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Tourist attraction

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Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, is the hub of the Broadway theater district and a media center. The intersection has one of the highest annual attendance rates of any tourist attraction in the world, estimated at 50 million.[1]

A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.

Types

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Tropical beaches and Balinese culture are attractions that draw tourists to this popular island resort, such as Melasti rituals performed on the beach.

Places of natural beauty such as beaches, tropical island resorts, national parks, mountains, deserts and forests, are examples of traditional tourist attractions that people may visit. Cultural tourist attractions can include historical places, sites of significant historic events, monuments, ancient temples, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries, botanical gardens, buildings and structures (such as forts, castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers, bridges), theme parks and carnivals, living history museums, public art (sculptures, statues, murals), ethnic enclave communities, historic trains and cultural events. Factory tours, industrial heritage, creative art and crafts workshops are the object of cultural niches like industrial tourism and creative tourism. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks. Additionally sports events such as an association football game, Formula 1 race or sailing regatta can also attract tourists.

Tourists’ expectations when visiting a destination are shaped by factors such as its culture, architecture, cuisine, infrastructure, landscape, events, and shopping opportunities. These elements draw visitors in and play a key role in shaping their overall travel experience.[2] The ultimate primary purpose of attractions is to attract the customer's attention so that they can come to a specific location and explore the various attractions on vacation. In the travel and tourism industry, attractions therefore play a particularly important role as this attracts tourists from all over the world.[3][4][5]

Tourists in the medieval old town of Porvoo

Tourist attractions are also created to capitalize on legends such as a supposed UFO crash site near Roswell, New Mexico and the alleged Loch Ness monster sightings in Scotland. Ethnic communities may become tourist attractions, such as Chinatowns in the United States and the black British neighborhood of Brixton in London, England. Tourists also look for special local culinary experiences such as street kitchens in Asian metropolises[6] or the coffeehouse culture in Central Europe. In particular, cultural property and the individual places of the UNESCO World Heritage Site have developed into tourist attractions. If too many tourists frequent individual places, this can lead to environmental pollution and resistance from the local population, such as in Barcelona or Venice. With regard to this whole subject, there are already lists of destinations that are not recommended to tourists.[7][8][9][10]

There are innumerable lists and reviews of tourist attractions. Visitor statistics, cultural significance, beauty or age are used and these always reflect the author's personal assessments. Sometimes it is particularly emphasized that this particular tourist attraction has not yet been in the focus of the international tourism industry. Some of the sights are internationally known or target the national or local market. Some attractions are reserved for the local population or are rarely advertised because the main traffic routes and main airports are too far away.

Deserts like the Sahara are also tourist attractions.

In the United States, owners and marketers of attractions advertise tourist attractions on billboards along the sides of highways and roadways, especially in remote areas. Tourist attractions often distribute free promotional brochures to be displayed in rest areas, information centers, fast food restaurants, and motel rooms or lobbies.

While some tourist attractions provide visitors a memorable experience for a reasonable admission charge or even for free, others may be of low quality and overprice their goods and services (such as admission, food, and souvenirs) in order to profit excessively from tourists. Such places are commonly known as tourist traps.[11] Within cities, rides on boats and sightseeing buses are sometimes popular.

Examples

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Human-made attractions

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Natural tourist attractions

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Cultural tourist attractions

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Novelty attractions

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Novelty attractions are oddities such as the 'Big Pineapple' in Queensland, Australia and 'Carhenge' in Nebraska, USA. The uniqueness of these locations is an efficient way in bringing attention to small towns or businesses, as a result of a tourist's psychological desire for new experiences.[13][14] Novelty attractions are a subset of American Midwestern culture.[15]

Tourist destination

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The Yosemite Park and Curry Company marketed Yosemite as a tourist destination for motorists after automobiles were legalized in the park.

A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is significantly dependent on revenues from tourism, or "a country, state, region, city, or town which is marketed or markets itself as a place for tourists to visit".[16] It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". Fátima town, for example, is a popular tourist destination in Portugal. Siem Reap town is a popular tourist destination in Cambodia mainly owing to its proximity to the Angkor temples. The Loire valley, the third tourist destination in France, is a good example of a region marketed and branded as a place for tourists to visit, mainly known for its Châteaux of the Loire valley.

A tropical island resort is an island or archipelago that depends on tourism as its source of revenue.