Victoria rates among the best cities in the world in Cond茅 Naste Traveler鈥檚 2013 Readers鈥� Choice Awards.
This year, almost 80,000 people took part in the survey, casting 1.3 million votes. The travel magazine says no destination was too remote: Both Tibet and Rwanda debut in this year鈥檚 list with hotels.
And none was too small, says the survey. Four favourite cities have populations of fewer than 10,000 people.
In the top 25 cities worldwide, Victoria came in at No. 17, tied at 81.2 points with Sydney, Australia, and Sante Fe, New Mexico.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honour to be recognized by Cond茅 Nast Traveler,鈥� said Trina Mousseau, director of destination marketing of Tourism Victoria, in a news release.
Victoria is described by travellers in the magazine as a 鈥渂eautiful harbor town with great food鈥� and 鈥渁 pocket of charm and beauty鈥� on the southern end of Vancouver Island.
Other results saw Victoria rank No. 3 in the Top 5 Cities in sa国际传媒, Vancouver Island voted No. 16 for Top 25 Islands in the world, and Vancouver Island voted No. 1 for top Islands in sa国际传媒.
The Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino is celebrating its No. 1 ranking in the Top 15 resorts in sa国际传媒. Five resorts from Vancouver Island and the gulf Islands were considered amongst the country鈥檚 top resorts.
Charles McDiarmid, managing director at the Wickaninnish Inn, said catapulting to the top spot from sixth spot last year is fulfilling.
鈥淥ur team is consistently striving to improve our Inn and our destination for world travelers and it seems our many recent enhancements have been noticed.鈥� he said. 鈥淢oving up in the rankings from our No.聽6 spot in last year鈥檚 Canadian resorts category to No. 1 is truly gratifying.鈥�
Also included in the top 15 resorts in sa国际传媒 are: Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, Ucluelet (7), Brentwood Bay Resort & Spa, Victoria, (8), Poets Cove Resort & Spa, Pender Island, (14) and Pacific Shores Resort & Spa, Parksville. (15).
Tourism Vancouver Island points out that in the category for top hotels in Western sa国际传媒, Hastings House on Saltspring Island took the No. 3 spot in with Sooke Harbour House at No. 8. Close behind were Victoria hotels: Magnolia Hotel & Spa, (10), Hotel Grand Pacific (12), the Fairmont Empress Hotel (15), and the Inn at Laurel Point (18).
The Readers Choice Awards 2013 can be found at: cntraveler.com/ readers-choice-awards
