Four Scottish cities in top 20 most popular Bank Holiday destinations

By NATALIE WALKER
Published on 19/08/2012 22:54

FOUR Scottish cities have made it into a list of top 20 places to spend a Bank Holiday weekend – with Glasgow crowned as the best value for money.

The city joins Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness in a new table of the most popular places in the UK for a short break.

The poll, by travel website TripAdvisor, lists the cities considered to be the most popular with visitors and looked at the average cost of accommodation, taxis, drinks and dinner.

Glasgow was found to offer visitors the best value, costing a couple just £164.40 for a four-star hotel room, four-mile taxi ride, cocktails at a five-star hotel and a two-course dinner with wine at a leading restaurant.

The best value city was 
Birmingham, at £139.54. This 
was followed by Nottingham, Sheffield and Liverpool.

Glasgow was named as the seventh best value city in the UK, with among the cheapest four-star hotel rooms during peak season available in the UK, at £71. Edinburgh was the most expensive Scottish city to visit, with an average overnight stay costing almost £100 more than in Glasgow at £260.65.

The Scottish capital was named that third most expensive popular city for a Bank Holiday break. Only London and Bath beat the Scottish capital in the price stakes – but only by just over £4.

But with the average cost of a one-night stay in a four-star hotel in Edinburgh found to be £160.92 it was revealed as 
having the priciest rooms in the top 20 – £5 more than the cost of a similar room in London and £6 more than Bath.

Aberdeen and Inverness were ranked as the fifth and sixth priciest places to stay. Accommodation was found to be £20 cheaper in Aberdeen but the average cost of dinner and cocktails hiked the price to a total of £189.92. An overnight stay in Inverness was found to be just under £2 cheaper, at £188.20.

Tourist officials welcomed the new list saying it was “encouraging” four of the UK’s top 20 short break cities were in Scotland.

VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: “The fact Scotland has a substantial presence here is very encouraging and echoes what we’ve been saying for some time, that value for money and quality are more important than ever, particularly to the ‘staycation’ market.

“Whether people are looking for a budget break or an excuse to spoil themselves and indulge in a luxurious five-star break, Scotland really does have something to suit every pocket, as this 
survey indicates.”

The travel website lists a range of things for tourists to do in each city, based on reviews from travellers who add comments online. Top recommendations for Edinburgh are the Military Tattoo, Arthur’s Seat and the National Museum of Scotland.

In Glasgow, they are Pollok Country Park and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Aberdeen’s Bennachie Hill Walks and Art Gallery were voted as most popular, and in Inverness it was Culloden and Loch Ness.

Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor spokeswoman, said: “Olympic fever may have reignited a love for all the UK has to offer, but ongoing economic concerns mean many Brits are still cost-conscious when it comes to travel. By breaking down the common components that make up a UK weekend city break, this list allows travellers to smartly compare where their money will go the furthest.”

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