Websites Trump Guidebooks in Wanderlust Magazine 2010 Travel Awards

Feb 09, 10 | 1:53 am

Travel websites have officially overtaken guidebooks when it comes to user satisfaction according to the results of Wanderlust Magazine's annual travel awards announced this morning.

Over 2000 readers of the magazine voted in the annual poll which measured people's satisfaction ratings in different areas including their favourite travel guidebooks and websites. There was a significant ‘satisfaction gap' of over 15% between the Top Guidebook Series, Lonely Planet which scored 79% and the most favoured website, wildfrontiers.co.uk which scored a near perfect 95%. In fact all of the top ten websites managed to exceed the 80% mark.

"The pace of change in travel has never been faster," says Lyn Hughes, editor-in-chief of the magazine, "and these results show traditional guidebooks struggling to complete with blogs and websites which can be updated dozens of times each hour."

In other categories Namibia was voted Top Country but Colombia clinched the Emerging Destination Category. The Met Office were given a special award voted by the editors for the Greatest Disservice to Travel for its wildly inaccurate forecasting, closely followed by Unite, the BA cabin crew union. Scotland's West Highland Line won the world's best rail journey and Wolverhampton trailed in last place in the cities category.

Full results for all categories can be found at www.wanderlust.co.uk/travelawards

Emerging Destination

Colombia came out top in the new category of Emerging Destination with the country shaking off its shady reputation and impressing visitors with its untrodden beaches and raw rainforests. Runners up were Madagascar and Bhutan. This new category recognises countries which received fewer visitors - and therefore votes - than those in the main country category. Judged on the ‘satisfaction rating' given by visitors, Colombia received an impressive 97% rating, well ahead of all other destinations.

Top Country

Namibia, celebrating its 20_^th year of independence this year, is a perennial favourite in the Top Country category. This African gem hit the number one spot for the third time in the nine years of the awards. This endlessly photogenic slice of southern Africa is a traveller's dream - deserts, dunes and canyons; national parks teeming with wildlife and fascinating tribal cultures, plus good roads and welcoming lodges make independent travel a breeze.

Top City

Luang Prabang in Laos climbed back to the Top City spot (94.97% rating), which it won in 2007 and 2008. Readers raved about the languid pace of life, majestic temples, colourful markets and French cuisine. It was closely followed by the two exciting European cities of Siena and Berlin. Out of the 827 cities nominated, Wolverhampton in the Midlands came in last place with a rating of 20%.

Special Awards

This year the magazine also introduced a number of special awards voted by the editors which focus on areas such as the ‘You Did What?' award for intrepid exploration, the ‘Eureka Award for Travel Innovation' and the ‘Disservice to Travel' award as previously highlighted.

Top Rail Journey

The West Highland Line in Scotland once again has clinched the top spot in the Top Rail Journey category, ahead of more exotic journeys such as The Trans Siberian Express and The Ghan in Australia. Eurostar has managed to climb up to third place in this category despite the many problems it experienced in late 2009.

Overall, Wanderlust readers have visited over 180 countries between them in the past year. New entries into the Top Country category include Botswana and Iceland in 8_^th and 9_^th positions. Monaco trailed in last place with a disappointing 40% rating.

Full results of the Travel Awards will appear in the latest edition of Wanderlust, on sale 18 February, priced £3.99. They will also be available online at www.wanderlust.co.uk/travelawards.


About Wanderlust magazine

Wanderlust was launched by Paul Morrison and Lyn Hughes in 1993. The couple were bored on a long flight to South America and decided to sketch out their dream travel magazine on the back of a sick bag. They soon decided that they could do it themselves and there was no other name for it than Wanderlust. Over the last sixteen years the magazine has established itself as the bible for independently minded travellers. Go to www.wanderlust.co.uk to find out more about the magazine and how you can vote for your favourites in travel for 2010.


About the Wanderlust Travel Awards

In most categories readers were asked to list up to four entries (e.g. countries visited) and score each one on its merits. The final positions were based on an average score for the entry (converted to a percentage) - so the results are based on satisfaction rather than the number of votes received. In the remaining categories (e.g. top travel writer) the number of votes was counted to determine the outcome.

Full Results for 2010: