Six Canadian cities among most overrated in the world: report

The CN Tower is lit up in red and white for Canada Day in Toronto on Monday, July 1, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

Six Canadian cities are among the most overrated cities for tourists to visit in the world, according to a new report.

Toronto ranked as Canada’s most overrated city, followed by Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Quebec City, according to U.K.-based market analysis platform King Casino Bonus, which ranked 85 top tourist destinations.

Based on ratings and reviews posted on travel review portals, the report says 10.9 per cent of visitors found Toronto “disappointing” with the most regrettable attraction being the Toronto Zoo.

Montreal disappointed 10.3 per cent of visitors and ranked as the second most overrated city in Canada. Biodome de Montreal was listed as the most disappointing attraction of the city.

The data showed 9.3 per cent of visitors found Vancouver disappointing, with Gastown as most disappointing attraction.

Ottawa came in as the fourth most overrated city, disappointing 8.6 per cent of visitors, with the Canada Science and Technology Museum dragging things down.

Calgary made the list, with 8.2 per cent of tourists saying the Calgary Tower observation deck wasn't worth it.

Quebec City had 8.2 per cent of visitors leave disappointed, rounding out the top five most overrated cities in Canada, with the Old Quebec Funicular deemed the most disappointing attraction for the city.

The report says thousands of traveller reviews from sites such as Tripadvisor were analyzed to determine the most overrated cities among 85 of the most popular tourist destinations.

Toronto was ranked the 36th most overrated city in the world overall, Montreal placed 43rd, Vancouver 56th, Ottawa 60th, Calgary 65th and Quebec City 67th.

At the top of the list, Bangkok ranked as the most overrated city in the world with 16.6 per cent of visitors being disappointed. Khaosan Road was highlighted the most disappointing attraction in the Thailand capital.

Antalya, Turkey, ranked second globally, as 16.5 visitors found it disappointing. Singapore with 15.8 disappointed visitors came in third, and Munich, Germany, ranked fourth with 15.7 per cent of visitors disappointed.

Here are the 10 top most overrated cities in the world, along with their most disappointing attractions and odds of being disappointed, according to the report:

1. Bangkok, Thailand – Khaosan Road – 16.6 per cent

2. Antalya, Turkey – Water Planet Aqua Park – 16.5 per cent

3. Singapore – Orchard Road – 15.8 per cent

4. Munich, Germany – Deutsches Museum – 15.7 per cent

5. Rimini, Italy – Fiabilandia amusement park – 14.2 per cent

6. Miami, U.S. – Calle Ocho in Little Havana – 13.9 per cent

7. Mumbai, India – Juhu Beach – 13.9 per cent

8. London, U.K. – London Eye – 13.8 per cent

9. Paris, France – Montmartre – 13.8 per cent

10. Tokyo, Japan – Hachiko at Shibuya crossing – 13.6 per cent

Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.