism gem, or an off-the-radar spot not yet firmly on the map for international travellers,” Hayley Coleman, Tripadvisor spokesperson, says.
“It is no secret that St Ives is a well loved and long established tourist haven, with its picturesque harbour, beautiful beaches and buzzing art scene, but its place on this list shows just how much travellers are missing it and longing to visit again, once COVID-19 restrictions ease.”
Read more: Experts reveal the best time to book your 2021 holiday (and where to go)
After being named the world’s most popular destination by Tripadvisor last year, London fell to second place at this year's awards with Bali taking the trophy.
Dubai, Rome, Paris, Hanoi, Crete, Bangkok, Barcelona and Istanbul completed the list of the top 10 most popular destinations in the world, but Edinburgh also featured at number 22.
Tripadvisor’s 10 most popular destinations for 2021
Bali, Indonesia
London, England
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Rome, Italy
Paris, France
Hanoi, Vietnam
Crete, Greece
Bangkok, Thailand
Barcelona, Spain
Istanbul, Turkey
The past year has also been a winning one for Yorkshire, as the Yorkshire Dales was named as Europe’s best national park and placed 11th in world rankings.
The Peak District National Park and New Forest were named as fourth and fifth best national parks in Europe respectively.
Tripadvisor’s 10 top national parks for 2021
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Jim Corbett National Park, India
Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Grand Teton National Park, US
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica
Grand Canyon National Park, US
Zion National Park, US
Torres del Pain National Park, Chile
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Watch: Why Britons will get an extra bank holiday in 2022
Coleman adds: “With indoor activities mostly off the table in 2020, travellers headed for the great outdoors and according to a recent survey of Tripadvisor travellers, more than half (52%) say they are more likely to take an outdoor or nature trip than they were before the pandemic.
Read more: Should I book a holiday? Experts weigh in
“With this in mind, it seemed timely to introduce this year’s new category, National Parks. While the pandemic has been incredibly tough in lots of ways, one positive that we can take away is that it has unleashed a new found love of getting back to nature for many of us.”
York also saw a placing among the world’s top trending destinations where it ranked 22nd.
The trending destinations recognise places that saw the biggest increase in positive ratings and reviews over the past year - Cabo San Lucas in Mexico is the world’s top trending destination, followed by Corsica in France and Qatar’s Doha.
Tripadvisor’s top 10 trending destinations for 2021
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Corsica, France
Doha, Qatar
Sanya, China
Gatlinburg, United States
Queenstown, New Zealand
Tulum, Mexico
Natal, Brazil
Kas, Turkey
Guadeloupe, Caribbean