Tourism Victoria says Victoria is making a bigger mark on the world stage after it was named the No. 2 small city on the latest Condé Nast Readers’ Choice awards.
The magazine ranked Victoria second on the list of the top-20 small cities outside the U.S. behind San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Tourism Victoria believes the ranking is proof the city punches above its weight on the world stage.
“This result is straight from readers of one of the world’s leading travel magazines,” said Paul Nursey, chief executive of Tourism Victoria.
“This is proof positive that Greater Victoria’s transformation from a quaint and charming regional destination to a world-leading, experiential destination is complete.”
Victoria beat out Florence, Italy, Bruges, Belgium and Lucerne, Switzerland, for the No. 2 spot. The only other Canadian city to make the list was Quebec City at No. 8.
Tourism Victoria believes the ranking is down to getting the word out about the experience of visiting Victoria.
According to the organization, there has been extensive coverage in publications such as the New York Times, New Zealand Herald and Rolling Stone to showcase everything from the region’s burgeoning concert and music scene to the Pacific Marine Circle Route.
Already this year, Smart Meetings magazine recommended Victoria as one of the top 10 emerging destinations for hosting meetings and conferences, while this summer a poll of 5,770 Canadian travel agents chose Victoria as one of the top five destinations in the country.
Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Awards are chosen by more than 300,000 readers.
Victoria and the other winning cities will be listed in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
Last year, Victoria was ranked in the No. 7 spot on a list of Best Cities in the World (outside the U.S.) in the same readers’ survey.
Conde Nast Top-20 Small Cities (Outside U.S.)
1 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2 Victoria
3 Florence, Italy
4 Bruges, Belgium
5 Lucerne, Switzerland
6 Salzburg, Austria
7 Nuremberg, Germany
8 Quebec City
9 Cologne, Germany
10 Lisbon, Portugal
11 Copenhagen, Denmark
12 Edinburgh, Scotland
13 Bergen, Norway
14 Stockholm, Sweden
15 Seville, Spain
16 Prague, Czech Republic
17 Venice, Italy
18 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
19 Dublin, Ireland
20 Jerusalem, Israel
