Wanderlust Travel Awards 2008
Wanderlust staff | Issue 94 | 94 march 2008
How the categories were scored
The Wanderlust Travel Awards were based on your travels from September 2006 to November 2007.
In most of the categories you were asked to list up to four entries (eg countries visited) and score each one on its merits. The final positions were based on an average score for the entry (converted to a percentage) – so the results are based on satisfaction rather than the number of votes received. For statistical accuracy, a minimum of 20 votes was required for inclusion – hence some entries scored very well but did not receive enough votes to make it on to the final table. In the remaining categories (eg TV programme) we simply counted the number of votes to determine the outcome.
THANKS…
to Nikon for offering prizes to the questionnaire entrants. Thanks also to everyone who took the time and trouble to share their experiences with us. The results show what real travellers truly think.
TOP COUNTRY
New Zealand
You can’t call New Zealand predictable. Yes, it does win your top country vote with a regularity verging on the mundane – but with good reason. With its spewing geysers, epic landscapes, lip-smacking wines and almost limitless numbers of ways of chucking yourself into, off and under things, the other Down Under is anything but dull.
And 2008 promises to be an even better year to visit. Want to scare yourself silly? Try the newly opened SkyWalk 360, a 192m-up wind-buffeted walk around the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower. Or make your stroll a little less white-knuckle by tackling the Mt Somers Walkway, a three-day hike though South Island’s new Hakatere Conservation Park. This 680 sq km beauty is the biggest park to be created in the country for 20 years, and protects a host of waterfalls, wetlands and native species.
But New Zealand may have to up its game even further next year. Because Madagascar – not even in last year’s top ten – only missed out on the number-one spot by 0.39%. It may not have the infrastructure or slick attractions of NZ, but the African island’s combination of raw adventure and unique wildlife scored highly with you. For more on Madagascar, check out our article coming later in the year.
But what of the other places? Namibia, Nepal and Laos are perennial favourites, but we were excited to see Ukraine make a top-ten appearance – perhaps the fact that it’s home to the new Bond Girl, and hosting Miss World 2008, had an influence...
Interestingly, if Antarctica was a country – rather than a politically neutral continent – it would have scooped the top spot, with an independent Galápagos Islands in second (were they not attached to Ecuador). Languishing in bottom place was Saudi Arabia. The über-conservative Middle Eastern nation scored a lowly 30% satisfaction rating in your vote – but is it really that bad? The Saudi government now issues visas to non-Muslims (unheard of a few years ago), keen to attract more tourists, but there’s no doubt it is a testing country to visit. We decided to send a writer to find out just what it’s like to travel in Saudi – read about her experiences in a special feature in our May issue.
Ranking %
1 New Zealand 96.86
2 Madagascar 96.47
3 Namibia 96.44
4 Nepal 95.25
5 Laos 95.00
6 Bhutan 94.67
7 Ukraine 94.55
8 Tibet 94.40
9 Peru 94.18
10 Ecuador 94.00
TOP CITY
Luang Prabang
If cities went on dating websites, Luang Prabang’s social diary would be booked solid. Check out the vital statistics: beautiful without being showy; a timeless style; charming, with a soothing spiritual essence and hidden depths, but also a great sense of humour. Has aged incredibly well, too, and is handy in the kitchen. No wonder travellers are queuing up to spend the night in the chic hotels popping up in its old royal residences and French colonial mansions.
As Daniel Pawlyn of Intrepid Travel says: “There is a saying in Indochina that sums up the spiritual and relaxed attitude in Laos: ‘The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch it grow and the Lao listen to it grow.”
What’s surprising – given how fickle travellers’ affections are – is that Luang Prabang has won the Top City award for the past three years. After all, we’re always looking for the Next Big Thing – or, more accurately, Little Thing: that secret, historic gem awaiting discovery. So where is it?
Lesley Wright of Travel Indochina, thinks the continued boom in Lao tourism might be due to problems with the neighbours. “High visitor numbers now might be related to Burma being effectively closed off.”
Perhaps that’s a clue – should democracy and peace arrive, Burma could host the next hotspot. Or maybe it’s time for a historic town in south-west China or Latin America– Cartagena in Colombia, Nicaragua’s Granada, or even Havana?
Next year, it just might be out with the old and in with the old…
Ranking %
1 Luang Prabang, Laos 97.30
2 Santiago de Compostela, Spain 94.00
3 Venice, Italy 92.36
4 San Francisco, USA 91.93
5 Sydney, Australia 91.43
6 Hong Kong, China 91.27
7 Lhasa, Tibet 90.48
8 Dubrovnik, Croatia 90.34
9 Cuzco, Peru 90.23
10 Edinburgh, Scotland 90.18
TOP GUIDEBOOK SERIES
Bradt
Let’s face it, the planners at Bradt have balls. While other guidebook publishers are churning out their zillionth editions of Paris, Italy and Spain, Bradt is throwing commercial caution to the wind and bringing us the inside track on the forgotten corners of the world. With books on politically sensitive or infrastructurally challenged countries such as North Korea, Burkina Faso, Benin and Cameroon, this is about as intrepid as guidebooks get. And that’s why we love them.
In 2008, the world of Bradt gets even better. First editions of Yemen, Kyrgyzstan and Guyana have just been released, and are soon to be joined by a range of brand new titles that will get adventurous Wanderlusters running for their passports. In March, the first guidebook to Congo (both republics) in over a decade will hit the shelves.
Fancy Algeria, Belarus, Colombia – Iraq even – but don’t know where to start? Bradt’s pioneering new titles are filled with honest, sensitive and practical information that will set you on the right path.
They’re the barometer of what’s hot in travel – so it’s no surprise to us that the most discerning travellers (you!) have awarded them top spot.
Ranking %
1 Bradt 83.17
2 Lonely Planet 82.93
3 Dorling Kindersley 82.75
4 Rough Guides 78.06
5 Footprint 76.74
TOP TRAVEL GEAR
Rohan
Lightweight, practical, good-looking, quick-drying – the usual adjectives we’re accustomed to seeing in reviews of Rohan’s clothes give a pretty clear indication of why they consistently top the gear poll.
Ranking Votes
1 Rohan 340
2 The North Face 268
3 Craghoppers 152
4 Berghaus 151
5 Karrimor 51
TOP TOUR OPERATOR
Audley
Everyone knows the pitfalls of growing a small, successful travel company – the best people are suddenly AWOL in the Himalaya, customer service suffers and all that founding passion gets drowned in a sea of paperwork. But apparently Audley Travel hasn’t read the script.
Starting out as a handful of Indochina experts in 1996, in just 12 years it’s grown to a 200-strong team with expertise on six continents – and the journey has been as smooth and assured as the tailormade itineraries they offer.
The genius is in the detail: friendly, knowledgeable (and frank) staff who’ve all had first-hand experience of their favoured destinations; an open invitation for travellers to drop in to the company’s HQ in a 17th-century Oxfordshire woollen mill; an ever-diversifying range of intriguing destinations. Wherever they operate, your favourite tour operator has an uncanny knack of picking out recherché experiences – in Iran, for example, their clients can drop in on a zurkhaneh (‘house of strength’ – a gym), to watch the traditional exercises performed there.
For 2008 there’s a standalone Madagascar brochure to relish – the first by a UK operator – new lodges in Rwanda and Malawi, self-drive tours of Tasmania and a new programme in Canada, Alaska and the Arctic, including heli-hiking in Alberta.
Growing pains? Not a chance.
Ranking %
1 Audley Travel (www.audleytravel.com) 91.60
2 Ramblers Holidays (www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) 90.67
3 Trailfinders (www.trailfinders.com) 90.56
=4 Discover The World (www.discover-the-world.co.uk) 90.00
=4 Noble Caledonia (www.noble-caledonia.co.uk) 90.00
=6 Exodus (www.exodus.co.uk) 88.00
=6 Travelbag (www.travelbag.co.uk) 88.00
8 Explore (www.explore.co.uk) 87.57
9 Travelmood (www.travelmood.com) 87.27
10 Regent Holidays (www.regent-holidays.co.uk) 86.67
SPECIAL AWARD
Jonathan Scott
You probably know him as ‘the man the cheetah crapped on’. Not the kind of epithet your typical TV presenter aspires to – but then Jonathan Scott is anything but a typical TV presenter.
Since 1996, when his troupes of winsome felines waltzed onto our screens in the phenomenally successful Big Cat Diary, Jonathan and his equally talented photographer wife Angela have done more than anyone to bridge the gap between Sunday night wildlife doc and immersive travel experience.
Eschewing over-earnest whispered narration in favour of soap-opera style drama, the series – since joined by bigger brothers Elephant and Bear Diaries – show real people and animals interacting in a real environment.
There’s birth, danger, sadness, surprise and relief (and, yes, that includes crapping), all in come-hither landscapes.
For Jonathan, an important result of the series’ success has been bringing these experiences to locals. “Kenyans who don’t get a chance to go to the wild can see us on television and think, this is our country. We’ve got this to offer. It has been huge in that sense.”
His accessibility and enthusiasm aren’t saved for the camera, as anyone who’s enjoyed his company on a trip will attest; he’s joined tours to destinations as diverse as Antarctica, India, the Galápagos and, of course, Kenya as a wildlife and photography expert. We love him – and, clearly, so do you.
Click here for an exclusive interview with Jonathan after he collected his Special Award
TOP TRAVEL WRITER
Bill Bryson
He did it yet again – will anyone ever pinch this man’s place in your hearts? And even when he hasn’t actually published a travel book as such in the past year?
We do, though, have an outsider who might sneak in next year– that well-known travel writer Simon Cowell received a vote!
Ranking Votes
1 Bill Bryson 427
2 Michael Palin 354
3 Simon Calder 96
4 Paul Theroux 67
5 Dervla Murphy 45
TOP TV PROGRAMME
Tribe
We tried to get a comment from winner Bruce Parry but, in true Tribe style, he was incommunicado, tracing the Amazon from mouth to source for six months for a new BBC show. But you can see an exclusive interview with the man himself here
Ranking Votes
1 Tribe 496
2 Michael Palin’s New Europe 363
3 Coast 89
4 Michael Wood’s India 55
5 Globe Trekker 52
6 Mountain 39
7 Long Way Down 29
8 Planet Earth 28
9 India with Sanjeev Bhaskar 26
10 Equator 25
TOP WORLDWIDE AIRLINE
Singapore Airlines
After slipping from top spot for the first time last year (thanks to a now top-ten absent JAL), Singapore Airlines is back on top, leading the pack of largely Asian carriers. The European airlines will have to up their game to challenge for supremacy.
Ranking %
1 Singapore Airlines 93.25
2 Eva Air 88.00
3 Etihad 86.00
4 Emirates 85.26
5 Cathay Pacific 85.22
6 Jet Airways 85.00
7 Malaysia Airlines 84.07
8 Qatar Airways 84.06
9 Thai Airways International 83.04
10 Virgin Atlantic 82.42
TOP LOW-COST AIRLINE
Air Berlin
Good news! In 2008, your favourite short-haul low-coster is going long-haul – from May 2008, Air Berlin will be flying to Shanghai and Beijing. And it shows just how global your wanderings are that two of the top ten don’t fly from the UK.
Ranking %
1 Air Berlin 87.83
2 Bangkok Airways 84.00
3 Virgin Blue 82.76
4 Wizz Air 79.09
5 Air Asia 76.11
6 Zoom 74.44
=7 GB Airways 73.33
=7 Jet2.com 73.33
9 XL.Com 71.67
10 bmi 71.58
TOP WEBSITE
Seat 61
Good to see eco-conscious and extremely useful Man in Seat 61 has won again –now backed up by a book of the same title (Bantam).
The most exciting website launch of the year, however, was our own goWander.com – a (shamelessly plugged) contender for next year…?
Ranking %
1 www.seat61.com 96.19
2 www.asiarooms.com 90.91
3 www.audleytravel.com 89.09
=4 www.skyscanner.net 88.33
=4 www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk 88.33
6 www.wanderlust.co.uk 87.32
7 www.kayak.co.uk 87.27
8 www.explore.co.uk 84.55
9 www.responsibletravel.com 83.75
10 www.tripadvisor.com 83.01
TOP UK AIRPORT
London City
The big British airports have taken their share of flack of late over lengthy queues, delays and security measures – so in this case small (and highly convenient) really is beautiful. London City is about as handy as can be for capital-dwellers.
Ranking %
1 London City 85.42
2 Norwich 82.67
3 Inverness 79.20
4 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne 78.40
5 Bristol International 77.98
6 Southampton 77.58
7 Belfast City 75.45
8 Edinburgh 74.91
9 Exeter 74.62
10 Birmingham International 74.24
TOP WORLDWIDE AIRPORT
Singapore Changi
Changi has won this accolade every year since our awards first began. It’s also just got bigger and even better, with the spanking new Terminal 3 opening in January. But while there was one clear winner, many airports vied for last place – we advise bracing yourself for landing at bottom-rated Ankara, Karachi or Lagos…
Ranking %
1 Singapore Changi 93.14
2 Hong Kong International 90.54
3 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi 88.57
4 Keflavík (Iceland) 88.33
5 Helsinki 86.15
6 Kuala Lumpur 85.85
7 Doha 85.38
8 Zurich 84.83
9 Amsterdam Schipol 83.90
10 Vancouver 82.98
TOP FESTIVAL
Rio Carnival
Ay, caramba! Though your top ten was crammed with culture (and camels) galore, it was music that got your booty shaking – Rio’s sizzling samba floating your boats with its showboating floats (sorry...), the world sounds of WOMAD and Mali’s desert blues.
Ranking Votes
1 Rio Carnaval 72
2 WOMAD 54
3 Edinburgh Festival 47
4 Glastonbury Festival 36
5 Diwali 27
6 Edinburgh Fringe 23
7 Venice Carnevale 20
8 Pushkar Camel Fair, Rajasthan 19
9 Festival of the Desert, Mali 16
10 Notting Hill Carnival 15
Watch video highlights of the ceremony at the Destinations travel show in London, hosted by Wanderlust's founder/editor-in-chief Lyn Hughes and presenter Mark Scott, below:
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