UK cities dominate the top ten list for a romantic getaway, reveals Expedia.co.uk -

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - February 14th, 2012 - Expedia’s Valentine's travel trends reveal that home is certainly where the heart is this year, with UK cities seeing a huge increase in popularity over the Valentine’s Day period. Three of the top ten booking destinations are UK cities (London, Edinburgh and Manchester) - now making up over 30% of Valentine’s bookings.

For the third year running, London remains the romance capital of Europe for Brits seeking a special weekend close to home and perhaps on a budget. Manchester comes in at number six as the new Northern ‘city of love’ knocking New York out of the top ten. These UK cities join more traditional favourites such as Paris, Amsterdam and Rome, which never fail to be popular during this period in February.

Top 10 Valentine’s Destinations 2011:
1 London London
2 Amsterdam Paris
3 Paris Amsterdam
4 New York Rome
5 Rome Edinburgh
6 Edinburgh Manchester
7 Barcelona Berlin
8 Dublin Dublin
9 Prague Prague
10 Milan Barcelona

Expedia.co.uk also has seen bookings to Rome, Berlin and Paris increase by over 30% compared to the Valentines period in 2011, but despite this dramatic rise, London - remains the UK’s favourite ‘hotspot’.

Beyond the top ten, Expedia has also seen four other UK cities grow in popularity:
• Bath (ranked 20) has seen the biggest growth in popularity for a romantic break, with a huge 72% increase in bookings since 2011
• Liverpool (ranked 14) has seen an 18% increase in bookings this year, compared to the same week in 2011
• Glasgow (15) has seen a 46% increase in bookings
• York (17) has seen at 40% increase in bookings

Andy Washington, Managing Director for Expedia in the UK & Ireland says “Valentine's remains an important reason to travel and a popular break for Brits. What we see is that we’re all approaching travel in these challenging economic times in different ways. Those who are taking longer breaks are taking advantage of the great value deals for destinations such as Las Vegas, which has seen an increase of over 90% since 2011 for Valentines travel. Others are staying closer to home and the major trend we are seeing is that more Brits are spending Valentine’s Day in the UK”.

With an endless list of romantic activities to enjoy, and numerous hotels to suit most budgets, it is not surprising that London has established itself as the number one Valentine’s destination. A selection of boutique hotels remain popular choices with Brits making the most of Valentine’s Day, or for those really pushing the boat out a luxury night’s stay in the stylish Goring Hotel (where Kate Middleton famously stayed before the Royal Wedding) will be a night to remember. Newly renovated classics such as The Savoy are equally attracting a lot of attention for those looking to add a touch of nostalgia to their romantic break.

“London’s range of unique tourist attractions, Michelin starred restaurants and hidden local gems cater for budgets large or small, so we can see why it has beaten European rivals to the number one spot.” adds Washington.

-ENDS-

For last minute inspiration on Valentines ideas visit www.youtube.com/ExpediaUK or check out our London travel tips here.

For further press information, please contact the Expedia press office team:

Telephone: 08448 751 457

Email: expediapressoffice@golinharris.com

About Expedia

With access to 145,000 hotels around the world (including boutique hotels as well as major hotel brand names),over 300 airlines along with specialist tools to help refine these choices, Expedia.co.uk helps travellers to find and create the trip that best matches their individual requirements. Expedia.co.uk partners with loyalty programme Nectar in the UK enabling its customers to collect 200 Nectar points on flight only, hotel or car hire bookings and 1000 points on package purchases through www.expedia.co.uk.

Expedia.co.uk is part of the Expedia Inc. brand portfolio. The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly valuable audience of in-market travel consumers through Expedia Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world's leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia® Affiliate Network.

Expedia, Expedia.co.uk and the Airplane logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the European Union and certain other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. © 2012 Expedia, Inc.

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