Canadian destination named one of the biggest tourist traps in the world
New York City’s Time Square, Paris’ Eiffel Tower, and Canada’s Niagara Falls.
What do all of these popular attractions have in common? A new report has named them as some of the world’s biggest tourist traps in 2023.
This may not surprise Ontarians, who probably only ever venture out to “the better side” of the falls when friends or relatives visit.
Casago
But Niagara Falls and other world-famous destinations didn’t make the list just because of how crowded they can get.
The report, conducted by vacation rental company Casago, defines the term “tourist trap” as a tourism hotspot with establishments that target travellers with overpriced experiences and souvenirs.
In order to parse out which attractions are actually worth the visit, and which ones are just cash grabs, Casago searched for the phrase “tourist trap” on Tripadvisor with no location filter applied.
It found global attractions with the most mentions of “tourist trap” in their reviews.
Niagara Falls made the list as the seventh biggest tourist trap in the world, and took first place in Canada.
Casago found 475 mentions of “tourist trap” in the natural wonder’s Tripadvisor reviews.
“One reviewer complained that ‘every attraction dumped you into a gift shop,'” reads the report.
Nothing like getting soaked on the classic Niagara Falls boat tours, only to dry off in the gift shop when you return.
This week’s forecast: sunny with a strong possibility of mist. ☀️💦
We’re opening this Thursday which will be our earliest open in history, and ready to voyage to the falls with you!More info: https://t.co/PZ2mBKux2e pic.twitter.com/v7NfRytvC4
— Niagara City Cruises (@CruiseNiagara) March 14, 2023
But even though Niagara certainly entices tourists to splurge on Clifton Hills fun houses and tours that show every angle imaginable of the falls, it wasn’t the list’s main culprit.
San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf took the top spot for the biggest tourist trap in the world, with 1,050 mentions of the word in its reviews.
“Reviews mentioning the phrase ‘tourist trap’ highlight the district’s ‘overpriced restaurants’ and ‘tacky touristy tat,’ while others take issue with the local wildlife (‘a desperate seagull attacked my fried calamari’),” reads the report.
Following behind the California neighbourhood are Barcelona’s Las Ramblas, Dublin’s Temple Bar, and Iceland’s Blue Lagoon.
Have you fallen for any of these tourist traps? Let us know in the comments.
Follow Channels and Categories