Merriam Webster defines a tourist trap as "a place that attracts and exploits tourists." It's easy to fall into a tourist trap while traveling.
When experiencing a new city, you can get drawn into famous landmarks, expensive restaurants, and crowded areas. Before long, you've wasted money and time at inauthentic and even overrated establishments.
But there are ways to avoid these touristy spots by looking out for these red flags while traveling:
- If a landmark, restaurant, or even a city is overcrowded and filled with people, you've probably ended up at a tourist trap
- If you're only staying around famous landmarks, then you're going to fall into tourist traps
- If a destination or landmark keeps popping up in your social media feeds, then it's probably for tourists
- If the landmark or restaurant has its own hashtag, you should stay away
- If the location you're heading to has a gift shop, it's a tell-tale sign that it's a tourist trap
- If there are more t-shirt shops than local crafts in the town or city, you should reconsider your destination
- If blogs and travel guides say you should only visit at a certain time of the year, then it's probably a tourist destination
- If a person is outside an establishment telling people to come inside, it's most likely a tourist trap
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