Birmingham has been named in booking.com’s top five trending destinations in the UK for 2023. This means Birmingham is set to be one of the most popular destinations for travellers to visit in the UK next year.
This has been announced as part of Booking.com’s annual Travel Predictions Report – revealing the most popular trends and where to go next year. Some of the top trends include off the grid trips, VR travel experiences and nostalgic trips.
The top 5 UK travel destinations on booking.com next year, are set to be: Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle and Preston.
Arjan Dijk, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Booking.com, said: “If the last few years have taught us anything it’s that travel should not be taken for granted. This year’s travel predictions research shows the undercurrent of intentional paradoxical behaviours that will put us all more comfortably in the driving seat amid relentless instability.
“It also demonstrates a desire for travel to be a way to seek unapologetic moments of happiness and escapism to counteract the heavy realities of our news feeds. As such, at Booking.com our aim will continue to be to make it easier for everyone to seek their unique travel bliss in a more personalized and connected way in the year ahead and beyond.”
To understand how travel will be reimagined in 2023, the company commissioned research with more than 24,000 travellers across 32 countries and territories, combining it with its insights as a leading digital travel platform to reveal seven emerging travel predictions.
The research revealed that a third (33%) of UK travellers want their travelling experiences to have a more back-to-basics feel and are looking for ‘off-grid’ style holidays to escape from reality (57%) and switch off and experience life with only the bare necessities (33%). UK travellers are also keen to use travel in 2023 as an opportunity to learn survival skills (54%) including how to source clean water (37%), light a fire from scratch (36%), forage for food in the wild (30%) and even prep for an apocalypse (30%).
With this all mind, we’ve taken a look at the some of the best attractions in Birmingham to see what really draws travellers to the city
5. Great restaurants
From numerous speakeasies and live music in piano bars to classy brunches you could find many hidden gems around the city to dine and drink at. Birmingham also has the most Michelin-star restaurants outside of the capital - including celebrity chef Glynn Purnell’s restaurant in Cornwall Street (pictured). And The Wilderness and Carters of Moseley recently made it into the Good Food Guide Top 20 Photo: Purnell’s
6. Cadbury World
For those who have a sweet tooth can venture to the Cadbury World factory for a tour around the factory, afternoon tea, a chocolate experience while finding out about the chocolate emporium. Over the school holidays, a special event is taking place - Freddo’s Festival of Fun. Photo: Getty Images
7. Birmingham Botanical Gardens
You may be in Birmingham, but you will be transported to a tropical wonderland in The Botanical Gardens where there are 15 acres of beautiful gardens, greenhouses and exotic birds to explore. Don’t miss the butterfly house filled with insects from around the world. | Shutterstock
8. World class theatre
Birmingham has a host of theatres with hosting some of the best productions in the world. The Hippodrome, Rep, Alexandra and more have plenty of shows to keep visitors entertained - and Stratford-upon-Avon is just up the road Photo: Manuel Harlan