Have Brits fallen out of love with Blighty?

This is the question we’ve made our mission to answer at Leonardo Hotels! Through a series of surveys we hope not only to discover how much Brits really know about their home country, but to track down and crown the nation’s brainiest resident in the process. According to our first wave of results however, the answer seems to be yes, we’ve lost sight of what makes Great Britain so great.

We asked Brits all kinds of questions about the place they call home, and were surprised by what we found. Over 75% of people polled were unable to point out major UK cities such as Sheffield (85%), Birmingham (83%) and Liverpool (76%) on a map.

The study also revealed that over a third (36%) do not know where Stonehenge is, and regionally the nation didn’t fare much better. When shown pictures of iconic landmarks, over a third (39%) of Scots didn’t recognise the iconic St Andrews, and a quarter (25%) of Londoners were unable to name the Gherkin. It seems Brits are increasingly overlooking sights and landmarks right on their door step, as one fifth of those surveyed claim to have visited more landmarks abroad than in their home country, with Rome (53%), Sydney (51%) and San Francisco (25%) all topping the destination list.

Commenting on the findings, Suzanne Cannon, Group Marketing Manager at Leonardo Hotels said: “Our study has unveiled that Brits seem to be falling out of love with Blighty. Instead of wanting to explore more of their local cities and home country, they are being influenced by what they see on TV and in films, to escape abroad.

“The ‘staycation’ may not appeal to everyone, but with a lack of UK knowledge in the first instance, Brits are not necessarily aware of the amazing attractions they could be exploring. We were surprised at stats such as almost a quarter (23%) of those polled being unable to name iconic locations including Angel of the North, so we’re making it our mission to help the nation fall back in love with Britain with ‘Leonardo Hotel - The Verdict’- a campaign that puts the nation to the test and celebrates everything ‘Great’ about Great Britain. ‘The Verdict’ will include a series of pub quiz challenges to find and celebrate the most knowledgeable Brit, who knows Britain inside out.’

With 22 UK hotels located in the heart of city centres, as well as staff who know the cities well and can advise on the best hidden gems, we’re encouraging guests to take advantage of this knowledge to fall in love with Blighty again and explore sites, landmarks and attractions that are on their doorstep.