London Voted Best World Destination

Travellers have voted London as the best destination in the world to visit in the travel site’s 2012 Travelers’ Choice Destination awards. This is the fourth year that TripAdvisor has featured the awards, during which 440 destinations across 37 markets around the world were honoured. This includes destinations in the US, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, China, Australia and the South Pacific.

TripAdvisor is the biggest travel website in the world that allows travellers to plan and have the perfect break. The site claims to offer trusted advice from real people and a wide selection of choices and planning features with seamless booking tools. It has the largest travel community in the world with over 50 million unique visitors and more than 60 million reviews and opinions. TripAdvisor is operated in 30 nations and also has a dedicated division that provides access to millions of monthly visitors to the tourism industry – TripAdvisor for Business.

The Travelers’ Choice Destinations awards are given to travel spots across the globe based on the millions of TripAdvisor reviews and opinions from the site’s members. The winners were determined based on their popularity – with most highly rated and favourite places being taken into account. Chief marketing officer Barbara Messing says their community has helped point out hundreds of the most beloved and amazing travel destinations for the year. These awards highlight a variety of awe-inspiring travel locations around the world for travellers planning a weekend getaway or annual holiday, she added.

Here is a list of the world’s top 25 destinations as chosen by other travellers. Top destinations in certain countries can be found on the TripAdvisor website.

1. 1. London
2. 2. New York City
3. 3. Rome
4. 4. Paris
5. 5. San Francisco
6. 6. Marrakech
7. 7. Istanbul
8. 8. Barcelona
9. 9. Siem Reap
10. 10. Berlin
11. 11. Chicago
12. 12. Florence
13. 13. Buenos Aires
14. 14. Sydney
15. 15. Beijing
16. 16. Prague
17. 17. Las Vegas
18. 18. Bora Bora
19. 19. Shanghai
20. 20. Honolulu
21. 21. Los Angeles
22. 22. New Orleans
23. 23. Cape Town
24. 24. Chiang Mai
25. 25. Dublin

Meanwhile, TripAdvisor also revealed its financial results last week for the first quarter of the year, which ended March 31. Revenue for the period rose 33% from the previous quarter and 23% from the same period last year to $183.7 million. Net Income for the first quarter rose 2% year-over-year and 118% compared to last year to $48.1 million. Non-GAAP net income jumped 5% year-over-year and 73% quarter-over-quarter to $52.5 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose 3% year-over-year and 53% quarter-over-quarter to $84.2 million.

TripAdvisor president and chief executive Steve Kaufer says that the company posted record revenues for the period. This was driven by strong growth throughout the whole business. The travel community has never been stronger, with more than 60 million reviews and opinions, as well as the addition of content at a rate of over 40 contributions per minute. They continue expanding their market leadership position through real-time innovation on desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones. They are excited with the opportunities in front of them, and it’s a very thrilling time to be at TripAdvisor, he added.