Skegness ranked alongside Syria for worst holiday destination

Residents of Skegness were outraged when a holiday ranking website compared them to war zone Syria, famished dictatorship North Korea, and quasi-lawless cities of Papua New Guinea.

Top 10 destination recommendations, and places to avoid, are ten a penny.

One however, from Destination Tips, caused a stir when it ranked the Lincolnshire seaside town alongside some of the world's most hostile environments.

The list, which some believe was a PR stunt, was considered something of a low blow for the town.

Particular the passage that describes the home of Billy Butlin (1899-1980) and Captain John Smith (1558-1631) as:

Once thought of as quaint seaside town in northern England, Skegness is now a pile of dirt bordering the North Sea with a run-down amusement park idly resting on the land.

Brits frequent this disappointing town hoping to spend some time at the beach, but travelling to Skegness has become a joke.

Also on the list of worst destinations (which put Skegness in ninth place) were:

1. Kiev, Ukraine
2. Port au Prince, Haiti
3. Damascus, Syria
4. Mogadishu, Somalia
5. Pyongyang, North Korea
6. Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
7. Bogota, Colombia
8. Dhaka, Bangladesh
9. Skegness
10. Port Moresby Papua New Guinea
11. Moscow, Russia

Councillor and Mayor of Skegness Dick Eginton told the Skegness Standard:

I have been horrified by the inappropriate comments. There seems to be certain people who seem to do nothing but denigrate British seaside resorts. Skegness is one of the best resorts in the country with the highest visitor numbers. There are record levels of investment in the resort at the moment which shows confidence in business, both from local and national companies.

Top investigative work by indy100 has found that Destination Tips originally published this ranking in November 2014.

It's resurgence and Cllr Eginton's decision to comment now remains a mystery.