The unlikely winning side beat Brighton and York to move to the top of the table.
A town with a rather unfair reputation for being deserted and tacky has just been named the UK's friendliest destination in a recent study.
The research was conducted by London North Eastern Railwayusing information collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The train company wants to investigate a recent drop in the number of families choosing to holiday at home rather than abroad.A study by BritishRSM It was revealed earlier this year that only 28% of households plan to organize a city break in the UK this year.
To encourage people to travel more sustainably, LNER decided to investigate where the friendliest and most welcoming people in the UK are.
The company combines information collected from ONS with information from TripAdvisor to help determine a destination's overall hospitality level.
After all the data is collected, population size is taken into account, and each destination is scored out of 100 in the final ranking.
The results showed Blackpool topped the list of the friendliest cities in the country, followed by Brighton in second and York in third.
Blackpool has previously been called “loud” and “rowdy” on social media and has made headlines on several occasions for its high crime rate.
In a Reddit thread titled “How bad is Blackpool?” users described it as “rundown”, “dirty” and “tacky”.
One user named @cantab314 wrote: “It suffers from poverty and deprivation, but is also a low-rent singles destination.
“The seafront is not bad but Blackpool town center can be quite rundown,” they added.
“When I’d been there I’d have stayed further away, like Fleetwood or Latham, and taken the tram in, but they didn’t come back late enough from a night out.”
Despite its reputation, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show Blackpool residents have high levels of life satisfaction, happiness and a sense of purpose.
“You could say this is what makes this city so welcoming,” the survey said.
“Our in-depth research shows that Blackpool has the highest number of five-star restaurants and hotels, with 143.3 per 100,000 people.”
Others chose to highlight the virtues of the northern seaside town.
Laurna Robertson noted on Twitter how peaceful and beautiful the beach is.
She wrote: “I could definitely get used to starting my day with a walk along a secluded beach. Didn't expect such a sense of peace and perspective.”
Others praised its energy and creativity, with one Reddit user named RhyGrooves declaring: “I can see Blackpool becoming a creative boomtown in the next few years!”
Runner-up Brighton ranked highly for life satisfaction and sense of value in life, and interestingly had the fourth-lowest happiness score out of the 50 destinations analysed. However, that doesn’t stop it from being at the top of our rankings.
The third-placed historic city of York is described as the “ideal location” for a UK city break due to its central location between London and Edinburgh.
The report explains: “Roman settlements and Viking invasions have enriched this place, giving it a complex but more importantly unique history, but it still displays a welcoming atmosphere within its ancient walls.
“Ranked sixth for life satisfaction and third for number of five-star hotels per capita, this delightfully traditional and friendly destination is truly worth a visit.”
London did not feature in the top rankings, ranking 24th with only 31.8 five-star hotels per 100,000 people.
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