TripAdvisor Reveals Largest Analysis of UK World Heritage Sites Ever Conducted

LONDON, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Blenheim Palace and Edinburgh Old and New Towns Top 'Best Condition' and 'Most Recommended' Lists Respectively

TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, today reveals the UK results from the biggest analysis ever conducted of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Blenheim Palace topped the 'Best Condition' category, while Old and New Towns of Edinburgh took first place on the 'Most Recommended' list.

Via its user reviews, TripAdvisor, in partnership with UNESCO, has collected over 34,000* responses from travellers who have visited the UK's UNESCO World Heritage sites.

"The UK has 28 World Heritage sites to be proud of," commented Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. "Those in the 'Best Condition' and 'Most Recommended' categories should be particularly pleased as these recognitions reflect the positive experiences and opinions of thousands of travellers."

London and Scotland featured prominently in the results. Four London sites - Kew Gardens, Tower of London, Westminster Palace and Maritime Greenwich - appeared across the 'Best Condition' and 'Most recommended' lists, while Scotland's Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark and Old and New Towns of Edinburgh also appeared in these categories.

Interestingly, Stonehenge, one of the UK's most internationally famous attractions, and one of the seven medieval wonders of the world, featured only on the 'In Need of Most Attention' list and failed to appear on the 'Most Recommended' list.

Best Condition Sites

According to TripAdvisor travellers, these are the UK's UNESCO World Heritage sites in best condition:

1. Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire

2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - London

3. Heart of Neolithic Orkney - Scotland

4. Durham Castle and Cathedral - Durham

5. City of Bath - Somerset

6. Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast - Northern Ireland

7. New Lanark - Scotland

8. Tower of London - London

9. Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Cathedral - London

10. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey - Yorkshire

Most Recommended Sites

These are the UK World Heritage sites travellers most recommend:

1. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh - Scotland

2. Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Cathedral - London

3. Tower of London - London

4. City of Bath - Somerset

5. Maritime Greenwich - London

6. Durham Castle and Cathedral - Durham

7. Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's - Kent

8. Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

9. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

10. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd - Wales

Sites most in need of attention

These UK World Heritage sites are those most in need of attention, according to TripAdvisor travellers:

1. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

2. Hadrian's Wall (Frontiers of the Roman Empire WHS)- Wallsend-on-Tyne to Bowness-on-Solvay, England

3. Dorset and East Devon Coast

4. Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's - Kent

5. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh - Scotland

6. Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

7. Saltaire - Yorkshire

8. Ironbridge Gorge - Shropshire

9. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd - Wales

10. Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites - Wiltshire

The two year partnership between TripAdvisor, and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre launched in October 2009 to raise awareness of and gain travellers' support to preserve natural and cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Within the partnership, TripAdvisor is also donating up to $1.5 million (USD) of support to the World Heritage Centre to help monitor the conservation of the world's most important cultural and historic sites. TripAdvisor shares the feedback to the World Heritage Centre so that it may better engage UNESCO member states in matters of site conservation.

Notes to Editors

* 34,650 respondents as of 17th March 2011. When TripAdvisor users write a hotel, restaurant or attraction review for a UNESCO area they also asked to complete a survey on their experience of the UNESCO site, including rating the condition of the site and whether they would recommend it. A total of more than 316,000 forms have been completed to date on World Heritage sites around the world.

TripAdvisor(R) Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 50 million unique monthly visitors* across 18 popular travel brands**. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 40 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and over 40 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 27 countries worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travelers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.

TripAdvisor Media Group websites have been recognized as top travel resources in 2010 by Condé Nast Traveller, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine and Travel + Leisure.

TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Group are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

TripAdvisor and the TripAdvisor logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

(c)2011 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites, Worldwide, August 2010

** In addition to TripAdvisor, The TripAdvisor Media Group of websites includes: http://www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com, http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.everytrail.com, http://www.familyvacationcritic.com, http://www.flipkey.com, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk, http://www.holidaywatchdog.com, http://www.independenttraveler.com, http://www.onetime.com, http://www.seatguru.com, http://www.sniqueaway.com, http://www.smartertravel.com, http://www.travel-library.com, http://www.travelpod.com, http://www.virtualtourist.com and http://www.kuxun.cn.

***Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, August 2010

**** TripAdvisor sites operate in 27 countries worldwide: http://www.tripadvisor.com, http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk, http://www.tripadvisor.ca, http://www.tripadvisor.it, http://www.tripadvisor.es, http://www.tripadvisor.de, http://www.tripadvisor.fr, http://www.tripadvisor.jp, http://www.daodao.com, http://www.tripadvisor.in, http://www.tripadvisor.se, http://www.nl.tripadvisor.com, http://www.tripadvisor.com.br, http://www.tripadvisor.com.tr, http://www.tripadvisor.dk, http://www.tripadvisor.com.mx, http://www.tripadvisor.ie, http://www.tripadvisor.com.au, http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg, http://www.tripadvisor.co.kr, http://www.no.tripadvisor.com, http://www.pl.tripadvisor.com, http://www.th.tripadvisor.com, http://www.tripadvisor.ru, http://www.tripadvisor.com.gr/, http://www.tripadvisor.co.id and http://www.tripadvisor.com.ar.

Laurel Greatrix, +44(0)203-194-2150, lgreatrix@tripadvisor.com