Feel like you need a weekend getaway right about now? Well, it turns out we already live in the best place for one (though we’re not really sure if that’s good or bad news for travel-starved Angelenos).
The World Travel Awards has been handing out annual tourism accolades for just shy of three decades, and this year it’s awarded Los Angeles with the title of North America's Leading City Break Destination 2020.
We’ll admit that our first reaction to the “city break” distinction was “cool… what’s that?” Thanks to some help from Google and our European colleagues, we can tell you that a city break is essentially a long weekend, a spot that’s reachable by a short flight or a road trip and good for a couple of days away from home. As far as what specifically makes a place a great city break destination? World Travel Awards doesn’t really say. But apparently the travel industry insiders and members of the general public who voted found L.A. to have more of that city break allure than Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
L.A. picked up a few other North American titles, including leading design hotel for the Dream Hollywood and leading sports tourism destination (and votes came in before both the Lakers and Dodgers won their respective titles). There are also a couple of California-specific awards, and the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills was dubbed leading hotel in the state while Santa Monica’s Shutters on the Beach was bestowed with leading beach hotel.
If these last four paragraphs have suddenly turned you into a World Travel Awards watcher, then look out for the global winners to be announced on November 27; L.A. is up for awards for city break, business travel, lifestyle and sports tourism destination, plus—sort of shockingly—leading airport operator.
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