TripAdvisor have delivered a haymaker to Manchester by knocking them out of the top 10 UK cities – but tourist board Visit Manchester believes the city will soon be picking themselves up off the canvas.
The travel review website’s ‘Best of 2014’ stunned Manchester by placing the city – who punched above their weight last year to come in second behind London in 2013 – outside of the top 10 UK cities for tourists to visit this year.
The capital remained the champion – but Manchester now finds itself below the likes of Edinburgh, Torquay, Liverpool, York, Leeds and second-city rival Birmingham in the rankings.
Visit Manchester, however, are ready to hit back – and believe they are already first to the punch with a strong response.
They approximate that over a million international visitors come to the city each year and the tourism industry generates £6.6billion a year for the local economy.
A Visit Manchester spokesman told MM: “Whilst we would, of course, like Manchester to be in this year’s top 10 – as it has been in recent years – we are not worried about the ranking.
“Our tourism industry is currently in very good health and we’re confident that this is simply a result of other UK destinations being newly-discovered, written about and trending on the website.”
He added that Manchester is third behind London and Edinburgh in terms of International Passenger Survey figures and the city had one of its strongest years for visitors staying overnight in hotels.
He also highlighted Manchester’s wide range of attractions and goings-on and said: “As a city we have a very diverse offer which includes: world-class museums and attractions, a burgeoning restaurant and bar scene, fantastic shopping and a packed cultural events calendar.
“With the Central Library and ‘Coronation Street the Tour’ recently opening and the Whitworth Art Gallery, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House and HOME in the pipeline, there are plenty of new attractions to keep visitors coming throughout 2014 and beyond.”
The top Manchester attraction in the TripAdvisor rankings is the John Rylands Library, which has gained 543 ‘Excellent’ and 182 ‘Very good’ ratings from a total of 746 reviews.
It comes in ahead of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and Royal Exchange Theatre, currently ranked second and third.
Manchester City FC’s Etihad Stadium comes out as visitors’ favourite sporting attraction, while karting attraction Daytona Manchester is the top amusement attraction.
The Runway Visitor Park leads the way in terms of the top outdoor attraction while Manchester Town Hall is the top landmark.
Topping the activities rankings is the Manchester United FC Stadium Tour (152 of 179 reviewers said it was ‘Excellent’), ahead of Manchester Music Tours and Chezzie Le Choux.
The Comedy Store is the top scorer in the nightlife category (283 ‘Excellent’ and 140 ‘Very good’ reviews from 479), followed by The Molly House and New York New York Manchester.
Afflecks was the top shopping experience (117 ‘Excellent’ and 60 ‘Very good’ from 203 reviews), with the Arndale Centre and the Cornerhouse Gallery rated in two and three.
On the other hand, Manchester Legoland Discovery Centre did not reach the same heights, receiving a ‘Terrible’ rating 224 times out of 841 reviews (only 86 said it was ‘Excellent’).
The attraction was slated for its entry price (£29.90 for parent and child if not bought online beforehand), the long queues and the small number of displays,
Meanwhile Piccadilly Gardens, fared even worse, with 61 of 169 reviewers said is ‘Terrible’ and its very status as an ‘attraction’ was called into question.
Many argue that the area has been allowed to decline into a dirty concrete eyesore.
‘22Malone’ commented on the TripAdvisor in February: “If in Manchester, just steer clear of this bleak expanse, there is nothing here to interest anyone and your personal safety cannot be guaranteed.”
Image courtesy of Richard Heyes with thanks
