Atourist attraction is aplace of interest thattourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Places of natural beauty such asbeaches, tropicalisland resorts, nationalparks,mountains,deserts andforests, are examples of traditional tourist attractions that people may visit. Cultural tourist attractions can include historical places, sites of significant historicevents,monuments, ancienttemples,zoos,aquaria,museums andart galleries,botanical gardens, buildings and structures (such asforts,castles,libraries, formerprisons,skyscrapers,bridges),theme parks andcarnivals,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 likeindustrial tourism and creative tourism. Many tourist attractions are alsolandmarks. Additionally sports events such as anassociation football game, Formula 1 race or sailing regatta can also attract tourists.
Tourists' expectations when visiting a particular place are related to several features of the chosen destination: culture, architecture, gastronomy, infrastructure, landscape, events, shopping, etc. These features attract people to the destination and contribute to the overall experience of the trip.[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]
Tourist attractions are also created to capitalize on legends such as a supposedUFO crash site nearRoswell, New Mexico and the allegedLoch Ness monster sightings inScotland. Ethnic communities may become tourist attractions, such asChinatowns in theUnited States and the black British neighborhood ofBrixton inLondon, England. Tourists also look for special localculinary experiences such as street kitchens in Asian metropolises[6] or thecoffeehouse culture in Central Europe. In particular,cultural property and the individual places of theUNESCO 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]
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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.
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 inrest areas, information centers, fast food restaurants, andmotel 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 astourist traps.[11] Within cities, rides on boats and sightseeing buses are sometimes popular.
![The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, a popular tourist attraction. More than 7–8 million visit the Taj Mahal each year.[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTaj_Mahal_(Edited).jpeg)
![The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, a popular tourist attraction. Almost 7 million visit the tower each year.[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aParis_06_Eiffelturm_4828.jpg)
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Novelty attractions are oddities such as the "biggest ball of twine" inCawker City, Kansas, theCorn Palace inMitchell, South Dakota, orCarhenge inAlliance, Nebraska, where old cars serve in the place of stones in a replica ofStonehenge. Novelty attractions are not limited to the American Midwest, but are part ofMidwestern culture.[12]
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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".[13] It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps".Fátima town, for example, is a popular tourist destination inPortugal.Siem Reap town is a popular tourist destination inCambodia, mainly owing to its proximity to theAngkor temples. TheLoire valley, the third tourist destination inFrance, is a good example of a region marketed and branded as a place for tourists to visit, mainly known for itsChâteaux of the Loire valley.
A tropical island resort is an island orarchipelago that depends on tourism as its source of revenue.The Bahamas in theCaribbean,Bali inIndonesia,Phuket inThailand,Hawaii in theUnited States,Fiji in the Pacific, andSantorini andIbiza in the Mediterranean are examples of popular island resorts.
France, theUnited States, andSpain were the three most popular international destinations in 2017. The total number of international travelers arriving in those countries was about 234 million,[14] contributing 8.9%, 7.7%, and 14.9%, respectively, to the totalGDP of those countries.[15]
Although some years back,Africa was lean on tourism, the continent is currently regarded as the second fastest growing tourismregion with over 67 million tourists visits to Africa in 2018.Ethiopia, with a growth rate of 48.6% in 2018, is at the top of the list of Africantourist centers.[16] Other tourist locations in Africa includeCape Town, South Africa,Giza Necropolis,Egypt, The Maasai Mara National Reserve,Kenya,Victoria Falls,Zimbabwe andZambia.[17]
From the tourism industry supply perspective, a destination is usually defined by a geo-political boundary, and destination marketing is most commonly funded by governments. From the traveler perspective, a destination might be perceived quite differently.[18][19][20]
Tourism generates substantial economic benefits for both host countries and tourists' home countries. Especially in developing countries, one of the primary motivations for a region to promote itself as a tourism destination is the expected economic benefit. According to theWorld Tourism Organization, 698 million people travelled to a foreign country in 2000, spending more than US$478 billion. International tourism receipts combined with passenger transport currently total more than US$575 billion – making tourism the world's number one export earner.[21]
Tourist attractions can:
In the event of war, many tourist attractions are a special goal in order to cause lasting damage to the enemy or to finance the war. International attempts are therefore made to protect and preserve these economic and cultural foundations of a community, city or country. There is intensive cooperation between theUnited Nations,UNESCO andBlue Shield International on the protection of cultural goods andUNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, cooperation between organizations and state authorities is not enough to prevent destruction, robbery and looting. The founding president of Blue Shield InternationalKarl von Habsburg summed it up with the words: "Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible".[22][23][24]
No. 3 Times Square,...No. 4 (tie) Central Park,...No. 10 Grand Central Terminal, New York City
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