British tourism chiefs today expressed disappointment that no UK attractions had made it into a list of top 50 world travel destinations.

The dream destination table was devised by BBC1's Holiday programme, and compiled from viewers' votes. The Grand Canyon was in first place, followed by Australia's Great Barrier Reef, with Florida's Walt Disney World in third, but there were no British Isles locations in the list, with the nearest being Paris in 27th place.

English Tourism Council spokesman Ken Kelling said today: "It's disappointing as the UK has as much to see as anywhere in the world. Windsor Castle and Stonehenge are considered among the wonders of Britain and I believe we can compete on a world tourism stage. If Britons are asked about dream destinations around the world, perhaps they do not consider what's on their own doorstep. If foreigners had been asked about world dream destinations, they may well have selected some British ones."

South Island in New Zealand, used for location shots in the Lord of the Rings films, was fourth in the list, with Cape Town fifth, India's Golden Temple at Amritsar sixth and American gambling town Las Vegas seventh. Sydney was eighth, New York ninth and India's Taj Mahal 10th.

Also in the top 20 were Ayers Rock in Australia (12th), Niagara Falls (15th), the Pyramids (17th) and the Great Wall of China (20th). Other top tourist spots which made the top 50 included Victoria Falls (20th), Paris (27th), Mount Everest (30th), Rome (35th), and Barbados (43rd).