Tourists find London unfriendly, dirty and expensive

[Sugarcane]

(Reuters) - London may have put on a cheerful face during the Olympics but tourists have still rated the city poorly in terms of friendliness, cleanliness and value for money, a survey showed on Thursday.

Of 40 cities worldwide, London this year ranked second to last for the friendliness of its locals, according to a poll by travel website TripAdvisor.

Only Moscow fared worse, while Mexico's Cancun ranked first.

Britain's capital barely performed better in the nine other categories of the poll, ranking 28th for safety, 26th for cleanliness and 35th for best value for money.

On the upside, London was rated fourth best city for shopping - behind New York City, Bangkok and Dubai - and fifth for the quality of taxi services.

The study was based on responses from 75,000 TripAdvisor users surveyed last month.

"While London hasn't ranked particularly highly by those that have reviewed the city this year, it's important to remember that many of the respondents may have experienced London before major changes were made or post the events of the summer," said Emma Shaw, a spokeswoman for TripAdvisor.

London was still voted the best city in the world in TripAdvisor's 2012 Travellers Choice Awards, Shaw noted.

"This study perhaps proves that even a great city isn't going to be perfect in every way," she said.

(Reporting by Natalie Huet, editing by Paul Casciato)

Tourists find London unfriendly, dirty and expensive: survey | Reuters

 

[Hyde]

I think I know the reason for this report. Basically if you go to Central London area (Westminster, City and surrounding areas), that is a country inside a country. I mean that 5-10 kilometers of area alone holds economy greater than entire Pakistan or many Indian states combined. But Olympics was held in East London area (Stratford) which is fairly better comparing to rest of East London but still never been a major hub of London. There are hardly any attractions near Stratford so visitors has to take trains to go to Central London to enjoy better life. The trains does not take very long and you can reach to most attractions within 15-20 minutes in the train but obviously you need to know areas or plan well if you are intending to visit London.

The Olympics park was great but a part from that there is only Westfield Shopping Center and nothing major as such that you decide staying in the same area.

Many tourists might have stayed in East London or did not know many places in London so it was ranked lower for this year

 

[Redbull]

Not surprised, Bangladeshi's who live there act like they own that place and are unfriendly to other people, mainly Pakistanis and Somalis.

Just my opinion.

 

[Hyde]

Not surprised, Bangladeshi's who live there act like they own that place and are unfriendly to other people, mainly Pakistanis and Somalis.

Just my opinion.

I think Stratford is equally dominated by Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Africans. But the area next to Stratford (Mile End, Bethnal Green, Aldgate etc) are all about Bangladeshi residents. The area behind Stratford (Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, East Ham etc) is all about Pakistani and Indians. The other corner of Stratford (Hackney etc) is all about Black people and the 4th corner of Stratford (Leytonstone, Leyton, Walthamstow etc) is again Pakistanis followed by Indians etc?

 

[RazPaK]

England is the last place on Earth I would want to go for vacation. Unpleasant weather+plus ugly girls.

No thanks.

 

[Peregrine]

My brother tells me that in london there are rats, so big that they can literally scare away a cat.

 

[RazPaK]

Oh and I forgot about the English smile.

Very welcoming.

 

[Hyde]

England is the last place on Earth I would want to go for vacation. Unpleasant weather+plus ugly girls.

No thanks.

If you are fan of girls then Spain, Holland and Swedish girls looks nice. If places then London, Paris, Rome are still priceless pieces of the crown. For general entertainment and pleasant weather - may be Spain and Italy

My brother tells me that in london there are rats, so big that they can literally scare away a cat.

Yes there are too many rats in London

 

[Redbull]

I think Stratford is equally dominated by Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Africans. But the area next to Stratford (Mile End, Bethnal Green, Aldgate etc) are all about Bangladeshi residents. The area behind Stratford (Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, East Ham etc) is all about Pakistani and Indians. The other corner of Stratford (Hackney etc) is all about Black people and the 4th corner of Stratford (Leytonstone, Leyton, Walthamstow etc) is again Pakistanis followed by Indians etc?

Your quite right about Stratford but the area the Olympics took place has mostly Bangladeshis, I have to get off at stratford station every day and my experience shows that they predominately populate that area. The rest you said is pretty accurate.

 

[A.Rafay]

If you are fan of girls then Spain, Holland and Swedish girls looks nice. If places then London, Paris, Rome are still priceless pieces of the crown. For general entertainment and pleasant weather - may be Spain and Italy



Yes there are too many rats in London

Why dont they get rid of the rats, the pet control authority or anti-animal force? I wonder that Childhood story about a city with too many rats and a man who make their rats go away by playing flute was based on london!!

 

[Redbull]

Why dont they get rid of the rats, the pet control authority or anti-animal force? I wonder that Childhood story about a city with too many rats and a man who make their rats go away by playing flute was based on london!!

I don't see much rats except in train stations, it's definitely not a pandemic.

 

[Desert Fox]

A lot of people i know who visited London said it no longer looks or feels like a English city, rather a third world city overrun by immigrants who imposed their own cultures in that city.

Not surprised, Bangladeshi's who live there act like they own that place and are unfriendly to other people, mainly Pakistanis and Somalis.

Just my opinion.

London is no longer a English city, its little Somalia/Bangladesh/india/Pakistan/Jamaica.

 

[airmarshal]

How could someone rank London as one of the places for shopping? Its bloody expensive there.

On being a tourist, I found London to be a great and historic place to visit. History very well preserved and it seems whole city is a museum.

 

[Redbull]

A lot of people i know who visited London said it no longer looks or feels like a English city, rather a third world city overrun by immigrants who imposed their own cultures in that city.




London is no longer a English city, its little Somalia/Bangladesh/india/Pakistan/Jamaica.

Yh quite right, though Pakistanis are not that bad in London compared to other places in England.

Somali, Bangladeshi and Arabs are definitely a big problem.

Indians are ok I must admit except the Muslim ones. Funny thing about Indian Muslims is, unlike most other Muslims, they were very conservative even before the War on terror started.

 

[Hyde]

How could someone rank London as one of the places for shopping? Its bloody expensive there.

On being a tourist, I found London to be a great and historic place to visit. History very well preserved and it seems whole city is a museum.

London is more about History, Museums and nights in central London.

You seem to know London better than many