Kent celebrates international acclaim this week, after the county was placed number four on a list of the world's best regions to visit in 2022 by Lonely Planet.

This announcement forms part of the global travel authority's release of Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022, which unveils its top 10 countries, cities, and regions to visit next year. The county of Kent, often referred to as The Garden of England, is the only UK destination to feature within this year's illustrious round-up with a particular focus on Kent's Heritage Coast.

Kent's Heritage Coast, part of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), was praised for its commitment to sustainable tourism initiatives, combined with the regeneration of the historic town of Dover, Creative Folkestone, and plans to establish a UNESCO Global Geopark recognised within the region's entry.

The publisher also highlighted Kent's involvement in two Interreg funded projects; the EXPERIENCE project, which supports local tourism and hospitality businesses in developing new, low-environmental impact, year-round tourism experiences including accessibility improvements in the Kent countryside. In addition, the UNESCO Sites Across the Channel project aims to boost sustainable development and inclusion through seeking UNESCO designation. 

Best in Travel 2022 is Lonely Planet's 17th annual collection of the world's hottest destinations and the must-have travel experiences for the year ahead. Nominations are received from Lonely Planet's vast community of staff, writers, and publishing partners, before being whittled down by a panel of travel experts. Each destination is chosen for its topicality, unique experiences, 'wow' factor, and ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism practices.

Deirdre Wells OBE, Visit Kent Chief Executive, said: “We are incredibly excited and hugely honoured to see Kent's Heritage Coast cited as one of Lonely Planet's best travel destinations for 2022. This stretch of our glorious county is home to sandy beaches and iconic chalk faces, alongside thriving cultural hotspots and an exciting, rolling programme of events.

Our ongoing work with Kent's tourism businesses and colleagues at the Kent Downs AONB - as part of the Interreg EXPERIENCE project - has allowed us to develop a host of brand-new products for market, which support our destination's green recovery following the significant effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are continuing to strive for new, low-impact ways that visitors can experience the Garden of England in-line with changes in consumer demand, and ultimately look forward to welcoming visitors to enjoy Kent's Heritage Coast first-hand in 2022 and beyond.”

Nick Johannsen FLI, Director of the Kent Downs AONB Unit said: “We are absolutely delighted that Kent's Heritage Coast has been recognised globally and are honoured that this part of Kent is flying the flag for sustainable tourism in the UK. This is a real testament to the beauty of our landscape and a reminder of how important it is to tread lightly as we enjoy the countryside and coastline.

Our team and partnership are dedicated to promoting careful, inclusive, sustainable tourism so that the visitor economy benefits us all, our businesses, our visitors, our communities, and the extraordinary landscapes we are here to conserve and enhance. The Lonely Planet's recognition of the landscape and our work is just so important and empowers us to have even greater ambition.

Kent's Heritage Coast is well connected by train, including the high-speed link to London, and we encourage people to travel sustainably and think of taking slow ways, like walking or cycling. Explore hidden gems away from the crowds, particularly during the beautiful off-season in Autumn and Winter, and join authentic experiences with local experts knowing that by visiting responsibly you're helping to support the landscape and local economy.”

Lonely Planet's VP of Experience Tom Hall commented: 'Over the last year we have truly come to appreciate the beauty on our doorstep and the need to travel more responsibly. Kent's Heritage Coast offers a unique combination of history, heritage, stunning and iconic natural landscapes and is now a leader in sustainable tourism initiatives. Already recognised as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the county is implementing ambitious plans to establish a Global Geo Park, has created a cross-channel collaboration with regions in France to protect shared nature and heritage as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as developing community projects to benefit locals and visitors alike. It is this forward-thinking approach and commitment to regenerative tourism that has rated the region so highly in this year's Best in Travel list.”

This latest accolade comes at a particularly pertinent time as Kent's tourism and hospitality sector, worth £4.1 billion to the local economy pre-pandemic, works to rebuild a vibrant and resilient industry for the future.

Visit Kent, the county's official destination management organisation, will shortly be launching a partnership with AccessAble to continue to improve accessibility across the county. This, along with plans to launch a sustainability pledge encouraging consumers to make small changes whilst visiting the destination, are two examples of the ongoing commitment from Kent's tourism and hospitality industry to ensure that visitors receive a welcoming, inclusive, and enjoyable experience, whilst ensuring that travellers have a positive impact for the future.

The Kent Downs AONB are supporting new Changing Places toilets in Kent Country Parks so that severely disabled people, their carers, and their families are able to enjoy a day out in the Kent countryside, confident in the knowledge that there is a toilet nearby that will meet their needs. This is part of an ongoing commitment to understanding and addressing the barriers to accessing the countryside and supporting greater inclusion in access so that more people can enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of nature. The new toilets are funded by the EXPERIENCE project.

The Kent Downs AONB will soon launch new bookable sustainable rural tourism experiences and itineraries on their website for visitors to explore wellbeing in nature, delicious food and drink, outdoor adventures, transformative pilgrimage, relaxing tranquillity, family fun, and everything in between.

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 - Destination Top 10's

Top 10 Countries

1. Cook Islands
2. Norway
3. Mauritius
4. Belize
5. Slovenia
6. Anguilla
7. Oman
8. Nepal
9. Malawi
10. Egypt

Top 10 Regions

1. Westfjords, Iceland
2. West Virginia, USA
3. Xishuangbanna, China
4. Kent's Heritage Coast, UK
5. Puerto Rico
6. Shikoku, Japan
7. Atacama Desert, Chile
8. The Scenic Rim, Australia
9. Vancouver Island, Canada
10. Burgundy, France

 Top 10 Cities

1. Auckland, New Zealand
2. Taipei, Taiwan
3. Freiburg, Germany
4. Atlanta, USA
5. Lagos, Nigeria
6. Nicosia / Lefkosia, Cyprus
7. Dublin, Ireland
8. Merida, Mexico
9. Florence, Italy
10. Gyeongju, South Korea

The Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 guidebook is available now where all good books are sold or online at www.lonelyplanet.com.  

UK £11.99 I Hardback.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

For further media information on Visit Kent and images please contact PR & Brand Manager Lana Crouch on lana.crouch@visitkent.co.uk or call 01227 812914.

For further information on the Kent Downs AONB, our sustainable tourism project EXPERIENCE, and our Geopark ambitions please contact Communications Manager Kate Hickey, Kate.Hickey@kentdowns.org.uk or EXPERIENCE Marketing and Communications Officer, Charlie Lewis Charlie.Lewis@kentdowns.org.uk.   

About Visit Kent

Visit Kent Ltd is the Destination Management Organisation for Kent (the Garden of England), welcoming 66.5 million visitors a year, championing the county's £4.1 billion tourism industry, and supporting more than 81,000 jobs.

It is recognised as one of the country's leading DMOs, targeting UK and overseas markets to raise Kent's profile as a premier destination, improving quality and skills within the industry, and growing investment in tourism. Visit Kent is a public/private sector partnership supported by Kent County Council, Medway Council, district and borough councils, and the leading sector tourism businesses in Kent.

For further information visit www.visitkent.co.uk (consumer) or www.visitkentbusiness.co.uk (business), or tweet @visitkent.

About the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is an exceptional landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so precious that they are safeguarded in the national interest. The Kent Downs AONB is the eighth largest of 46 AONBs across England, Wales and Northern Ireland which cover one fifth of the UK. AONBs have the same legal landscape protection status as National Parks. Together with National Parks, AONBs represent our most outstanding landscapes; unique and irreplaceable national assets, each with such distinctive character and natural beauty that they are recognised internationally as part of the global protected areas family to be managed in the interest of everyone – local residents, businesses, visitors, and the wider public - and protected for future generations.

The Kent Downs AONB offers dramatic views, vibrant communities, a rich historic and cultural heritage and diverse wildlife and habitats making it a worthy landscape for national protection. It is home to the North Downs Way National Trail which stretches 153 miles from Dover into the Surrey Hills AONB via the ancient pilgrim route, The Via Francigena, and the historic city of Canterbury. The Kent Downs offers a wealth of opportunities for people to explore, enjoy and benefit from this outstanding landscape. To find walks and activities across the Kent countryside and coastline, including the England Coast Path, visit our partners Explore Kent www.explorekent.org.

The Kent Downs AONB Unit works in partnership with many organisations on the ground across the AONB to conserve and enhance the landscape, as well as support a sustainable local economy and the health and wellbeing of its residents and visitors. It champions positive, proactive, and urgent nature-based approaches for climate change mitigation and adaptation which support the landscape character and ecosystem of the AONB.

For further information on the Kent Downs AONB visit www.kentdowns.org.uk and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @kentdownsaonb.

About the EXPERIENCE Project

EXPERIENCE is a €23.3 million project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (€16 million) through the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme and designed to develop the experiential off-season economy in the future in a safe and sustainable way. The project is a 4-year scheme that runs from 1st September 2019 to 30th June 2023, involving 14 partners in France and England. Led by Norfolk County Council, both Visit Kent and the Kent Downs AONB are core partners with distinctive roles underpinned by budgets of €1.6 and €3.1 million respectively. EXPERIENCE aims to capitalise on the emerging global trend for personalised and local tourism experiences which increasingly provide the all-important reasons to visit pilot locations.

For further information visit https://kentdowns.org.uk/our-projects/kent-experience-project/

About the UNESCO Sites Across the Channel Project

This is an exciting opportunity to work with partners and communities across Kent to secure a globally recognised UNESCO designation for the Kent Downs AONB, including Kent's Heritage Coast from Dover to Folkestone. The project will also deliver new sustainable tourism initiatives, as well as a Landscape Festival in 2022. Ultimately, UNESCO Sites Across the Channel seeks to celebrate and protect our natural and cultural assets whilst contributing to the sustainable development of the local economy. This project by runs from 2021-2023 and is funded by the EU Interreg Channel programme of the European Regional Development Fund. The Armorique Regional Nature Park is the project leader working alongside partners Kent Downs AONB, Caps et Marais d'Opale Regional Nature Park, Natural Area Conservatory of Hauts-de-France, and Isle of Wight AONB.

For further information visit https://kentdowns.org.uk/our-projects/unesco-sites-of-the-channel/