Sydney Drops from List of Top 10 Tourism Cities in the World
Sydney has failed to be part of the Top 10 cities listed in the renowned Travel + Leisure US World's Best Awards. This is the second time since hosting the Olympics in 2000 that Sydney dropped from the top 10 list.
According to Travel + Leisure magazine subscribers' rating, Australia's biggest city and tourism capital was among the cities rated poorly in terms of value-for-money.
The 2013 Top 10 cities in the world, according to Travel + Leisure are Bangkok, Istanbul, Florence, Cape Town, Kyoto, Rome, Charleston, Barcelona and Paris.
The last time Sydney failed to make it to the prestigious list was in 2009 when the premier Australian city ranked 11th. The Top 10 Cities for travel and leisure was announced in New York this week, and Sydney was named as the world's number 12.
The editor-in-chief of the parent edition of Travel + Leisure, Nancy Novogrod, said that Sydney did well in the survey for its tourist attractions and people, but the city fell short in the value category which is always the most competitive.
Travel + Leisure magazine has several international editions, including Asia, which is the largest source of tourists for Australia. China trails behind New Zealand in the number of international visitors.
Ms Novogrod added that Sydney is one of the favourite cities among readers of the magazine and is always a destination they would love to cover.
Due to the strong Australian dollar against the American greenback, Sydney has become one of the most expensive cities in the world for tourists even those coming from the U.S. market.
However, given the steady decline of the Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, Sydney's competitiveness as an attractive international tourist destination is more than likely to have improved.
The Australian dollar is currently trading for 91 cents against the U.S. dollar last Wednesday. In July 2011, the Aussie dollar was worth $1.10 USD.
Sydney retains its number 1 spot in the World's Best Awards as the top city in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
