The English Tourism Social Media Index is an annual league table of the 133 tourism bodies in England, ranked according to the best use of social media by their official social media channels.
Of the 133 tourism bodies analysed, 33 are counties and 100 are towns and cities within nine regions of England. This year's index includes five new tourist organisations compared to the last edition.
The English Tourism Social Media Index – part of a wider Social Media Index which was launched in 2013 – is compiled by measuring the social media performance of each tourism body based, not just on an algorithm, but also qualitative analysis by a panel of three judges.
Produced by PR and social media agency Umpf in association with TripAdvisor Rentals, the Index includes an overall table of all 133 English tourism bodies ranked first to last, a counties table, plus nine additional tables showing rankings based on bodies within Visit England's nine regions*.
This year, Visit Lincoln claimed the top spot with an impressive climb from 57th position last time round. In fact, seven of this year's top ten show notable rises up the table. Second place Visit Blackpool finished 74th in 2016, whilst Visit Exmoor has improved 78 places to finish seventh this year.
Visit Cornwall, last year's winner, has maintained a respectable top 10 finish, and Visit Thanet has improved one place to finish in the top three.
In the counties table, Visit Isle of Wight is awarded the top spot, followed closely by last year's winner Visit Cornwall.
Congratulations to the tourist bodies who topped the nine regional tables for best social media performance: North East – Visit Northumberland; North West – Visit Blackpool; Yorkshire & The Humber – Visit Leeds; East Midlands – Visit Lincoln; West Midlands –Destination Staffordshire; East of England – Visit Norfolk; London – VisitLondon; South West – North Devon Plus; South East – Visit Thanet.