Remember to cross off this six overpriced and underwhelming sites from your touring list. These places are tourist traps. Those heavily advertised attractions that are actually blatant misrepresentations of the places we are supposed to be seeing. So which are the world’s worst tourist traps?
1. Dunn’s River Falls, Ocho Rios, JamaicaThis pretty series of waterfalls in a lush forest has been transformed into a death march for millions of cruise shippers on shore leave. Visitors slog up a crowded, hillside holding hands with strangers like worker ants on a gruesome task.
2. Avenue of Stars, Hong KongThis one is designed with mainland Chinese tourists in mind. You’ll find a statue of Bruce Lee in kung fu pose, while mall music spurts out from tiny speakers. A lack of comfortable resting areas and focus on souvenir photo booths makes the whole experience about as satisfying as a sneeze that doesn't quite come out.
3. Times Square, New York City, United States, A big TV, a bunch of outdoor advertising and chain stores you can find anywhere in the United States. Locals avoid it as empty cabs do. Once you're in, there's no quick exit route.
4. Nanjing Dong Lu, Shanghai, ChinaIt bills itself as the “best shopping street in China,” but in reality it's far from that. Apart from a handful of old shops, any sense of history is largely missing.
5. Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience, London, United Kingdom, The heavily advertised Britain at War Experience draws thousands to experience wartime London. There are a few decent artefacts, but mostly what visitors get are amateur tableaus featuring department store mannequin limbs splashed with fake blood.
6. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Bangkok, Thailand, There are at least a dozen floating markets in and around Bangkok. Yet every tourist wants to go to Damnoen Saduak. It used to be a legitimate place for locals to enjoy some boat noodles or shop but today, thanks to every tour company in the world pushing it on tourists. It is about as authentic as that pack of Viagra for sale in a back soi on Sukhumvit Road.