There’s no argument to be had here, Birmingham Christmas Market is the best in the UK. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s a fan. Many find it far too much like hard work as they weave endless wooden chalets and festive crowds, which is why it’s been named the UK’s most stressful Christmas market.
Every year, it’s one of the biggest, longest and best in the UK, so is always going to attract a few negative comments. But it offers a more stressful experience for visitors than 33 other Christmas markets across the UK. That’s according to a new study by lifestyle magazine Dailybase that crowned the Frankfurt Market as the most stressful to visit based on Tripadvisor reviews.
The factors considered were the percentage of ratings that awarded 4 and 5 stars for each market as a proportion of all reviews, and the proportion of ratings giving just 1 or 2 stars. As well as this, the study analysed over 150 positive terms in reviews such as “calm”, “affordable”, and “amazing”, in addition to more than 150 negative terms such as “crowded”, “expensive” and “disappointing”. The percentage of reviews for each market that contained one or more of these categorised terms was then calculated.
These factors were collated and weighted equally, and each market received an index score of 100 for how stressful they may potentially be for visitors, the lower the score, the higher the likelihood of a stressful experience. Scoring lowest in the index with just 4.21 out of 100, Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market tops the list as the most stressful in the UK.
Then there’s a small jump to Edinburgh Christmas Market scoring 9.64 out of 100. So it wasn’t even close. A significant 55.02% of reviews of Birmingham Christmas Market contained negative words, and 79.65% of ratings were 1 or 2 stars. However, only 12.55% of visitors gave it 4 or 5 stars, the lowest among all UK markets analysed, and positive terms were found in just 34.06% of reviews.
Daniël de Voer, chief editor of Dailybase, commented on the findings: “Christmas markets offer the perfect opportunity to get into the spirit of the season. However, the findings reveal that some of the most popular markets that are anticipated to draw millions of visitors over the period and can draw large crowds may result in an overwhelming experience for some visitors—especially on evenings and weekends.”
On the other side of the spectrum, the least stressful UK Christmas market was Treacle Market in Macclesfield, with only 28.16% of reviews containing one of the 150 negative words analysed by the study. Then again, it’s not really a proper Christmas market, is it? Birmingham Christmas Market will always have its detractors, but to use it, there’s no better spot for a touch of festive magic.
The most stressful Christmas markets in the UK:
- Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market
- Edinburgh Christmas Market
- Manchester Christmas Market
- Bath Christmas Market
- York Christmas Market