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Contact: Jill Davison 212 382 5679 or Liz Marsh 212 382 5684
FLORENCE NAMED WORLD’S BEST CITY
JetBlue Airways, The Aerie, Bali, New York City, and Buenos Aires are Among Readers’ Favorites in Travel + Leisure Magazine’s 11th Annual World’s Best Awards
New York, NY (July 10, 2006) - Travel + Leisure announced today that Florence is ranked the number one city in the world, taking the place Sydney held for the past four years, according to the magazine's 2006 World's Best Awards readers' survey. Beirut marks its debut on the list of top ten cities globally with its number nine ranking and New York City is named best city in America for the sixth consecutive year. JetBlue Airways ranks number one among domestic airlines for the first time in survey history. Singita Private Game Reserve in South Africa is a return World's Best Hotel winner having won the accolade in 2004.
The 2006 World's Best Awards uncovers readers' favorite cities, islands, hotels, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies, spas, and car-rental agencies. The survey results, including the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide, are featured in the August issue of Travel + Leisure, the world's leading travel magazine, and online at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.*
Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Nancy Novogrod says, "A powerful gauge of the interests and tastes of sophisticated travelers, the 2006 World's Best Awards reveal a preference for places farther away, smaller, and more unique than ever before-a lodge in South Africa, a castle in Scotland, and three hotels in India are among the top ten hotels worldwide. This year, more Asian properties were selected than in past years, and a lesser-known island, Saba, makes its debut as the best island in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas."
TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST AWARDS READERS' SURVEY WINNERS 2006
- WORLD'S BEST HOTEL:
- Singita Private Game Reserve, S. Africa
- WORLD'S BEST CITY:
- Florence
- WORLD'S BEST ISLAND:
- Bali
- WORLD'S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE:
- Crystal Cruises
- WORLD'S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE:
- Yachts of Seabourn
- WORLD'S BEST TOUR OPERATOR/SAFARI OUTFITTER:
- Micato Safaris
- WORLD'S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE:
- JetBlue Airways
- WORLD'S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE:
- Singapore Airlines
- WORLD'S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY:
- Hertz
- WORLD'S BEST HOTEL FOR $250 OR LESS:
- Inn at Montchanin Village, Delaware
- WORLD'S BEST DESTINATION SPA:
- Chiva-Som International Health Resort, Thailand
TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST HOTELS BY REGION 2006
- BEST HOTEL, CONTINENTAL U.S + CANADA:
- The Aerie, Vancouver Island
- BEST HOTEL, HAWAII:
- Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
- BEST HOTEL, CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS:
- Waterloo House, Bermuda
- BEST HOTEL, EUROPE:
- Inverlochy Castle, Scotland
- BEST HOTEL, ASIA:
- Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan
- BEST HOTEL, AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND /S. PACIFIC:
- Huka Lodge, New Zealand
- BEST HOTEL, AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST:
- Singita Private Game Reserve
- BEST HOTEL, MEXICO/CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA:
- Ritz-Carlton, Santiago
TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST CITIES + ISLANDS BY REGION 2006
CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA
- CITY:
- New York
- ISLAND:
- Cape Breton Island
EUROPE
- CITY:
- Florence
- ISLAND:
- Santorini
ASIA
- CITY:
- Bangkok
- ISLAND:
- Bali
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/S. PACIFIC
- CITY:
- Sydney
- ISLAND:
- Tasmania
AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST
- CITY:
- Cape Town
- ISLAND:
- Seychelles
MEXICO/CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA
- CITY:
- Buenos Aires
- ISLAND:
- Galápagos Islands
HAWAII
- ISLAND:
- Kauai
CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS
- ISLAND:
- Saba
TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST HOTEL SPAS BY REGION 2006
- U.S. + CANADA:
- Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes
- EUROPE:
- Villa d'Este, Italy
- CARIBBEAN:
- Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
- ASIA/PACIFIC/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST:
- Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
- MEXICO/CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA:
- Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Interactive lists of all the World's Best Winners will be available on the Web site at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest along with contact information for all of the hotels and comparisons with last year's winners. Travelandleisure.com has created geographically related listings, including a hotel slide show and guides to many of the award-winning cities. Plus, users can easily find past Travel + Leisure articles on World's Best Award winning properties via travelandleisure.com's hotel guide.
The Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2006 winners will be honored at an awards ceremony at Top of the Rock in New York City on July 20.
Travel + Leisure magazine editors are available for interviews—please contact Liz Marsh at 212 382 5684.
WBA 2006 Survey Methodology: A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with Harris Interactive, was made available to Travel + Leisure subscribers at www.tlworldsbest.com during the first quarter of this year. Respondents reported where they had traveled worldwide and how, and rated only the destinations, properties, and companies that were relevant to their recent travel experiences. Respondents were asked to rate hotels, cities, islands, spas, hotel spas, tour operators/safari outfitters, cruise lines, airlines and car rental companies on several characteristics. The scores are indexed averages of responses concerning applicable characteristics. The complete survey methodology is available in the August issue of Travel + Leisure, and online at travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.
*The spa survey results will be featured in a special World's Best Spas report in Travel + Leisure's October issue and will be posted online at that time.
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Travel + Leisure, published monthly by American Express Publishing Corporation, is the world's leading travel magazine with a circulation of almost one million. Sophisticated, modern, and always intelligent, Travel + Leisure examines the way we travel now and where we'll be going years from now, putting into context all the elements of the traveler's experience—from hotels, restaurants, and shopping to architecture, culture, and politics—while delivering the latest news on security, health, trends, and innovations. A global brand, Travel + Leisure currently publishes Travel + Leisure En Español, Travel + Leisure Russia, Travel + Leisure Turkey, Travel + Leisure China and Travel + Leisure Australia, and is launching Travel + Leisure South Asia in Fall 2006.
