Taupō named among ‘most welcoming’ places on Earth

Tuesday, 28 January 2025

This little town of just 30,000 punches well above its weight with hidden gems

Taupō has been named one of the ‘most welcoming’ communities on Earth in Booking.com’s latest Traveller Review Awards, based on more than 360 million reviews from around the world.

Taupō was the only New Zealand - and Australasian - destination to make the list of the top 10 ‘most welcoming cities’ for 2025, despite being a town.

The others included Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, Cazorla in Spain, Urubici in Brazil, St Augustine in the US, Orvieto in Italy, Manizales in Colombia, Quedlinburg in Germany, Ko Lanta in Thailand and Chester in the UK.

Now in their 13th year, the booking giant’s Traveller Review Awards are based on the average of all guest reviews published on the Booking.com website and app between December 1, 2021 and November 30, 2024.

The most welcoming cities were determined by their share of accommodation partners with a Traveller Review Award.

Destination Great Lake Taupō general manager Patrick Dault said the organisation is honoured by the accolade, “especially because it comes as the result of authentic endorsements from visitors who’ve been here, stayed and enjoyed our special brand of Taupō hospitality…

Taupō was the only Australasian destination to feature in the ‘most welcoming cities’ list.

“There’s a bed for every head in Taupō and a warm welcome for everyone whether you’re here with the crowd for one of our popular big events or looking for some quiet time away from the buzz. Of course we’re not just talking about places to stay - our myriad of tourism operators are also out there welcoming visitors and helping them make exceptional memories.”

In addition to Taupō, the most welcoming places in Aotearoa were said to be: Havelock North, Whitianga, Cromwell, Lake Tekapo, Waihi Beach, Cambridge, Twizel, Russell and Wānaka.

Havelock North was named New Zealand’s most welcoming town in the 2024 awards.

This year’s awards recognised 1.71 million travel partners across 212 countries and territories.

Italy had the highest number of award recipients (207,703), followed by France (155,203), Spain (147,700), Germany (102,031), and the United Kingdom (88,209).

Apartments were the most-awarded accommodation type, earning over 847,000 awards globally. Holiday homes and baches were in second place with 259,105 awards, outperforming hotels, with 190,670 awards, for the third year running.

Where do you think is NZ’s most welcoming community? Vote in the poll above, and let us know why in the comments.