After spending money and precious leave on a holiday, the last thing one wants to be is utterly bored.  

Since many ‘famous’ museums, parks, monuments and galleries can be a letdown that leaves us yawning, one business has conducted a study to identify some of the most boring tourist attractions.  

Fortunately, the list of 100 spots only features New Zealand once, while the United States, Canada and Australia have the largest number of boring spots, respectively. 

In March, the company analysed 66.7 million Google reviews of 3,290 tourist attractions across 384 cities. 

Attractions were then assigned a ‘boredom score’ depending on how often tourists mentioned 11 keywords related to boredom, using natural language processing to ensure the words were used positively. 

Words included “boring,” “bored,” “bore,” “boredom,” “tiresome,” “dull,” “drab,” “lacklustre,” “lifeless,” “mediocre,” and “tedious.” 

Auckland attraction makes the list 

In 54th place was Auckland’s well-known MOTAT Museum of Transport and Technology. 

According to the study, conducted by Solitaired, MOTAT’s 3841 Google reviews produced a ‘boredom score’ of 2.10. 

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean people don’t enjoy their visit, as the museum’s Google profile has an average score of 4.5/5 stars from 3,880 reviews. 

MOTAT has long been a popular attraction for Kiwis and international visitors. 

In the most recent review, a visitor gave it one star as “a lot of things were closed for maintenance” and those that were open were “unkempt”. 

However, a five-star review several days prior said it was a “great place still to this day,” adding it was perfect for families or to take a date and everyone should visit at least once. 

Most boring attractions in Australia 

Australia was well represented on the list with seven attractions from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Berriedale, Tasmania. 

The most boring was Perth’s WA Museum Boola Bardip, which showcases Western Australia’s stories, history, and culture. 

This was followed by LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Melbourne, the Museum of Sydney, Melbourne’s Immigration Museum and MONA in Berriedale. 

Luna Park in Melbourne was fifth and Perth’s The Bell Tower rounded out the list. 

Melbourne's Luna Park was fifth on a list of Australia's Most Boring Attractions. Photo / Sue Wallace 

What about the rest of the world? 

Winning the gold medal was the Branson Scenic Railway in Branson, Missouri. The heritage railroad has several vantage cars and offers visitors the chance to ride along the tracks. Something many people didn’t seem to find very thrilling. 

It’s no surprise a US destination topped the list, as the country represented 38.5 per cent of the study data but made up 62 per cent of the 100 boring attractions. 

In second place was Illuminarium in Atlanta, Georgia; a place where visitors can watch laser-projected images of wildlife and landscapes on screens. Third was awarded to the Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee an indoor boat ride that is open year-round. 

10 Most boring attractions according to Google reviews

1. Branson Scenic Railway, Missouri
2. Illuminarium Atlanta, Georgia
3. Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
4. Salem Witch Museum, Massachusetts
5. LEGO Discovery Center Atlanta, Georgia
6. Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois
7. Museum of Science & Industry, Tampa, Florida
8. Shrek’s Adventure, London
9. LEGOLAND Discovery Center Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
10. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto, Vaughan, Canada

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald here.