A billboard advertising a tourist trap
A
"tourist trap" is an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created with the aim of attracting
tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide services, entertainment, souvenirs and other products for tourists to purchase, and these will often be at inflated prices (compared to the local economy).
While the term may have negative connotations for some, such establishments may be viewed by tourists as fun and interesting diversions. The term is somewhat ambiguous; the sort of tourist trap common in the US, for example, is slightly different from that found in Europe.
Tourist traps in the US
As with elsewhere, tourist traps in the US provide an opportunity to separate a consumer from their
money and are oriented primarily towards non-native or non-local consumers. But in the US, a tourist trap typically refers to a diversion from a genuine point of interest. Because the tourist is on his or her 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 US 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 as they are not readily available at many tourist facilities in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
, in
South Dakota, began its tourist trade simply by offering ice water.
In other locations like
Anaheim, California more robust activates are required to draw a tourist to a specific activity over a
competitor's activity. Other activities may include
thematic restaurants,
arcade games,
wax museums, collections of unique artifacts, and so on.
Fremont Street Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mule rides
Ralph H. Cameron a former resident of
Maine, traveled west with his brothers around 1880. Arriving in
Flagstaff, Arizona 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 Camerons 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. Tourists could rent a
mule to take them to the bottom of the canyon. At the bottom of the tourist would have an opportunity to be
sheared again as they were given an opportunity to hire a mule to carry them to the top. Other opportunities to separate tourists from their dollars included charging for
comfort stations.
In 1928 after a legal battle Coconino Country gained ownership of the profitable toll trail. It costs more than a dollar now but you can still rent a mule to take you down the canyon. The web site does not list the cost for the ride down or back up.
Size
Tourist traps range significantly in size, from a single tree 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"
in
Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula, and "The TOURIST TRAP"
at
Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Other establishments like The "Trees of Mystery" 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 of the establishment or other nearby
points of interest.
Tourist traps in Europe
European tourist traps differ from the American variety in that they are typically based at, or very near, historical centres.
Examples of tourist traps
Asia
Europe
North America
In addition, the
Tennessee cities of
Sevierville,
Pigeon Forge, and
Gatlinburg have numerous tourist traps.
South America
Australia
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 billboard 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 on arrival that the store is out of business.
- An episode of Kojak titled "Tourist Trap" is about a crime boss conducting an illegal immigration scheme to provide workers for businesses he owns.
- 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".
- 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-music act Bright Eyes has a song called Tourist Trap on their 2007 Four Winds EP.
- In the 1996 independent movie Michael, the archangel Michael insists on stopping at several tourist traps.
- In House of 1000 Corpses the group of young victims stop at Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen, a hybrid tourist trap and gas station.
- In the graphic novel The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning, 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".
- The 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie Cars is set in the fictional community of Radiator Springs, Arizona, essentially a "tourist trap" of the old school along Route 66 as was bypassed when Interstate 40 supplanted Route 66, forcing the community into a state of decline.
See also
