MORAY HAS BEEN voted as the top-ranking holiday county on the UK Mainland, according to the average ratings of those who know best – people who have spent a holiday in the region.

That is the findings of a study published this week by the online holiday lettings company operated by TripAdvisor. According to holidaylettings.co.uk, Moray is the third-top destination their customers most like to visit – narrowly beaten only by Northern Ireland’s County Fermanagh and County Down.

From the Whisky Trail on Speyside to the stunning beauty of the Moray Coast, visitors have been so impressed that they gave Moray an average rating of 4.91 – beating other national destinations such as Caernarvonshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England.

Moray also beat off competition from Scottish destinations Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Aberdeenshire, who also appear in the 12 Top-Rated UK counties in the study that looked at holiday ratings submitted between November 2013 and November 2015.

A spokesman for the Moray Coast Tourism group welcomed the news, saying: “This comes hot on the heels of another Holiday Lettings study during the summer that placed Lossiemouth as one of the top 25 seaside resorts in the UK.

“It has been a fantastic year for tourism in Moray – major events such as the European Pipe Band Championships, the Spirit of Speyside whisky festival and the World Orienteering Championships has exposed the secrets of our region to more people than ever before.

“It is also a very timely boost, as representatives from five main towns in Moray – Elgin, Lossiemouth, Buckie, Forres and Keith – will be attending Expo 2016 at the Royal Highland Exhibition Centre in April to promote our region to the leading Tourism decision makers.”

The results of the Top 12 Counties in the UK study can be read here .