Study claims Hobbiton Movie Set is New Zealand’s biggest tourist trap

The Hobbiton Movie Set has been ranked 36th in a list of the world’s biggest tourist traps.

Spending lots of money or time on a disappointing travel experience is never ideal, so USA Today released a list of the biggest tourist traps as well as the most overpriced and overrated attractions.

Some of New Zealand’s most famous attractions made the list, but the methodology isn’t necessarily watertight.

In July, the news company studied 23.2 million Google reviews made across 500 of the world’s most visited attractions. They then ranked the attractions according to the percentage of reviews that used the words “tourist trap”, “expensive” or “overrated”.

The Hobbiton Movie Set was ranked 36th in the list of tourist traps, the top in New Zealand, followed by Waitomo Glowworm Caves (55th) and Larnach Castle (94th).

Hobbiton is considered a top tourist attraction for Lord of The Rings fans. Photo / Mike Scott

However, when one digs into the reviews, there is nuance at play.

Of 15,111 Google reviews, the Hobbiton Movie Set had just 29 that described it as a tourist trap; a number that translates to 0.19 per cent.

Even then, the inclusion of the phrase wasn’t always a bad thing. One Google reviewer gave the experience five stars: “It’s a really nice experience that doesn’t feel like a huge tourist trap despite being very popular.”

“Was 100% expecting a tourist trap,” another person wrote before adding that their expectations were incorrect, and they now considered it a must-see attraction.

“I came here expecting a crowded tourist trap and crowded it was, but somehow the tour had a charm that made it special,” a third added.

In the methodology, USA Today did acknowledge there was nuance at play when it came to keywords.

“It’s true that a few uses of these keywords do not fit in a negative context (e.g. “It’s kind of a tourist trap but we loved it!”),” they stated. However, they believed it was largely used in a negative way.

“Based on our analysis, these positive instances of usage were not frequent enough to be statistically significant, and in any case, they are consistent enough across attractions to cancel each other out”.

However, for the Hobbiton Movie Set, of 29 reviews that included the phrase “tourist trap”, approximately 15 used the phrase in a positive or neutral way.

Hobbiton Movie Set was also considered one of the 50 most overpriced attractions on the list, along with the Sky Tower (34th), Sydney’s Taronga Zoo (38th), and Tasmania’s Port Arthur Historic Site (41st). Dunedin’s Larnach Castle was ranked 17th.

Iconic Larnach Castle with Otago Peninsula in the background. Photo / Dunedinnz

Similarly, “expensive” doesn’t necessarily mean “overpriced”. Like Hobbiton, some of Larnach Castle’s reviews included the word expensive but said the cost was understandable, especially considering the costs involved in maintaining a historic building.

“Pretty expensive but understandable with the ongoing renovations and upkeep required,” one person wrote last month.

“Entry is expensive but that’s how they raise funds to maintain and upkeep,” another wrote.

“I was surprised how expensive it was ($34 per adult) to get in to see the castle and gardens (it is cheaper if you only see the gardens). However having done it we were really pleased we went,” a third person said.