Bamboozled, beguiled, and swindled: sometimes the only way of describing experiences that were certainly less than we bargained for. The allure of “as seen on TV” and an influencer’s POV of travel can leave us disappointed when we realize we didn’t get our money, time, or both worth. Buyer beware as we’re unpacking some of the biggest rip-offs of all time: from universal woes, not-so-national treasures, and even every state’s scams.
We dove headfirst into Google Trends and Tripadvisor to determine the top “rip-offs” people were talking about at national, state, and local levels. From there we used the top lists to survey 5,000 participants. From the findings, we were able to separate the downright deceptions from the attractions worth the money.
Key highlights:
- Disney World ranks as the #1 biggest US tourist attraction rip-off
- Respondents stated the worst generic rip-offs included: college textbooks (#1), credit scores (#2), and…