The Truth Exposed on WA’s Most Hyped Tourist Attractions

3 of the World’s Top 100 “Tourist Traps" are in Washington

Have you traveled to an overcrowded, well-publicized attraction that left you disappointed?

You're not alone.

Last month, USA Today published the top 100 tourist traps on the planet. Their four-page listing used several weighted metrics.

In July 2023, we analyzed 23.2 million Google reviews of the 500 most popular tourist attractions in the world, spanning 65 countries on six continents. For each attraction, we asked a simple question: How frequently do the reviews mention the terms “tourist trap,” “overrated” or “expensive”? We compared attractions to one another by measuring the relative frequency of these mentions, dividing the number of mentions in each case by the total number of reviews for that attraction.- USA Today 

 

 

Washington has three locations on the notorious Top 100 Tourist Trap list

Seattle’s Pike Place Market was ranked 10th worldwide - with over 63,000 reviews, 355 people listed it as a tourist trap to avoid. Underneath the iconic Pike Place Market Clock, the fish throwers are probably the biggest draw, as well as the gum wall.

Seattle’s Space Needle ranked as the 27th worst tourist trap - with over 43,000 reviews and 109 individuals listing it negatively as a tourist trap.  Built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, the Needle draws an average of 1.3 million visitors every year.

Seattle’s Original Starbucks location came in at #54. Over 5,000 reviews critiqued it - with 7 giving it the Tourist Trap label. Starbucks first opened for business on March 30th, 1971. Since the brand caught on with massive popularity worldwide, the original location, near Pike Place Market has become very popular.

INFO: USA TODAY