Italy: Ischia named Best Island in the World

Rome: Ischia has been named best island in the world by readers of the American magazine Travel + Leisure in the 2022 edition of The World’s Best Awards, the annual international survey for top tourism destinations.

Readers are asked to rate islands according to their activities and sights, natural attractions and beaches, food, friendliness and overall value, with Ischia claiming the top spot with a score of 94.61.

The survey cites Ischia’s one-hour proximity to Naples and says there has been renewed international focus on the Italian island after it featured prominently in Elena Ferrante’s novel My Brilliant Friend which was adapted into a HBO series.

Travel + Leisure readers were enamoured by Ischia’s “picturesque villages, thermal springs, and unspoiled beaches, which include Le Fumarole and its geothermally heated sand”.

Luca D’Ambra, president of Ischia’s hotel federation Federalberghi, told news agency ANSA that “these are the awards that make us proud and allow us to present our island to the whole world adequately”, hailing Travel + Leisure as “a hallmark for global travellers”.

In the 2022 top 10 rankings of best islands, Ischia is folllowed by the Maldives, Bali, Mìlos, Fiji, the Galapagos, Phuket, Dominica, Boracay and Cape Breton.