America’s biggest tourist traps revealed
A new study has revealed the biggest tourist traps in America. The research by vacation rental marketplace FloridaRentals.com analyzed TripAdvisor reviews for the top 230 tourist attractions in the United States. From there, only the attractions that required a paid admission ticket and that had over 100 one-, two- or three-star reviews were eligible for further analysis.
The reviews were then scanned for terms related to being overpriced, overrated and too expensive as well as other similar terms to determine the percentage of reviews that consider the attraction to be a ‘tourist trap’.
The Top Five
The Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, is the country’s biggest tourist trap 4.03% of reviews containing keywords related to being overpriced and overrated. There were a total of 814 reviews (that had a one-, two- or three-star rating) that stated that the attraction is expensive out of a total of 20,186 reviews.
Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, is the second biggest tourist trap in the country. Almost four percent (3.79%) of guests left underwhelmed, based on the analysis. Over 700 (713) comments referred to its price as ‘not worth it’ and ‘expensive’ and remarked there was ‘not much to see’ and it was ‘disappointing.’ Florida’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot World Showcase, and Universal Islands of Adventure also appear among the top 20 biggest tourist traps in America.
Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia places third with 2.92% of three-star reviews or lower mentioning that the historical museum was overpriced, overrated and too expensive.
In fourth is Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time of the study’s publication, there are 20,556 reviews for The King’s home, out of which 2,603 received either a one-, two- or three-star review. Of those reviews, 588 featured keywords related to the home being a tourist trap and too expensive for what the experience offered. This equated to a total of 2.86% of reviews, the fourth highest of the attractions assessed.
Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, takes fifth place with 2.55% of reviews citing the attraction as overpriced and a tourist trap. The aquarium has over 23,000 reviews, 610 of which contain negative reviews regarding the price and value.
Commenting on the study, a spokesperson from FloridaRentals.com said,“Tourists use travel forums and sites to find out which attractions are worth a visit. Any tourist wants to experience good value for money, especially when vacations are becoming less affordable.”
“By studying traveler sentiment, this study highlights which attractions visitors have complained about the most. The key, that these attractions need to consider, is creating a good experience and ensuring that it exceeds all expectations. Tourists should be able to understand the value of each experience, so they leave feeling their money has been well spent”.
How many of these popular destunatnations have you visited? See the Top 61 below!
The U.S. Attractions Considered the Biggest Tourist Traps According To Review Data
| Rank | Attraction | Location | State | Reviews Mentioning “Expensive” | Total 1-3 Star Reviews |
| 1 | Space Needle | Seattle | Washington | 814 | 3,428 |
| 2 | Busch Gardens | Tampa | Florida | 713 | 3,874 |
| 3 | Colonial Williamsburg | Williamsburg | Virginia | 377 | 1,690 |
| 4 | Graceland | Memphis | Tennessee | 588 | 2,603 |
| 5 | Georgia Aquarium | Atlanta | Georgia | 610 | 2,908 |
| 6 | The Island in Pigeon Forge | Pigeon Forge | Tennessee | 300 | 1,193 |
| 7 | Biltmore Estate | Asheville | North Carolina | 653 | 2,243 |
| 8 | Monterey Bay Aquarium | Monterey | California | 319 | 1,467 |
| 9 | Skydeck Chicago – Willis Tower | Chicago | Illinois | 384 | 2,775 |
| 10 | One World Observatory | New York City | New York | 578 | 3,189 |
| 11 | Cable Cars | San Francisco | California | 487 | 3,832 |
| 12 | Disney’s Hollywood Studios | Bay Lake | Florida | 515 | 5,300 |
| 13 | Empire State Building | New York City | New York | 1,575 | 11,400 |
| 14 | High Roller | Las Vegas | Nevada | 415 | 2,568 |
| 15 | Epcot World Showcase | Orlando | Florida | 188 | 1,472 |
| 16 | San Diego Zoo | San Diego | California | 462 | 2,650 |
| 17 | Universal Islands of Adventure | Orlando | Florida | 769 | 4,265 |
| 18 | Disney California Adventure Park | Anaheim | California | 220 | 1,722 |
| 19 | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum | Nashville | Tennessee | 188 | 1,543 |
| 20 | Grand Ole Opry | Nashville | Tennessee | 163 | 1,172 |
| 21 | Chihuly Garden and Glass | Seattle | Washington | 204 | 941 |
| 22 | Ryman Auditorium | Nashville | Tennessee | 106 | 852 |
| 23 | The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum | Key West | Florida | 151 | 1,851 |
| 24 | Louisville Mega Cavern | Louisville | Kentucky | 141 | 1,095 |
| 25 | Harrah’s Philadelphia | Chester | Pennsylvania | 98 | 4,698 |
| 26 | Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory | Key West | Florida | 73 | 556 |
| 27 | Rockefeller Center | New York City | New York | 114 | 2,391 |
| 28 | Hawaii Turtle Tours | Honolulu | Hawaii | 29 | 175 |
| 29 | Balboa Park | San Diego | California | 57 | 591 |
| 30 | John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park | Key Largo | Florida | 65 | 1,321 |
| 31 | Kauai Backcountry Adventures | Hanamaulu | Hawaii | 84 | 448 |
| 32 | Ole Smoky Distillery – The Holler | Gatlinburg | Tennessee | 66 | 863 |
| 33 | X-Treme Parasail | Honolulu | Hawaii | 21 | 212 |
| 34 | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans | Louisiana | 93 | 1,249 |
| 35 | Exotics Racing | Las Vegas | Nevada | 19 | 173 |
| 36 | Kipu Ranch Adventures | Lihue | Hawaii | 20 | 173 |
| 37 | Fantasmic! | Orlando | Florida | 42 | 1,020 |
| 38 | Sun Studio | Memphis | Tennessee | 36 | 508 |
| 39 | Mountain Valley Winery | Pigeon Forge | Tennessee | 7 | 163 |
| 40 | Grand Canyon South Rim | Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona | 54 | 581 |
| 41 | The Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago | Illinois | 55 | 594 |
| 42 | Arizona Safari Jeep Tours | Sedona | Arizona | 16 | 181 |
| 43 | A Day in LA Tours | Los Angeles | California | 15 | 145 |
| 44 | RTA – Streetcars | New Orleans | Louisiana | 32 | 1,987 |
| 45 | First Lady | Chicago | Illinois | 15 | 171 |
| 46 | USS Midway Museum | San Diego | California | 45 | 598 |
| 47 | Juneau Tours & Whale Watch | Juneau | Alaska | 16 | 188 |
| 48 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York City | New York | 82 | 2,086 |
| 49 | The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum | New York City | New York | 133 | 5,005 |
| 50 | Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area | Las Vegas | Nevada | 35 | 1,042 |
| 51 | King Fisher Fleet | Punta Gorda | Florida | 12 | 126 |
| 52 | River Ventures | Crystal River | Florida | 9 | 123 |
| 53 | Wild Horse Adventure Tours | Corolla | North Carolina | 15 | 246 |
| 54 | Old Mountain Wine Company | Gatlinburg | Tennessee | 4 | 155 |
| 55 | Little Toot Dolphin Adventure | Clearwater | Florida | 5 | 102 |
| 56 | New Orleans School of Cooking | New Orleans | Louisiana | 9 | 245 |
| 57 | Grim Philly Twilight Tours | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 5 | 155 |
| 58 | Happily Ever After Fireworks | Orlando | Florida | 18 | 588 |
| 59 | 9/11 Ground Zero Tour | New York City | New York | 11 | 211 |
| 60 | Sugarlands Distilling Company | Gatlinburg | Tennessee | 17 | 368 |
| 61 | The Haygoods | Branson | Missouri | 5 | 217 |
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(Cover photo: Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, Image credit: Facebook)
(Sources: FloridaRentals.com via TripAdvisor)
(Methodology: This study examines the top 230 U.S. attractions on TripAdvisor. First, it builds a seed list by selecting those venues that have received at least 100 one-, two-, or three-star reviews – on the assumption that lower-rated spots are more likely to be tourist traps. Next, all one-, two-, and three-star reviews (a total of 155,000 reviews were analyzed) for this subset are scanned for mentions of the attraction being “expensive” as well as other related keywords. Finally, the attractions are ranked by the percentage of reviews that states it is expensive. It is important to note, that only attractions that had an admission fee were counted.)(
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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