Western Europe trumps east for holidays

Western Europe has trumped Eastern Europe as the preferred European region for travellers in 2006.

Italian cities such as Rome and Venice are particularly en vogue, which marks a reversal of fortunes from last year, according to a survey by TripAdvisor.com.

Sixty-two per cent of travellers aim to visit Europe in 2006, of which 70 per cent said they would rather travel to Western Europe if money were not a factor.

This contrasts with a TripAdvisor survey in May last year when most respondents thought Eastern Europe was a more appealing destination for leisure travellers.

Rome was the top destination among travellers when asked if they could choose just one Western European city to visit in 2006, closely followed by Venice.

The Czech capital Prague was still the top choice among Eastern European destinations.

Widespread availability of good food is one reason why Italian cities are so popular, with Italy getting 54 per cent of the vote for best cuisine.

Rome also topped the list of European cities for having the most attractive locals, while Dublin had the friendliest and most helpful locals.

"We are seeing a trend shift with travellers now favouring classic popular destinations such as Rome, Venice, Paris and London, while Eastern Europe was all the rage in 2005," said TripAdvisor's Michele Perry.

"With all of the incredible variety Europe has to offer, it was surprising that the top two cities according to travellers are both in Italy." XXX