It seems that Ireland’s long-held reputation for being welcoming is not just staying but improving as Dublin has been voted the fifth friendliest city in the world.
According to the annual readers' choice survey released by prestigious US magazine Condé Nast Traveler today, the Capital has jumped up eight places from 13th friendliest last year.
Dublin shared its fifth place spot with Sydney, Australia and was the only European city in the top five. The friendliest cities were Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia. The other European city in the top ten was Seville, Spain at number nine.
The magazine said readers described Dublin as a “vibrant city” that’s a “bibliophile’s dream” which was “green, lush, and very walkable.”
It also said readers found it to be "the kind of place you stop in for a drink in a local pub, only to end up chatting with the locals for the next five hours." It noted that even the US first lady Michelle Obama, who visited the city last summer, "is a fan".
Responding to the survey, Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said research "again and again" showed that the friendliness of Irish people was one of the country's unique selling points.
"It is the warm welcome and the 'craic' here that resonates with our overseas visitors and makes Dublin and Ireland such a great choice for a short break or holiday," he said. Tourism Ireland would use the accolade as a "platform" to continue to promote Dublin and Ireland, he said.
Other cities received less favourable accolades as they were named among the world’s “unfriendliest”, having the lowest friendliness score among readers surveyed.
The unfriendliest city was Johannesburg, South Africa followed by Cannes in France and Moscow in Russia. Safety was the main reason for Johannesburg to take the top (bottom) spot, Cannes was described by one reader as Europe's Las Vegas while the perceived unfriendlines of people was Moscow's downfall. Europe dominated this list with seven of the ten least friendly cities in the world, three of these in France.
Condé Nast said everything from location and political perception to size and language barriers can be a factor in the perception of friendliness.
Friendliest cities in the world
1. Auckland, New Zealand(tie)
1. Melbourne, Australia (tie)
3. Victoria, Canada
4. Charleston, South Carolina
5. Dublin, Ireland (tie)
5. Sydney, Australia (tie)
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia
8 Cape Town, South Africa
9. Savannah, Georgia (tie)
9. Seville, Spain (tie)
Unfriendliest cities in the world
1. Johannesburg, South Africa
2. Cannes, France
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Paris, France
5. Marseilles, France
6. Beijing, China
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Milan, Italy
9. Monte Carlo, Monaco
10. Nassau, Bahamas
For more see cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2014/08/the-2014-friendliest-and-unfriendliest-cities-in-the-world
