According to Statista's data, the number of international tourists traveling around the world last year almost reached a billion. Of course, this is not so much compared to the pre-pandemic 1.4 billion and more, but tourism is gradually recovering, and this is great. Today, if you have money and desire, you can go literally anywhere in the world, and the only question is picking a place.
And this is where various services like Tripadvisor, Booking and Google Maps come to the rescue with their reviews, rankings and so on, where almost every tourist venue has its own rating. Some of the world-famous attractions in these ratings justify their great fame, while others, on the contrary, look a tad bit overestimated. At least according to this study.
More info: Stasher
#1 Taj Mahal, India - 3.83/10
A masterpiece of Indian architecture, the tomb of the wife of the ruler of the Mughal Empire, who died in childbirth. The inconsolable husband ordered a luxurious mausoleum to be built for his wife, and years later he was buried there, next to her. Today, the Taj Mahal attracts millions of tourists and pilgrims from different countries, and has become one of the most recognizable architectural silhouettes in the modern world.
Image credits: Stasher
#2 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA - 5.39/10
The most visited national park in the United States, opened back in 1940. This park is home to the Appalachian Trail, the longest continuous hiking trail in the world. However, the location of the park in an industrialized region has been causing serious concern among environmentalists for many years.
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#3 Forbidden City, China - 5.41/10
The Forbidden City in Beijing is the former palace of the Chinese emperors and the largest palace complex in the world today. It is located in the very center of Beijing, and in 1987, the first of all sites in China, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Image credits: Anja Pietsch
Stasher is a luggage storage network headquartered in the UK, and since 2019 they have annually ranked the world's most popular attractions based on a range of different factors. These include reviews on the largest travel services and aggregators, Google reviews, distance to the nearest international airport, quality of local accommodation and tourist safety. The pervasive influence of TikTok is also not left out of focus - TikTok engagement is taken into account as well. In general, a rather complex calculation method - and pretty interesting results.
#4 Hollywood Walk Of Fame, USA - 3.42/10
One of Los Angeles' major tourist magnets, over 2.5K copper stars are embedded in the sidewalk here, celebrating film and music legends, show business figures and iconic characters. Simply approach the very first of the stars and you are guaranteed to be stuck there for several hours. Even if you are not at all interested in music and cinema...
Image credits: Stasher
#5 PortAventura World, Spain - 5.37/10
One of the largest theme parks in Europe, located in Tarragona, near Barcelona. An interesting feature of the park is its division into six thematic zones, representing one of the historical civilizations, and reproducing the characteristics of each of these cultures.
Image credits: Stasher
#6 Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, China - 4.89/10
A true gem of Hong Kong, Victoria Harbour has played a vital role in the city's development as a major shopping center. Today, the bay is well known for its scenic views from almost anywhere along the coast, and is considered a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
Image credits: Stasher
Now, we will not delve into the top of the highest-rated places on the planet - we will only say that the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest (7.34 points out of 10) leads the top 3, ahead of Disneyland Paris and the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Another thing is more interesting - it turns out that there are places that we traditionally consider iconic among tourists - but at the same time they show some really low rates among people. So can Stasher be considered a true myth buster?
#7 Busch Gardens, USA - 4.52/10
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, opened back in 1959, is well known for its numerous roller coasters. Importantly, here you can find several more special attractions for children under 9 years of age. The park's territory is also divided into several thematic zones, each with its own unique features.
Image credits: Stasher
#8 Disney's Magic Kingdom Park, USA - 5.41/10
Disney's second theme park located near Orlando, Florida. Opened in 1971, after the death of Walt Disney, however, it was planned and built according to his behests and ideas. The world-famous symbol of the park is Cinderella's Palace. Throughout most of the 21st century, it has traditionally been the most visited theme park in the world.
Image credits: Stasher
#9 Everland, South Korea - 5.17/10
The largest entertainment complex in Korea, located in the suburbs of Seoul. In addition to a variety of attractions, there is also a zoo and a water park. The resort is owned by Samsung Everland, which is part of the Samsung group.
Image credits: Stasher
“In fact, any such research is not a scientific work, but rather aimed at entertaining the public and attracting attention to the source where it is published,” says Valery Bolgan, the editor-in-chief of Intent news agency from Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “And such assessments are not a guide to action, although they are always interesting to read. To qualify for something serious, a study must include at least a transparent, scientifically based methodology for calculations. After all, the authors here operate with rather subjective concepts - such as public approval.”
#10 Ocean Park, Hong Kong, China - 4.96/10
Opened in 1977, at the turn of the millennium Ocean Park experienced a major crisis and almost closed. Nevertheless, the board managed to attract new investors, work out a detailed development plan - and a decade later the park entered the world's top ten theme parks in terms of annual attendance.
Image credits: Stasher
#11 Lotte World, South Korea - 4.80/10
Lotte World in the Korean capital was opened in 1989, and six years later it was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest indoor amusement park on the planet. Here you can also find a museum, several cinemas, and the country's largest ice skating rink. And in addition, under the roof of Lotte World there is also the so-called “Magic Theater”, where you can watch performances by magicians.
Image credits: Stasher
#12 Great Wall of China, China - 5.05/10
The largest architectural monument in the world, the only structure made by human hands, which, with good visibility, can be seen from earth’s orbit with the naked eye. One of the main symbols of China and a constant magnet for any tourist heading to this country.
Image credits: Stasher
"In other words, if a person came with their family to a national park for a weekend, and along the way, let's say say, they had a fight with someone at a gas station or they just had a headache - it is likely that this will affect the quality of the review. At least the perception of time spent in the park will highly likely be completely different. This also needs to be taken into account. And let's just look at the three lowest rated places on this list. Is the Taj Mahal no longer an architectural masterpiece, don't you really want to visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame if you are in Los Angeles? Of course no. So this, it seems to me, is a very interesting rating, looking educational - but nothing more,” Valery summarizes.
#13 Pier 39, USA - 5.27/10
One of San Francisco's top tourist attractions. In addition to many restaurants and entertainment venues, you can also see the city marine aquarium here, and there is also a traditional sea lion rookery located nearby. The area is also home to many of the city's holiday events, including the spectacular fireworks display for Independence Day.
Image credits: Stasher
#14 Fushimi Inari Taisha, Japan - 5.04/10
Temple complex Inari - the deity of abundance, rice, foxes and success in Shintoism, Japanese traditional religion. The oldest buildings date back to 711, and in the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous military and political figure in Japan, ordered the construction of a beautiful two-story gate at the entrance to the sanctuary.
Image credits: Stash
#15 Grand Bazaar, Turkey - 3.48/10
Located in the old part of Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world. There are more than 400 different shops on the 66 streets of the Grand Bazaar, and almost half a million shoppers and tourists come here every day. And then the tourists, thanks to the incomparable skill of local sellers, also become shoppers...
Image credits: Stasher
Be that as it may, it's always interesting to see which iconic landmarks around the world are included in similar lists of the lowest-rated sites. Even if you have not been to any of them, and if you have, then there's an opportunity to compare your own impressions with the rating presented. For example, I've been to two of the fifteen places that are on this list - and I still liked them. And what about you? Please feel free to share your own opinions in the comments below - but not before scrolling to the very end.
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