Billboards are used to advertise the attractions
'Tourist trap' is a phrase for any establishment or set of establishments that have been created to attract travelers or
tourists and provide products for the tourist to purchase.
[1] While the term may have negative connotations for some, such establishments may be viewed by travelers as fun and interesting diversions, with realistic expectations as to their true importance, or lack thereof. There is some ambiguity in the definition of the phrase as it relates to size, activities, cost of products, and legitimacy. Some operators prefer to call them "family-oriented tourist attractions".
[2]
Goods and activities
Tourist traps provide an opportunity to separate a consumer from their
money and are oriented primarily towards non-native or non-local consumers. Because the tourist is on her or his way to a particular attraction, the tourist trap will either offer a distinctly contrary experience or an allied experience. They will offer up "unique" natural or artificial features (the "
World's Largest Ball of Twine" or "
Silver Springs") that can only be had at the particular stop, and will then offer up conveniences or activities to entertain and capitalize upon the stopped tourist.
Goods
Typically goods available for purchase will include
souvenirs and
curiosities embossed with the name of the establishment and or local points of interest. Additional products may include the normal range of items found in a
Gift shop.
Activities
Activities at Tourist traps vary greatly based in part on the surrounding
economy and
infrastructure. In some areas like
Ishpeming, Michigan,
Flush toilets may be a sufficient draw to entice tourist to stop. In other locations like
Anaheim, California more robust activates are required to draw a tourist to a specific activity over a
competitors activity. Other activities may include,
thematic restaurants,
arcade games,
wax museums,
collections of unique artifacts, and so on.
Mule rides
Ralph H. Cameron[3] a former resident of
Maine, traveled west with his brothers around
1880. Arriving in
Flagstaff, Arizona where they took up
sheep herding. Ralph visited the nearby
Grand Canyon and realizing its potential as a tourist trap began acquiring properties. Before the
Grand Canyon became a
National Monument in 1906 the Cameron’s and accomplices had secured over 100 claims including some of the most scenic. They improved an old Indian trail that would become
Bright Angel Trail and began charging tourists a dollar toll. For an additional fee you could rent a
mule to take you to the bottom of the canyon. At the bottom of the Grand Canyon the trapped tourist would have an opportunity to be
sheared again as they were given an opportunity to hire a mule to carry them back to the top! Other opportunities to separate tourists from their dollars included charging for
comfort stations.
[4]
In 1928 after a legal battle Coconino Country gained ownership of the profitable toll trail.
[5] It costs more than a dollar now but you can still rent a mule to take you down the canyon. The web site
[6] does not list the cost for the ride down or back up.
Natural features
When a significant natural curiosity is present, such as a geyser or a waterfall, the tourist trap will seek to highlight an allied or similar curiosity. Therefore, in an area near
Niagara Falls, the
Grand Canyon,
Old Faithful, etc., tourist traps might be organized around "Little Falls" or "Painted Rock" or "Hot Springs." These traps do not strive to compete with the tourism attraction as much as draw surplus commerce on the way to and from the attraction. These tourist traps, which are parasitic to natural features, are in contrast to those which take advantage of the monotony and lack of attractions between conventional destination points.
Fremont Street Las Vegas, Nevada.
Size
Tourist traps range significantly in size, from a single tree
[7][8] to the city of
Las Vegas, Nevada. There may be valid arguments to include traps that are bigger or smaller than these as well.
Stop and Shop
A few establishments take pride in the term and embody it into their names, such as "Da Yoopers Tourist Trap"
[9] in
Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula, and "The TOURIST TRAP"
[10] at
Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Other establishments like The "Trees of Mystery"
[11] in
Klamath, California avoid the phrase. If the term is embraced or not, regardless of the price of products, the two things that most tourist stops have in common are
restrooms and items for sale with the name the establishment or other nearby
points of interest.
Negative impacts
Current news articles point out that attracting a
high volume of tourists can have negative impacts. An article in The Washington Post “The True Meaning of the Tourist Trap”
[12] discuses the impact of the December 26, 2004 tsunami on the tourist themselves. The New York Times in an article on November 1, 2006
[13] discuses the impact of 33 million tourists a year on the city of New York. Eco-tourism as outlined in an April 19, 2006 article in the Guardian
[14] describes the potential to impact fragile environments.
Examples
Asia
★
Mao Zedong Memorial Park[15]
Europe
★
Atomium in
Brussels
★
Mijas in
Costa del Sol or
Gibraltar
North America
★
Bayside Marketplace in
Miami, Florida
★
Clifton Hill at
Niagara Falls, Ontario
★
Corn Palace at
Mitchell, South Dakota
★
Fisherman's Wharf in
San Francisco
★
Harborplace in
Baltimore, Maryland
★
Harold Warp's
Pioneer Village near
Minden, Nebraska
★
House on the Rock near
Spring Green, Wisconsin
★
International Drive in
Orlando, Florida
★
Kemah Boardwalk in
Kemah, Texas
★
Marsh's Free Museum, home of
Jake the Alligator Man, in
Long Beach, Washington
★
Magnetic Hill,
New Brunswick,
Canada
★
Meramec Caverns near
Stanton, Missouri, "
Jesse James' Hideout"
★ Mystery Hill and
Prehistoric Forest in
Marblehead, Ohio
★
Mystery Hill near
Salem, New Hampshire, recently redubbed the even-more ostentatious "America's
Stonehenge"
★
Mystery Hole in
Ansted, West Virginia
★
Navy Pier in
Chicago
★
Oregon Vortex in
Gold Hill, Oregon
★
Rock City near
Lookout Mountain and
Chattanooga, Tennessee
★
Santa Monica Pier in
Santa Monica, California
★
South of the Border near
Dillon, South Carolina
★
South Street Seaport in
New York City
★
The Thing? in Dragoon, Arizona
★
Times Square in
New York City
★
Trees of Mystery in the
redwood region of
Northern California
★
Wall Drug in
Wall, South Dakota
South America
★ Frango Assado at
São Paulo, Brazil
Popular culture references
These kinds of attractions find their way into popular culture. A few examples, in addition to the
Charles Ogden book and the
horror film mentioned elsewhere on this page:
★ In an episode of ''
I Love Lucy'', in which the four main players are driving to California, they see a sign advertising a Praline Pecans shop hundreds of miles away. As they approach its location, the signs appear with greater frequency, and their interest grows, only to learn that the store is out of business.
★ In the 1983 film ''
National Lampoon's Vacation'', Ellen Griswold ridicules her husband, Clark, for being distracted trying to find attractions such as "the world's largest ball of twine" on their way to their actual destination, the fictional amusement park called "Wally World".
★ The
Adventure Game Sam and Max Hit the Road largely takes place at a series of tourist traps across the United States.
★ In the novel
American Gods by
Neil Gaiman, tourist traps are hypothesized to be built in areas of great spiritual energy in America, much like shrines or stone monoliths might mark such spots in other parts of the world.
★ Folk act
Bright Eyes has a song called ''Tourist Trap'' on their 2007 ''Four Winds EP.''
★ In
Michael (1996 film) the archangel Michael insists in stopping a several tourist traps.
★ In the graphic novel '', the
mutants refer to their deal with gas station employees, who trick people into going into the mutants' domain where they are cannibalized, as a "tourist trap".
[16]
See also
★
Gift shop
★
Roadside attraction
★
Tourist attraction
References
1. Idiomatic American English: A Step-By-Step Workbook for Learning Everyday American Expressions, , Barbara K., Gaines, Kodansha International, , 0870117564
2. Wisconsin's 'Wonder Spot' faces wrecking ball Todd Richmond Associated Press Writer
3. Cameron, Ralph Henry, (1863 -1953); Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
4. Horace M. Albright and Marian Albright Schenck: “Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years, Page 265, University of Oklahoma Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8061-3155-1
5. Cameron, Ralph on Grand Canyon Explorer
6. Canyon Trail Rides “The Only Ride in the National Parks”
7. The Eternal Tree House in Redcrest on the Redwood Highway
8. Drive thru "The Stump" at the Redwood Shop near Pepperwood, Calif
9. Da Yoopers Tourist Trap & Museum
10. The TOURIST TRAP
11. Trees of Mystery
12. The True Meaning of the Tourist Trap
13. The Tourist Trap; With All Those Visitors Trampling the Welcome Mat, Can New York Be the Host With the Most for Everyone?
14.
15. Streetlife China (Cambridge Modern China Series), , Michael, Dutton, Cambridge University Press, , 0521637198
16. ''The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning''
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