Belfast has been named as one of the best cities for a winter holiday experience, with more than eight million seasonal hashtags on TikTok, a survey has found. London, New York, Manchester, Edinburgh and Paris round out the top five.
The study, conducted by online casino and sportsbook operator JeffBet, analysed social media data to determine the top 10 most talked-about cities in the UK, US, Canada and Europe in winter. The cities with the most desirable hashtags on TikTok, including #WinterInNewYork and #LondonChristmasMarkets, made the top ten.
London has emerged as the city with the best winter experience. In total, England's capital has almost 71 million winter-related hashtags on social media. For example, #LondonChristmasMarket has 10.9 million mentions on TikTok, along with countless places to visit, from 'Borough Market at Christmas' to 'Christmas in Covent Garden'.
New York ranks second in the top 10, with 69 million hashtags on Instagram and TikTok. New Year's Eve is the most popular hashtag relating to winter in New York; #NYENewYork has 6.4 million hashtags, and #NewYorkNYE has 1.3 million hashtags on the social media platform.
Manchester is the third-best winter city, with 25 million hashtags relating to winter. Despite often being called the "Rainy City", Manchester is filled with winter activities. The city is home to the first Christmas market in the UK, which attracts more than nine million visitors yearly, with 13.3 million hashtags for #ManchesterChristmasMarket and 11.3 million hashtags for #ManchesterChristmasMarkets.
In fourth place, Edinburgh has 24.1 million hashtags relating to winter on TikTok, with 3.7 million hashtags for #EdinburghWinter. Scotland's capital also has 12.8 million hashtags for #EdinburghChristmasMarket – which attracts more than 2.4 million people annually – and 2.2 million hashtags for #ChristmasMarketsEdinburgh.
Paris is the fifth best city to visit for a winter experience, with 21.1 million winter hashtags. France's capital city is filled with activities, from drinking authentic Parisian hot chocolate to seeing the world-famous Eiffel Tower while snow falls from the sky. New Year's Eve celebrations are quintessential in Paris, with #ParisNYE having 9.9 million hashtags and #NYEParis having 2.2 million hashtags on TikTok.
In sixth place is Vienna. Austria's capital has 12.8 million seasonal hashtags on TikTok, including 88,200 hashtags for #WinterInVienna. One winter experience that stands out is its iconic Christmas markets, with many stalls filled with seasonal food, drinks and trinkets. #ViennaChristmasMarkets has 9.9 million hashtags alongside 1.6 million for #ChristmasMarketVienna.
Berlin is the seventh-best winter city. In total, there are 1.2 million seasonal hashtags on TikTok, including 4.6 million for #BerlinWinter. Berlin's Christmas, bursting with mouth-watering stollen and Silesian bratwurst, is booming with tourists and residents eager for a winter experience. On TikTok alone, there are 3.7 million hashtags for #BerlinChristmasMarkets and 1.2 million for #ChristmasMarketBerlin.
In eighth place is Belfast. Nestled between picturesque mountains and Belfast Lough, its Christmas markets never disappoint with everything from fluffy Dutch pancakes to warming Irish coffee on offer. Northern Ireland's capital has 4.4 million hashtags for #BelfastChristmasMarkets and 1.5 million hashtags for #ChristmasMarketBelfast.
Vancouver – surrounded by breathtaking mountains that turn into the perfect skiing slopes in the wintertime – is the ninth best city for a winter experience on TikTok, with 7.5 million winter hashtags. Poland's Krakow rounds out the top 10 best winter experiences on TikTok, with 7 million seasonal hashtags.
