Condé Nast Traveler magazine has voted Victoria best city in the Americas, and Vancouver Island top North American Island at an awards ceremony held in New York City.

Victoria was awarded the top position for the Americas, followed by Vancouver and Quebec City. Victoria scored 96 out of 100 in ambience, second in the world only to Carmel, California. Victoria's overall rating was 80.7 out of 100 and Vancouver, which came in second, scored an overall 79.6 out of a possible 100.

Cities are rated on various criteria, including ambience, friendliness, culture/ sites, restaurants, lodging and shopping. This is the first year the magazine has divided cities into four specific geographical divisions: the Americas (Canada, Central America and South America), Asia/ Pacific, Africa /Middle East and United States.

"This is a very prestigious award," stated Tourism Victoria President & CEO Lorne Whyte. "Being awarded as the best city in the Americas confirms that American travellers recognize that Victoria is a world-class vacation destination. Winning this award will only help to increase the destination's profile, and draw more visitors to this spectacular city."

Vancouver Island was recognized as best North American Island, followed by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Kiawah, South Carolina. This is the second consecutive year that Vancouver Island has received this honour. Islands were broken down into four geographical categories: Asia/ Pacific, Caribbean/ Atlantic, European and North American.

Tourism Vancouver Island CEO Dave Petryk says "We're thrilled that readers of Condé Nast Traveler have chosen Vancouver Island as the top North American Island this year. We are so blessed by the environmental diversity of Vancouver Island from city to unsurpassed outdoor experiences, and we are delighted that the readers of this prestigious magazine have acknowledged Vancouver Island as a favourite vacation destination."

The 2003 Readers' Choice Awards, featured in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine, lists the world's top cities, islands, airlines, resorts, cruise lines and other travel related categories. The publication, with a per issue readership of 2 million, is considered an opinion leader in the travel field and has been conducting a Readers' Choice awards program for fifteen years.

©2003 by Barbara Ballard. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part and reproduction in electronic media, without documented permission from the author is prohibited.

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