Nobody likes to fall into a tourist trap. The kind of place that feels overpriced, overcrowded, and underwhelming. An attraction designed to fleece you of your money. A study by Radical Storage, luggage storage specialists, has ranked the world’s most disappointing tourist attractions. The study analyzed 95,352 visitor reviews of the 200 most frequented tourist spots globally.
Alton Towers, the U.K.’s biggest theme park, earned the dubious distinction of being the world’s most negatively reviewed attraction. Nearly 50% of the online reviews were negative (compared to an average of 10% for other attractions). Not far behind, more than a third of the reviews of Széchenyi Baths and Pool in Budapest, the largest in Hungary, were negative. The Thai-themed and owned Siam Water Park in Tenerife also has a similar percentage of bad reviews. The list is rounded out by the Time Out Market in Lisbon and Rome’s famously beautiful Trevi Fountain. So, what can visitors learn about avoiding tourist traps from this list?
Too many people and too much money, reviewers say
Alton Towers is a historic site that was once the private estate of the Talbot family, Earls of Shrewsbury. The grounds were opened in 1860 as an attraction to earn income to maintain the grounds. Thousands came to watch acrobats and animal performers, fireworks displays, and concerts. During World War II, the government requisitioned it for use as a military training camp. It wasn’t until the 1980s that it became a theme park with the arrival of its iconic Corkscrew rollercoaster.
Today, more than 2 million visitors a year come to Alton Towers. It’s undeniably popular and plenty of visitors have a great day riding the roller coasters. So, what makes it disappointing? Negative reviews say too many people and too much money. Long queues for rides, pricey food, and parking all contributed to the feeling of being ripped off according to Tripadvisor reviewers.
“Brilliant rides as always, shame about the prices and availability,” said one reviewer. Another visitor wrote: “Half of the rides were closed due to technical difficulties which meant queues for other rides were nearly 2 hours each. Only got on 4 rides all day. Take your own food too as prices are very high and food isn’t nice.” Yet another critic griped: “Very disappointing day out, the main rides kept breaking down, only managed to get on 4 rides in the day. Food and drinks were overpriced. Total waste of time and money, will not be returning in a hurry.”
How to avoid overcrowded attractions
