The results give an overall score for each city, but also indicate which destinations are best for three different types of travellers; millennials, families and baby boomers.
Lisbon rated consistently high in all three categories, and did not perform particularly strongly in any single department.
As a company who lives and breathes weekend travel breaks, weekenGO undertook the study to define what exactly makes a city great for a short visit, and to help travellers of different age groups and dynamics to choose a destination which best caters to their interests.
To determine the categories for the study, weekenGO first considered what factors affect a weekend trip. Several criteria are important to travellers no matter their age or affluence, for example how easy a city is to navigate, the ease of finding accommodation and the number of green spaces. To highlight which cities are best for millennials, families and baby boomers, the number of social locations such as restaurants, bars and clubs were included, as well as cultural activities such as museums, art galleries and theatres. In addition, safety and tolerance were factored into the research, looking specifically at data on women’s rights and safety, LGBT friendliness and the perception of security.
To create the individual scores for millennials, families and baby boomers, weekenGO looked at traveller’s interests on a macro level to determine the best overall representative score. Each category is scored, with a high score indicating high desirability for this factor and a low score indicating a low level of attractiveness for tourists.
“Given the fact that we looked at over 1,000 cities worldwide, every destination that made it to this top 100 ranking ought to be on your weekend getaway bucket list,” commented Tobias Boese, co-founder and managing director of weekenGO. “Cities at the top of the ranking such as London, Paris and New York are iconic for a reason, but those cities at the bottom of the ranking such as Casablanca and Belgrade still have a great deal to offer for an unforgettable weekend trip.”