TripAdvisor research ranks Ballarat's Sovereign Hill as Australia’s most unimpressive tourist attraction

Ballarat's Sovereign Hill is usually described as one of Victoria’s most popular tourist destinations, however new research on TripAdvisor reviews for the top 50 tourist experiences in every country, revealed Sovereign Hill to be Australia’s most unimpressive tourist attraction, placing eighth globally – situated in the rankings between Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate in Memphis, Tennessee, ranking seventh and the UK’s Bletchley Park ranking ninth.

Sovereign Hill, an open-air Gold Rush heritage museum in Ballarat, received 1,442 disappointed comments, a 37.7% score against 3,823 reviews. Users slated the prices as too expensive over 500 times. 

Sovereign Hill was named Australia's top Major Tourist Attraction at the 2017 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

The research was conducted by flight booking site Wingie which analysed TripAdvisor reviews for the top 50 tourist experiences in every country. The ranking was based on the number of keywords indicating whether an experience was perceived as overrated relative to the total number of reviews. A list of 40 keywords and phrases was tracked. An overall percentage score was then calculated to determine the ranking.  

Warwick Castle has topped the list of the most overrated tourist attractions in the world having received the highest proportion of overrated mentions compared to the number of reviews than any other landmark worldwide. Of 16,430 reviews, 9,430 overrated mentions or approximately three comments to five reviews (57.4%). The 956-year-old fortification, run by the same operator as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, has over 1,000 mentions of the terms ‘disappointed,’ ‘expensive,’ and ‘not worth it.’ Over 500 reviewers said it was ‘overpriced’ and there was ‘not much to see.’  

Kampong Phluk, a floating village in Cambodia, ranks second among the most overrated places to visit. It received over 552 comments from disappointed visitors compared to 1,042 reviews (53%). Visitors often called it a ‘scam,’ ‘expensive,’ and ‘not worth it.’

Stonehenge, the UK’s second most overrated landmark, ranks third globally. There were 11,203 related comments compared to 15,118 reviews, a ratio of over two-fifths (42.4%). Tickets, costing £20.90 per adult, were deemed too ‘expensive’ and ‘not worth it’ over 1,000 times. The words ‘disappointing’ and ‘avoid’ were used over 300 times.

The fourth most disappointing tourist attraction is Besakih Temple in Bali, Indonesia. It received an overrated score of 39.9%, based on 1,488 mentions compared to 2,752 reviews. Appearing in over 150 comments were the words ‘scam’ and ‘not worth it’ and warnings to ‘avoid.’

The Jungfraujoch, a glacier saddle in the Swiss Alps, ranks fifth. It received an overrated score of 38.5%, based on 271 related mentions compared to 703 reviews. It is home to one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world. However, almost one in four visitors deemed the snowy getaway expensive and not worth the money.

Ranking sixth is Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Lighthouse & Historical Park, with an overrated percentage of 38.1%.  

Graceland, Elvis Presley’s estate in Memphis, Tennessee, is the United States’ most overrated landmark, ranking seventh in the world. Over a third (38.1%) of guests left underwhelmed, based on estimates. Over 1,000 comments referred to its price as ‘not worth it’ and ‘expensive’ and remarked there was ‘not much to see’ and it was ‘disappointing.’  

Bletchley Park is the United Kingdom’s third most overrated tourist hotspot, ranking ninth worldwide. It received a 37.4% overrated score based on 3,058 mentions in 8,171 reviews. Over 1,285 comments contained the words ‘not worth it,’ ‘not much to see,’ and ‘not a lot to see.’ Others referred to the country estate as ‘dull,’ ‘boring,’ and ‘confusing.’  

Ngong Ping 360, which the official page claims is one of the “top ten best cable car experiences in the world,” is the world’s tenth most overrated tourist attraction. The “star attraction” gondola lift in Hong Kong was lambasted by reviewers, with 384 warnings to ‘avoid,’ 421 mentions saying it was ‘not worth it,’ and 671 saying they ‘queued for hours.’  

Nihan Çolak Erol, COO of WEG, commented on the findings “Tourists use sites like TripAdvisor to find out which attractions are worth the money. Whether because of the admission price, long queues, or the trip not meeting expectations, visitors want to feel their attendance was worth the money, especially during the cost-of-living crisis when holidays become less affordable.

“By studying traveler sentiment, we can reveal which experiences fell flat for most people. The key to creating a good experience is ensuring that expectations meet reality. In most cases, the ticket price didn’t justify the visit. Visitors should understand the value and uniqueness of each experience, so they leave feeling their money was well spent”.

All data was sourced from TripAdvisor.com

Methodology:

1. The top 50 landmarks and attractions in each country were sourced from TripAdvisor.com. Only listings with over 100 reviews qualified for the study

2. Each listing's reviews were analysed to determine the number of mentions of 40 ‘overrated’ and ‘underrated’ keywords (see full list below), and a count of reviews was taken

3. Each landmark received an ‘overrated’ and ‘underrated’ score, calculated as the percentage of reviews that contain a relevant keyword. ‘Underrated percentage’ is calculated as the proportion of reviews for the landmark that contain an ‘underrated’ keyword

4. Landmarks were ranked by their overrated and underrated percentage to determine the final ranking

Image. Credit: Sovereign Hill