Which country makes your heart skip a beat at the warm and fuzzy memories it inspires? Universal Pictures and lastminute.com today announced the world’s most romantic destination to be the nation which for some might conjure up images of gondolas and cornettos - Italy.
Over the past two weeks over 2000 people have logged on to www.lastminute.com/theholiday to vote for their favourite romantic destination on an interactive Google Earth map. We can today reveal the top five most popular romantic spots to be:
1) Italy
2) Maldives
3) Caribbean
4) USA
5) Seychelles
John Bevan, Travel Director, lastminute.com says: “There can be few experiences as romantic as wandering the little streets at the heart of Rome at night, or draining another glass of limoncello on a restaurant terrace overlooking the Mediterranean, so it’s not surprising that our customers have voted Italy as the most romantic destination in the world. However, it’s interesting to see that the typical honeymoon destinations of the Caribbean and the Seychelles have been pushed from pole position, suggesting that our customers want more inspiration from their romantic destination than just lazing around on a idyllic beach.”
Valerio Scoyni, Managing Director of The Italian Tourist Board says: “We are thrilled that Italy has been voted number one. Italy is country of extremes, with something to offer everyone: from snow-iced mountains to hot lazy Mediterranean beaches, from unspoilt fishing villages to cities that have bustled for thousands of years. The rich cultural heritage, stunning natural landscapes, unique architecture, stylish people, beautiful food and exquisite wines means that it would be difficult for anyone not to find some romance here.”
To survey was commissioned to celebrate the DVD release of hit romantic comedy The Holiday on Monday 26th March 2007.
lastminute.com, the UK’s leading travel and leisure website has the inside track on where’s hot and perhaps not a good place to find love, and has unearthed its suggestions on a the Google map. Visitors will be given choices of great deals available at each destination and have the opportunity to book their romantic break directly from the map. lastminute.com is also giving users the chance to win a luxury 7-night holiday for 2 to Los Angeles.
In the film The Holiday, Director Nancy Meyers delivers a star studded smash hit romantic comedy, in which two women change addresses only to find that they change their lives. Despite living miles apart, they find themselves in the same place and decide it’s time for a holiday.
In Los Angeles, neurotic movie trailer guru Amanda (Cameron Diaz) has just split up with her cheating boyfriend, Ethan (Edward Burns) so decides she needs a break. Across the globe in Surrey, Daily Telegraph journalist Iris (Kate Winslet) is equally as heartbroken when her handsome boss Jasper (Rufus Sewell) whom she is madly in love with, announces his engagement to another woman. Inconsolable and undeniably single and alone, Iris decides the only thing to do is to make alternative plans for the impending Christmas holiday. Having never met and living 6000 miles apart, they are united on a common ground…men. When they meet on a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes, their lives will change forever. Iris takes up residence in Amanda’s lavish pad in sunny California as Amanda arrives in Iris’ idyllic, snow covered English cottage. Yet despite their longing for solitude and time for reflection, the one thing neither women wanted or expected, arrives on their doorstep – a holiday romance. Amanda thinks she has made the wrong decision in coming to the UK, but when Iris’ handsome older brother Graham (Jude Law) turns up drunk on her doorstep, things take a turn for the better. Meanwhile Iris, living in luxury in Amanda's mansion in Beverly Hills, soon finds comfort and joy in the company of elderly neighbour Arthur (Eli Wallach), a legendary ex-screenwriter, but more importantly attraction to funny and charming film composer, Miles (Jack Black).
As past relationships and emotional ties surface, will it be a holiday fling or something special? With hilarious and heartwarming moments, the Holiday is the No 1 choice for any comedy fan, romantic or not so. So what are you waiting for…go for a Holiday!
Will romance find you across the globe? Log on to www.lastminute.com/theholiday now to find out.