Tourist attraction
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The End of the Road: Vanishing Highway Architecture in America (1981) by John Margolies documents unusual roadside architecture and novelty architecture from across the U.S. including motels, gas stations, drive-ins, cafes, diners, signs and billboards. |
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A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities.
Some examples include historical places, monuments, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries, botanical gardens, buildings and structures (e.g., castles, libraries, former prisons, skyscrapers, bridges), national parks and forests, theme parks and carnivals, ethnic enclave communities, historic trains and cultural events. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks.
Tourist attractions are also created to capitalise on unexplained phenomena such as a supposed UFO crash site near Roswell, New Mexico and the alleged Loch Ness monster sightings in Scotland. Ghost sightings also make tourist attractions.
Ethnic communities may become tourist attractions, such as Chinatowns in the United States and the black British neighborhood of Brixton in London.
In the US, owners and marketers of attractions advertise tourist attractions on billboards along the side of highways and roadways, especially in remote areas. Tourist attractions often provide free promotional brochures and flyers in information centres, fast food restaurants, hotel and motel rooms or lobbies, and rest areas.
While some tourist attractions provide visitors a memorable experience for a reasonable admission charge or even for free, others can have a tendency to be of low quality and to overprice their goods and services (such as admission, food, and souvenirs) in order to profit from tourists excessively. Such places are commonly known as tourist traps.
See also
- National monument
- Point of interest
- Tourism in present-day nations and states
- Tourism
- Scenic viewpoint
- National heritage site
