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Why Vienna is warning tourists to stop reading online reviews

Find your own path in Vienna, the city says - © Sylvain SONNET
Find your own path in Vienna, the city says - © Sylvain SONNET

Stop following the advice of online reviews if you really want to enjoy a trip, the city of Vienna has warned travellers in a new tourism campaign.

Unrating Vienna uses genuine feedback on some of the destination’s finest sights to highlight that the opinion of the masses can sometimes be way off the mark - and mislead the overtrusting.

One-star reviews of the world’s greatest landmarks have long been an entertaining insight into the likes of TripAdvisor and Google reviews - of Vienna’s 12th century St Stephen’s Cathedral one states “not enough towers”, but the Austrian capital’s tourist board is concerned it is crippling the imagination of its visitors.

In the campaign’s promotional material, it asks “why do we value other peoples’ opinion so much?”

“Online ratings are not always the right path to take when it comes to looking for relaxation and moments of enjoyment,” Norbert Kettner, managing director of Vienna Tourist Board, said. “[The campaign] is intended to make people sit up and think and trigger broader public discussion.”

The Schonbrunn in Vienna? 'Have a pint instead' - Credit: getty
The Schonbrunn in Vienna? 'Have a pint instead' Credit: getty

Other famed sites in Vienna to receive withering feedback online include the Schonbrunn Palace (“have a pint instead”), the State Opera (“the orchestra does not even try”) and the Hofburg (“boring”).

The tourist board says visitors should challenge online reviews from unknown travellers and instead find their own way through the city.

“We’re not waving a finger at the latest advances in technology that are supposed to make our lives easier,” said Kettner, “however, we see digitalisation as a cultural tool that people should take advantage of, and not as an end in itself.”

The importance of online reviews to attractions, bars and restaurants has become increasingly apparent in recent years, with establishments asking visitors to publish an online rating after visiting and venues paying to have sponsored positions on searchable rankings.

Vienna's State Opera - Credit: getty
Vienna's State Opera Credit: getty

Last year an Italian business owner was jailed for selling fake TripAdvisor reviews.

Writing about the platform at the time, Telegraph Travel’s Penny Walker said: “TripAdvisor provided the consumer with a platform for free speech that they had never experienced on such a scale before. It gave us a voice and the ability to read apparently unbiased peer reviews before parting with our hard-earned cash.

“Today, however, the reality of TripAdvisor is a much more complex beast. The publication of ‘misleading’ and ‘fake’ reviews have long plagued the site, with its sheer size making the verification of its content difficult.”

Online reviews is not the only target of Vienna’s take on travel, with its last campaign asking visitors to abandon social media and free themselves from the shackles of Instagram likes and retweets.

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