For many, holidays are all about expanding their horizons and seeing famous wonders and landmarks around the world. A large proportion of British travellers, however, do not visit these famous sites, even when they are on holiday nearby and they are right on their doorstep.
And according to new research from travel search engine KAYAK.co.uk, ‘not visiting nearby landmarks’ (40%) is British holidaymakers No. 1 holiday regret. So, what are the landmarks British holidaymakers are most likely to give a miss?
Christ the Redeemer in Rio came top according to the study, with 45% of British visitors to Rio admitting they didn’t take the time to visit the famous statue. It is followed by the Taj Mahal – 32% of British visitors to Agra in India gave the famous mausoleum a miss.
In third place is the Grand Canyon (32% of visitors to Vegas don’t go), whilst Gaudi’s Cathedral Sagrada Familia in Barcelona came in fourth (30%). The top five is rounded out by New York’s famous Statue of Liberty, with 28% not visiting the landmark whilst in the Big Apple.
The Top Ten most ‘missed’ landmarks with a percentage of British travellers who didn’t visit despite being in the city:
- Christ the Redeemer – Rio 45%
- Taj Mahal – Agra 36%
- Grand Canyon – Nevada 32%
- Sagrada Familia – Barcelona 30%
- Statue of Liberty- New York 28%
- Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco 28%
- Eiffel Tower – Paris 25%
- Empire State Building – New York 25%
- Opera House – Sydney 25%
- Pyramids – Cairo 24%
Missing potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to see famous landmarks isn’t the only thing that Brits regret when it comes to not making the most of their holidays. This was followed by 38% who regret ‘not taking enough pictures’ whilst 29% regret just staying in their resort. A further 28% regret not being more adventurous with food, whilst 27% regret wasting their holiday by laying in each morning.
