"Over-rated?"

Time for a bit of an argument..

I came across a piece in the Times today (which is a few weeks old I admit) about the places that well known celebrity tourist Bill Bryson claims as over-rated..

With personal favourite on the list including Stonehenge, The Colosseum of Rome and Machu Picchu, I have to ask what he is trying to prove? It would appear that this sensationalist point of view is made just to promote his own book of the moment, ("The Road Less Travelled: 1,000 Amazing Places Off the Tourist Trail" www.dk.com/roadlesstravelled) but it does raise an important and relevant point...

For those of us that are in the business of helping people dream of where they want to take a vacation, isn't it in the best interests of the planet, host communities and the tourism sector at large that we encourage people to see what is already available to them without suggesting that they trample aimlessly trying to create a product that does not exist?

Follow this story at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article6813884.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 and make up your own mind.

Barticus