New Forest National Park has been named the fifth best in Europe.

This is according to Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards for Destinations.

The awards reveal where travellers ventured in 2020, while travel was open, as well as where they dreamed of going while the pandemic kept them stuck at home.

The categories include the most popular, trending, and emerging destinations around the world. And 2021 brings with it a new category, National Parks.

Cornwall’s St Ives was named fifth in the world’s Emerging Destinations list — the places travellers want to visit next, and is the only UK destination to be featured.

Topping the world list is the Caribbean island of Martinique, followed by Panama City Beach in the United States and Brazil’s Armacao dos Buzios in third place.

The Emerging Destinations list is based on the spots travellers are “saving” on Tripadvisor.

In the very first year that National Parks are featured in the Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards for Destinations, The Yorkshire Dales National Park takes the title of Europe’s best and 11th in the world. While the Peak District National Park places fourth in Europe and 24th in the world and New Forest National Park came fifth.

Tripadvisor spokesperson, Hayley Coleman, said: “With indoor activities mostly off the table in 2020, travellers headed for the great outdoors and according to a recent survey of Tripadvisor travellers, more than half (52%) say they are more likely to take an outdoor or nature trip than they were before the pandemic.

"With this in mind, it seemed timely to introduce this year’s new category, National Parks. While the pandemic has been incredibly tough in lots of ways, one positive that we can take away is that it has unleashed a new found love of getting back to nature for many of us."

A spokesperson for Go New Forest said: "As the New Forest’s official tourism organisation, representing hundreds of local businesses, we are absolutely delighted with the TripAdvisor accolade. It’s no mean feat for our wonderful destination to be voted the fifth best of over 400 National Parks across Europe. Whilst only local people can currently enjoy the New Forest until restrictions are lifted, publicity such as this will certainly help boost our hard hit tourism industry when everyone is able to visit the New Forest again”

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