Polignano a Mare like Matera last year. The most welcoming tourist place on the planet according to Booking.com for 2022-23 is the splendid seaside city of Upper Salento, wonderfully perched on a theory of rocks that fall sheer into the sea. The Apulian seaside resort is the only Italian location in the top ten that includes Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia.
The eleventh edition of the Traveler Review Award of the large Dutch online booking portal recognizes the accommodation establishments of 220 countries and territories for their commitment to guaranteeing excellent service and hospitality consistently throughout the year. The accolades are based on over 240 million customer reviews left on the portal and this year has gone to over 1.3 million partner establishments, as well as 230 car rental suppliers and 58 airport taxi suppliers. Italy, like last year, leads this ranking with a total of over 170.6 thousand awards, followed by Spain (108 thousand), France (103 thousand), Germany, Croatia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil, and the United States.
By extrapolating from these total findings an average quality that takes into account the physical and tourist dimensions of the individual areas, Booking then draws up rankings by locality and by region every year, both at an absolute level – i.e. with respect to the international tourist – and at a local level, and then based on the reviews of the country or territory where the location is located. As explained by the company’s press office, the list of the friendliest cities globally includes those destinations that have a large number of award-winning properties, offering a wide choice to travelers from all over the world. At the same time, nationally ranked destinations have a high percentage of award-winning properties taking into account the size of the location under consideration. This allows you to celebrate less touristic and less known destinations than others.
Polignano’s top 10 guides from 5 continents
Wonderful Polignano a Mare, Booking crowns it and the mayor looks to the future: “Global destination”
This year, the friendliest destinations in the world are spread across five continents and include little-known coastal beauties, rural destinations surrounded by breathtaking natural landscapes, and even a bustling Latin American metropolis. As mentioned, they were all chosen based on the percentage of partner accommodations that received a Traveler Review Award 2023 and are also an unmissable source of inspiration for their future travels for even the most experienced travelers.
In the absolute ranking, Polignano a Mare, which as mentioned succeeds the “City of stones”, Matera, on the world throne, preceded the Taiwanese city of Hualien, on the west coast of the island. Also on the podium was the Basque coastal city of San Sebastián, Spain. Two locations in former Eastern Europe follow, the German Dresden, famous for its Baroque heart, dominated by the Frauenkirke, the church restored only a few years ago using largely the original pieces shattered by WWII bombs; fifth Klaipeda, a Baltic location in Lithuania, which precedes York, the best preserved medieval city (but of Roman origin) in (northern) England. Then Ushuaia, the wild city in the extreme south of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, gateway for those who want to discover Cape Horn and perhaps Antarctica. Eighth Porto de Galinhas appreciated the beach of Brazilian Pernambuco, which precedes the only major metropolis in the ranking, Mexico City. Closes Gold Coast, Australia, the Queensland city, just south of Brisbane, which in theory is not a metropolis but due to its geographical configuration, the density of skyscrapers compared to a relatively small population has characteristics such as to be able to be defined as a Miami Down Under.
Holidays, in Puglia the most welcoming place in the world. The top 10
Spain is the top region
At the regional level, no Italian representation in the top ten. The friendliest regions in the world are La Rioja, a region in northern Spain located inland south of Bilbao and Vitoria; Epirus (the extreme western offshoot of Greece, the closest to Puglia and Calabria); Upper Austria, the region of Linz, the extreme western offshoot of the northern Austrian side, bordering on Bavaria and the Czech Republic; County Down, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, the region south-southeast of Belfast; Mures, Romania, one of the districts of Transylvania, in the central-eastern part of the country; the Marlboroughs, in New Zealand, the northern offshoot of the South Island, an incredible borderland between tropical and northern atmospheres, completely unpredictable compared to the latitude it occupies; Ninh Binh, Vietnam, an area about eighty kilometers south of Hanoi that some call the terrestrial Halong; Limon, district of Costa Rica that boasts the highest percentage of protected areas in the country and is loved by those looking for nature and biodiversity; Newfoundland and Labrador, the wild Atlantic northeastern extremities of Canada; North Dakota or the mid-Midwest of the United States.
Arjan Dijk, senior vice president, and chief marketing Booking.com officer.
“It’s things like the personal attention to detail during check-in and insider tips for exploring the destination like a local that reveal the commitment of our partners,” commented Arjan Dijk, senior vice president, and chief marketing Booking.com officer. “Commitment that is appreciated by travelers in so many different ways every day. The Traveler Review Awards are our way of thanking them for their dedication to making everyone feel welcome and going above and beyond to create memorable experiences for our customers. Whether it’s a friendly greeting from a taxi driver at the airport, driving advice from the car rental staff, or a friendly message welcoming you to your room, our partners help make every trip even more special. ”
