TripAdvisor has announced the winners of its Travellers' Choice Destinations Awards for 2011. Running in its third consecutive year now, the winners are based on travellers’ favourite and most visited destinations, as pinned on travel maps found on TripAdvisor website and TripAdvisor’s Facebook application called “Cities I’ve Visited”, where travellers can pin destinations noting them as either favourites or places they have visited
“Today, a large number of travellers rely on TripAdvisor for travel related insights based on user generated content which also made it possible for us to identify India’s top travel spots” said Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor (India). “The cities named under 2011 Travellers’ Choice Destinations Award offer an interesting summary of locations that travellers love”, he added.
Appended are the key findings of the Travellers’ Choice Destinations Awards in India:
- Leh named as the No. 1 destination, followed by Varanasi & Manali. That apart, these 3 cities have also been featured on Asia’s top 25 Traveller’s Choice Destinations
- Ranked 10th last year, Leh made the huge leap to the top, beating popular tourist destinations like Goa which a witnessed a dramatic fall from its #4 spot last year to #16 this year.
- Winner of 2010 Travellers’ Choice Destinations Awards, Munnar saw a steep drop to #10 this year.
- Interestingly, destinations like Havelock Island, Mysore, Tirupati, Matheran and Sikkim, which featured prominently on the list last year found no mention this year
- Despite the local unrest, Srinagar continues to be a preferred destination for travellers at no. 14.