Perth is No. 1 with UK Travellers

4th February 2006

English travellers have voted Perth as their favourite overseas city in a major travel survey published recently.

The Western Australian Tourism Minister Mark McGowan said the 2005 UK Guardian, Observer and Guardian Unlimited Travel Awards had received close to 27,000 completed questionnaires to their annual survey.

The Travel Awards reflected the views of Guardian and Observer readers, who were seen to be independent and adventurous travelers and readers rated their holiday experiences in terms of quality of service and experience.

"The results of the survey destroyed the perception that Perth was a dull and uninteresting place to visit," said Gary Long, Group Sales Manager for the Metro Hotel Group.

"When Perth beats more favoured international destinations such as New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Rome and Vienna then that says a lot about the great experiences travellers can have when visiting Perth," he said.

The UK was WA's biggest tourism market which has been bolsted by an AUD$2.4million marketing campaign in England undertaken by the WA tourism authorities. And with an increase in tourists comes the immediate benefit for the local economy. More UK visitors to WA creates more jobs and opportunities for locals.

"Our hotel in Perth has certainly seen a large increase in travelers from not only the UK but other parts of Europe and north America," said Mr. Long.

"Perth is unspoilt and offers a more relaxed and less commercialized experienced, and these are characteristics that more and more international visitors are searching for when choosing an overseas holiday destination." He added.

The Guardian, Observer and Guardian Unlimited Travel Awards stem from the longest running independent survey of its kind in the UK. The awards are well recognized not only in the UK but the northern hemisphere as they pride themselves on offering a unique insight into the tastes and preferences of today's discerning traveller.

The scoring system used also ensures that destinations are assessed on the satisfaction levels they deliver rather than the number of people who pass through the destination.