It’s official: the Sunshine Coast is the most loved destination in the world.

The incredible accolade was announced by the Tourism Sentiment Index.

This tracked the sentiment of travellers online across a staggering 1.8 billion conversation and content pieces in 2021 to determine how people felt about destinations around the world.

Queensland dominated the top 100, with the Sunshine Coast no.1, followed by Whitsundays in second, Noosa at no. 5 and Cairns at no. 9.

Udaipur in India ranked 3rd, French Polynesia’s Bora Bora fourth, Nice (France) 6th, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) 7th, Cancun (Mexico) 8th and Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) 10th.

The complete list of the world’s most loved destinations as outlined by the Tourism Sentiment Index can be viewed at: https://www.sentiment-index.com/most-loved

Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said the announcement was amazing news given this survey was based on worldwide word-of-mouth sentiment.

“The Tourism Sentiment Index is a measure of a destination’s ability to generate positive word of mouth about its tourism offering, and our number one status reflects how well the Sunshine Coast is delivering on its visitor experience,” Mr Stoeckel said.

“It’s a huge endorsement of the Sunshine Coast as a premium tourist destination,” he said.

“With international borders set to open, the fact that the Sunshine Coast resonates so strongly overseas highlights the potential we have to regrow our visitor numbers.

“We have been using the last year to emphasise the Sunshine Coast’s nature-based experiences, along with our food, health and wellness assets, and this survey shows that our messages have really struck a chord with potential travellers.”

For more on the Sunshine Coast, go to visitsunshinecoast.com.