29 February 2012 is important for two reasons. First, it signifies the leap year – the day when the ladies traditionally pop the marriage question rather than the other way around. Second, 29 February is also the deadline for submitting travel entries to the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2012 Grand Tour. As far as the leap year tradition goes, WTA has listed out ten of the most romantic places in the world so that women in love can pick out a suitably amazing spot to propose marriage. A good venue can make all the difference between a “yes” and a “no”. Where would you go? The Taj Mahal in India? William and Kate’s preferred Lewa Downs in Kenya? Or maybe, the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Take a look at WTA’s top 10 romantic picks.
1. Taj Mahal, India
2. Lewa Downs, Kenya
3. Antarctica
4. Rialto Bridge, Venice
5. Iguazu Falls, Argentina
6. Roseberry Topping, Yorkshire
7. Sahara Desert, Morocco
8. The Pitons, St Lucia
9. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
10. Snowshill, Cotswolds, UK
In the meanwhile, budget and luxury travel organizations are racing against time to submit their entries for the 2012 edition of WTA. Thankfully, online entries are possible on the official website of the so-called “Oscars of the travel industry”. The nominees will be announced in March. Following this, 217,000 travel agents and professionals from the travel industry across 162 nations will pick their favorites.
The regional winners will be announced at separate events held at Dubai, Turks & Caicos, The Algrave and Seoul. The regional winners will then compete for top honors at the Grand Final to be held in The Oberoi in Gurgaon, New Delhi, India.
I enjoyed this article and thought of my experience in some of those places. I wouldn’t consider the Rialto Bridge romantic at all. It is besieged with people all hours of the day and night. The crowd would be a turn off for anyone, I would think. I was surprised no US location made the top 10. That is really a shame. NY Central Park Bow Bridge is so much more beautiful and serene.