Warsaw, Poland – According to Booking.com, based on its 2018 guest experiences reviews, the Czech Republic and Poland respectively rank as the second and third most welcoming countries in the world.

For the seventh annual edition of the Guest Review Award, over 700.000 properties registered on the accommodation booking website received an award for great guest experiences. In total, the top countries that have received the most awards are Italy (over 100.000), Spain (46.000) and France (45.000), followed by Germany and the United States.

But based on the shares of top rated properties, Booking.com also revealed the most welcoming countries in the world: the Czech Republic and Poland are only outranked by Austria, that takes the top spot and is crowned friendliest country on Earth. The rest of the top 10 most welcoming countries on the planet is made up – in the right order – of New Zealand, Taiwan, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, Serbia and Greece.

Apart from friendly locals, both Poland and the Czech Republic have a lot to show for, and it’s not surprising that cities like Prague and Krakow have been attracting huge numbers of tourists year over year: not only do both countries rank among the safest in Europe and the cheapest in the EU, but they also, more broadly speaking, offer an incredible quality of life, both for short-term travelers and long-term expats, unmatched almost anywhere else in Europe.

Whether you travel to Poland and the Czech Republic to taste their amazing local food or their surprising home-made liquors, to stroll through the cobblestone streets of Bohemia’s old Medieval villages or wander off in the untapped wilderness of Poland’s north-east, to idly watch the sunset in Prague’s most beautiful parks or tour the region’s numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites, you’ll always find friendly people willing to help you along the way.

According to Booking. com, the most welcoming destinations in the world are Goreme (Turkey), Slunj (Croatia), Eluanbi (Taiwan), Niaga on the Lake (Canada) and Lake Tekapo (New Zealand).

The e-commerce travel website pointed out that nearly three-quarters of global travelers consider that friendly locals are one of their top priorities when choosing a destination for their next trip.

Founded in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com is now one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. It employs over 17.000 employees in 70 different countries worldwide.