USA Holidays Win Top Place in Telegraph Travel Awards

Readers of the Daily Telegraph newspaper have declared the USA their favourite holiday destination in this year’s Telegraph Travel Awards, with other English-speaking destinations following close behind.

The winners and runners-up were announced in a ceremony at the St Pancras Renaissance hotel in London.

Cheap holidays in the USA were the overall winners, with America winning the award for favourite country and Australia and New Zealand scooping second and third place respectively.

The USA is popular among people seeking long-haul holidays for many reasons, not least the fact that it is an English-speaking nation with a massive diversity of landscapes, cities and attractions. Families often favour Florida holidays, thanks to the Sunshine State’s multiplicity of theme parks and other child-friendly attractions, while couples and groups of friends can soak up the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas or the beautiful scenery and heritage of New England.

The most popular US city, however, remains New York – and this was reflected in the Telegraph Travel Awards, with cheap holidays in New York being voted the favourite international city by the 23,000 readers polled. Venice holidays came second in the international city break section, thanks to the Italian destination’s well-deserved reputation for beauty and romance, and third place went to Cape Town in South Africa.

When it came to holidays closer to home, Italy was voted best European destination, with France and Spain coming in as runners-up, while domestic holiday awards went to London, Edinburgh and Bath. The best hotels awards were also scooped by Italy and London, with the best international hotel gong going to Villa d’Este in Lake Como and the favourite UK hotel accolade being won by the Savoy.

Flag carrier British Airways was the winner for short-haul airline services, with the award for best long-haul airline going to Emirates, followed by Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines.