Lisbon has been voted the best city-break holiday but Sydney has not fared so well, which may tempt tourists to find last minute airport transfers and switch their flights from Heathrow in London to Luton Airport.

The charms of Syndey Harbour were not enough to impress tourists

The charms of Syndey Harbour were not enough to impress tourists

The Portuguese capital, which can be reached from Luton Airport, topped a city index which considered factors such as weather and value for money. However, the Australian city, which tourists cannot reach directly from Luton or Stansted Airport, came 20th and last in the list of 20 cities put together by shopping comparison site Kelkoo.

Lisbon, which scored 66.17 points out of a possible 100, was ranked ahead of Athens in second and Istanbul in third. London (45.62 points) was in eighth place and Dublin (45.24 points) was ranked 10th.

Sydney finished bottom on 21.34 points, while Rio de Janeiro (23.01 points) and Cape Town (30.35 points) performed little better in the survey of 2,300 UK adults.

Athens was found to have the best weather and Hong Kong was praised for the best security, but Rio was considered the most rainy. Amsterdam had the worst crime, while Rio, Sydney and Cape Town were thought to be the least affordable cities for tourists.

London relied on its cultural and tourist attractions to perform well on the survey because it was not highly rated for value for money or weather. Kuala Lumpur was the highest-placed city outside of Europe in ninth, with the top eight cities all located in Europe.

Holidaymakers may be advised to find cheaper ways to airports, such as taking the bus to Luton, after the survey revealed travel expenditure is set to hit £41.1 billion, or £669 per person – some 2.4% higher than last year’s figures.

Affordability was considered to be the most important factor by those surveyed, while security, weather and good food were also vital. 

Copyright Press Association 2010

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