| Dundee was viewed as “unexciting” by many in a controversial new survey, with only Bradford and Wakefield surpassing its position in the poll as an undesirable holiday destination.
A survey of 5000 Britons conducted by Travelodge asked which places they would and would not like to visit and why.
The results showed 72% of people consider the City of Discovery to be “unexciting” and a quarter said they would avoid the city because of its reputation of having bad weather throughout the year.
Councillor Will Dawson, convener of city development for Dundee City Council, said the city has “charm” and that the people are some of the “friendliest” in the country.
He added, “The charm of Dundee lies in the sum of its parts: its tremendous geographical location, its growing cultural quarter, its many tourist attractions and last, but not least, its people — which the Lonely Planet travel guide has described as among the friendliest and most entertaining you’ll meet.”
Dundee’s tourism industry is critical to the success of the city with around £70 million being contributed to the area’s economy every year.
VisitScotland disputed the conclusions drawn from the survey, and claimed the 500,000 visitors who make their way to Dundee each year would “heartily disagree”.
“It is culturally vibrant and home to the likes of the five-star rated Discovery Point attraction, Scottish Dance Theatre, Dundee Rep, plus a buzzing restaurant and shopping scene and a young and lively vibe,” said a spokeswoman.
“A quick look at our latest campaign website will confirm that Dundee is a must-visit, must-return destination. The survey should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt.”
Councillor Tom Ferguson said he viewed the research as a “challenge”.
“I’m yet to be convinced on those results,” said the Locheee councillor. “But if it is true, then we should take positive steps to reverse that belief.
“We can’t control the issue of weather, but the city’s image we can control.
“I’d like to see how specific those questions were and I’m tempted to think that another survey may have come to another conclusion. It does give food for thought, and I’ll be discussing with my colleagues as to how to improve the city’s image.”
He concluded he was “surprised at the findings”, but was determined to take measures to counter such claims.
Dundee has previously been named Scotland’s sunniest and warmest city by the MET office, with temperatures tending to be a couple of degrees higher than other cities in the country due to its south-facing position.
The most popular places to visit in the UK included Edinburgh in fourth position, with London, Birmingham and Manchester taking the top three spots. |
