They must be joking!

HOW reliable is TripAdvisor? That question has been asked – and not for the first time –following a so-called survey of TripAdvisor postings to find the ten “best” holiday spots in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its rankings are based on reviews and ratings for attractions, restaurants and accommodation. This was its Top Ten

1. London

2. Edinburgh

3. Torquay

4. Liverpool

5. Belfast

6. York

7. Bristol

8. Llandudno

9. Leeds

10. Birmingham

The problem with TripAdvisor is that anyone can post reviews or vote in its polls. It’s anonymous and unmediated. Hotel A, pretending to have been a guest, can post an adverse and inaccurate review of Hotel B. Hotel B, pretending to have been a guest, can post a glowing assessment of, er, Hotel B. It’s the same as the ‘reviews’ posted on Amazon, on which authors have been known to post anonymous and, of course, very positive reviews of their own books.

So what are we supposed to make of a poll that puts Liverpool, Belfast, Leeds and Birmingham – Birmingham! – in the list of  Top Ten UK holiday spots, but omits, say, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Bath and any number of resorts in Cornwall, Suffolk and the Lake District? Where are the Cotswolds? Is Leeds – no disrespect to Leeds! – a better holiday town than, say Oxford or Harrogate? And what, these days, is so special about Torquay? There are many much prettier places in Devon.

David Kernek,

Editor, 

Go Holiday news

www.govillasandcottages.co.uk