Not All That Glitters is Gold: Travelers Share Disappointing Spots  

My husband and I are in New Zealand this week, and we’ll have a writeup about that in our next newsletter. We’ve really been looking forward to this trip, as the island nation in the Southwest Pacific is renowned for being one of the world’s most exotic travel destinations. But, there are some that aren’t held in particularly high acclaim. EuroNews recently reported on a survey ranking travelers’ most disappointing tourist destinations.

            Conducted by the luggage storage company Radical Storage, nearly 100,000 visitor reviews across 200 of the world’s most visited landmarks were analyzed. The top five—or bottom five, if you will—are in Europe:

·         The biggest amusement park in the United Kingdom is Alton Towers, a 910-acre estate that was transformed into a theme park in the 1980s. It has ten distinct themed areas, but it also has one of the highest percentage of negative reviews in the survey. Misleading ticket information, poor value for the money, and expectations that guests will pay for add-ons like food and drink or access to different areas of the park were all cited. Customer service also ranked low.

·         We’ve been to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, but didn’t go to the Széchenyi Baths and Pool. Probably a good thing we didn’t. It’s been a tourist destination since 1913, but over one-third of reviewers reported a negative experience. Over-crowding and accessibility were frequently mentioned.

·         Europe’s biggest waterpark is Siam Park on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canarys. The princess of Thailand was there for the opening in 2007. But since then, visitors have given the park low marks for its rude customer service and accessibility issues.

·         In Lisbon, Portugal, Time Out Market Lisboa was opened by the British media and hospitality company Time Out in 2014 as the firm’s first venture into food halls. Intended to be much more upscale than a typical food court in an American mall, Time Out Market Lisboa earned the prestigious Hamburg Foodservice Award in 2018. Things have gone downhill since, though. Excessive crowds and accessibility are once again leading the way on the complaint list.

·         Finally, Rome’s venerable Trevi Fountain has long been a draw for tourists. The Baroque monument has been featured in classic movies, and every year visitors throw an estimated 1.5 million euros’ worth of coins into the fountain. A coin tossed into the water is supposed to guarantee a return to Rome in the future. But in the survey, one in four visitors had something negative to say about their experience, especially the crowds. Authorities in Rome have started restricting access to Trevi Fountain in response. It recently re-opened after renovations.

What happens to all those coins? The ritual was made famous by the 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain, and if you want to participate, you stand with your back to the fountain and toss the coin over your left shoulder with your right hand. Every day, about 3,000 euros of loose change winds up in the fountain. The city sends a crew to retrieve the coins two or three times a year, under police supervision. Since 2001, the change has been donated to Rome’s catholic charity, Caritas. Needless to say, the donation has been a boon to the charity, providing about 15% of its budget. The group uses the money to help the city’s poor by funding soup kitchens, homeless shelters, free supermarkets and other projects, including a nursing home.

      When you come in to ask us about a certain destination, we’ll do our best to steer you in the right direction and make sure your visitor reviews are full of stars. Give us a call!

     

           

Biking Into Bravery: Discover Li's Voyage

Maisie, our 3-year-old Morkie, sometimes accompanies me to the office. She naps in her bed on my desk, waking up to greet clients. Over the noon hour, we’ll go for a 2-mile walk along the Red Cedar River, which flows past our building. Then, it’s back to the desk for another afternoon helping our clients achieve their travel dreams.

I was thinking of what to write about this week when I felt a paw touching my leg. It was Maisie, giving me her “up on the lap” signal. This time, though, she wasn’t content with just lap time. She put her front paws on the table, looked at my computer screen…and started touching keys. Within seconds, a story from CNN Travel appeared. Maisie looked at me, tail wagging.

“Is this what you want Mom to write about, honey?” I asked.

“Woof!”

(I should mention here that Maisie is very smart. She chose a perfect story, and it has a dog, of course.)

Li Dongju, a grandmother from Zhengzhou in central China, was battling depression after her 2005 divorce. Eight years later, a group of fully-geared-up cyclists pedaled past her. Their upbeat vibe made Li a little envious. Living on a pension, she couldn’t afford a bicycle, but her son bought her a folding mountain bike. Li got herself a helmet and a basket for the front of the bike, where her poodle, Xili (“razor sharp”) would ride. Now, all she needed was money; she had only $25 to her name. She worked for a year as a house cleaner before departing on a trip to Vietnam with two companions.

But Li’s inexperience caused some problems. Somewhere in Vietnam, she became separated from her more seasoned partners. She had only a mobile phone to help her navigate a foreign land, and she didn’t know the language, as she speaks only Mandarin. But she met a fellow Chinese cyclist who helped her get home.

A lot of people would say their long-distance bike trekking days would be done after that, but not Li. In 2015, she pedaled through 20 Chinese cities. She worked occasional gigs like cleaning in a spa and washing dishes in a hotel. By 2017, she was ready for another go at Southeast Asia, this time with a smartphone loaded with translation and map apps, a comprehensive plan and two seasoned companions close to her in age. The fellow riders gave it up and headed for home after three weeks, but Li kept going, biking through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. She came home after 70 days on the road.

Li probably didn’t know it, but she was part of a growing trend of “silver travelers” in China, whose population is rapidly aging. The China Tourism Academy says many Chinese seniors are choosing outbound travel these days, cruising to different destinations and sometimes combining travel with residency abroad.

By 2019, Europe was calling Li. Over 66 days, she biked through six countries. Later that year, she flew to Australia, which at the time was being ravaged by wildfires. Pedaling slowly along the Pacific Highway, Li saw smoke rising from nearby brush. She shot a video clip and sent it to local police, preventing a serious fire from developing. She went to New Zealand and returned home just as the pandemic hit. She realized that she’d stopped taking her depression meds.

Li has many stories of the kindness shown her by natives of the countries she’s visited. Now, she’s planning her biggest trip yet, from Kazakhstan to the United Arab Emirates. “My goal is to visit 100 countries,” she said. “Travel is like a drug. Once you taste it, you just can’t stop.”

Well, we certainly agree that travel can be a pretty healthy addiction! Give us a call, and we’ll help you get hooked!

(And by the way, the part about Maisie picking the story…remember what day occurred this week!)