26-9-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) Penang, known for its delectable cuisine and notorious traffic, has always been a popular tourist destination. However, a recent article in a prominent US newspaper has cast a shadow over its reputation. USA Today, in its August publication, listed Penang Hill as one of the top 100 places worldwide that tourists should avoid at all costs, labeling it an “overrated” and “tourist trap” attraction.
The newspaper’s list was compiled based on an extensive analysis of 23.2 million Google reviews of 500 well-known tourist attractions across 65 countries and 6 continents. Alongside the overall ranking, USA Today also presented additional lists such as the top 100 most overpriced and overrated attractions globally.
Penang Hill, unfortunately, found itself in the spotlight, securing the 9th position on the ‘Top 100 Tourist Traps Worldwide’ list. Additionally, the article singled out Penang Hill as the largest tourist trap in Asia, further tarnishing its image. Its supposed overrated status landed it at the 14th spot globally, with a less-than-flattering 64th position in terms of being overpriced.
According to USA Today, their analysis took into account specific keywords indicating a negative sentiment towards the attractions, including terms like “tourist trap,” “expensive,” and “overrated.” However, critics argue that the methodology employed in creating the list may be flawed.
One noteworthy concern is the selection criteria for Google reviews. USA Today only considered reviews written in English, potentially excluding a significant portion of non-English-speaking visitors. Furthermore, the inclusion of positive reviews with mixed sentiments, which mentioned Penang Hill as a tourist trap but still expressed enjoyment, was deemed statistically insignificant by the newspaper due to their infrequent occurrence.
It is worth mentioning that Penang Hill’s classification as Asia’s biggest tourist trap was based on a mere 21 instances of the term “tourist trap” found in 3,737 Google reviews. With such a minuscule frequency rate of 0.56%, questions arise regarding the accuracy and reliability of this ranking.
