Edinburgh comes out top in eco-friendly tourism with six eco-hotels per one million tourists

The Capital beat other UK cities to the top of the rankings.
Ten Hill Place came out as one of the top green hotels in EdinburghTen Hill Place came out as one of the top green hotels in Edinburgh
Ten Hill Place came out as one of the top green hotels in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the leading UK tourist destination for those seeking an environmentally friendly trip, new analysis by a travel agent has found.

Hayes & Jarvis ranked cities across the globe based on the availability of eco-friendly hotels and other environmentally beneficial activities, with the Capital coming out on top in the UK and ninth globally.

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The company based its ranking on the number of green-certified hotels, vegan restaurants, bicycle tours, and nature attractions.

The Kings Manor Hotel came out as one of the top green hotels in EdinburghThe Kings Manor Hotel came out as one of the top green hotels in Edinburgh
The Kings Manor Hotel came out as one of the top green hotels in Edinburgh

The analysis also found Edinburgh has six eco-friendly hotels for every million visitors to the Capital.

Green hotels, defined as hotels with a GreenLeaders certification on TripAdvisor, must show they are committed to green practices such as recycling, local and organic food, and electric car charging stations.

If accepted, they are then awarded either bronze, silver, gold or platinum status. The higher the status, the greater the impact of the hotel’s green practices.

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The two hotels with the highest ratings in the city are Ten Hill Place close to the Surgeons’ Hall and the Best Western Kings Manor Hotel.

Other high-performing green hotels include The Caledonian, the Radisson Collection Hotel on the Mile, Hilton DoubleTree in the city centre, the Novotel hotel in the city centre, Macdonald Holyrood Hotel, Ibis Edinburgh South Bridge, and Jurys Inn Edinburgh.

A spokesman for Hayes & Jarvis said: “At Hayes & Jarvis we are passionate about environmental protection and it is our aim to provide holidays that leave a positive impact on our destinations.

“In ‘Eco Escapes’ we chose to explore metrics that reflect this, such as green hotels, vegan restaurants, nature attractions and bike tours.

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“Our project showed that Edinburgh is the go-to destination in the UK for environmentally conscious travellers, as a combination index score of these four metrics puts the Scottish capital as the most eco-friendly destination in the UK.

“Travellers visiting Edinburgh can make their stay eco-friendly by staying in a green-certified hotel; there are six hotels with a GreenLeaders certification per million tourists in the capital.

“We also recommend spending time enjoying Edinburgh’s green spaces; there’s plenty of choice for visitors of all ages, with 19.9 nature attractions per million tourists, a nature attraction can include activities related to conservation, guided tours through nature spots and aquarium visits.”

The rankings put Edinburgh top of the UK list ahead of London, Glasgow and Manchester, and in the top ten of global eco-friendly tourist destinations.

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The top spot, however, was taken by San Francisco with the Brazilian holiday hotspot of Rio de Janeiro second and the home of the US government Washington DC third.

Also on the list are Atlanta, the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, Houston, the German capital Berlin, Los Angeles and the Poruguese capital Lisbon.

Below Edinburgh is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, Barcelona.

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