Bristol was named tourism’s ‘Rising Star’ at the prestigious National Geographic Traveller Reader Awards this week. At a ceremony in London, the city beat Valencia and Tbilisi in a category that judged the destination best seen to be “making a name for themselves” worldwide.
The judges said of Bristol, “The Mild West’s hip hub city has long been bubbling under as a must-visit mini metropolis, but it’s finally surfaced to get the broad attention it deserves.”
Kathryn David, Head of Tourism for Destination Bristol, who collected the award in London last night, said, “This is some achievement for the whole of the Bristol region, not just to be shortlisted alongside Tbilisi and Valencia but to go on and win the Rising Star destination is incredible! We can now justifiably be considered as one of the best European destinations for travel and we look forward to welcoming new and returning visitors from across the world to Bristol in 2019 and beyond.”
The announcement was made within days of Kathryn’s own ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award’ at the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards, in which Bristol’s Tourist Information Centre also won a gold award in the Visitor Information Centre category. The awards are the icing on the cake for a city that has recently announced a record-breaking year for inbound tourism, welcoming an estimated 602,000 visitors – a 60% increase since 2010.
