Snowdonia named UK’s most littered tourist attraction in TripAdvisor review analysis
Analysis of TripAdvisor reviews by waste consultancy finds litter complaints most frequent at Snowdonia National Park, with theme parks and mountains also flagged
Snowdonia National Park has been identified as the United Kingdom’s most littered tourist attraction after an analysis of TripAdvisor reviews, researchers said.
The study, conducted by waste consultancy BusinessWaste.co.uk, examined visitor reviews of the country’s most popular attractions and found 1.03% of 2,803 TripAdvisor reviews for Snowdonia mentioned litter. The consultancy said the national park attracts more than four million visitors a year and that the scale and nature of the landscape make litter collection difficult.
Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort ranked second overall and was named the dirtiest site in England, with 0.69% of its reviews referencing litter. Reviewers cited graffiti, cigarette butts and chewing gum, and several comments highlighted a perceived shortage of bins and poor waste management at the seaside theme park, which opened in 1896 and houses long-standing wooden rollercoasters such as The Big One and The Big Dipper.
In third place was Ben Nevis, the United Kingdom’s highest mountain, where 0.66% of 2,648 reviews mentioned litter. The summit rises to 1,345 metres and is climbed by more than 150,000 people each year, the analysis noted, and several reviewers urged hikers to take their rubbish home. Alton Towers, while fifth by percentage, generated the greatest number of litter mentions in raw terms, with 147 reviews commenting on rubbish at the Staffordshire theme park.
The research identified three Scottish attractions among the top 10 most littered sites. At the other end of the spectrum, the Titanic Museum in Belfast and the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition in Scotland were among the least littered attractions, according to the review data.
Graham Matthews, a general waste expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk, said the findings were concerning given the historical and environmental importance of many sites. "To see so many reviews highlighting the amount of litter at some of the UK’s most iconic tourist attractions is a concern," he said. He added that while staff may struggle to manage waste effectively during busy periods, visitors must take responsibility for their own rubbish and, where bins are not available, carry waste home for proper disposal.
The analysis comes amid a rise in domestic tourism: the consultancy cited separate survey findings that 28% of Britons booked staycations specifically to visit a historic or cultural site this year. Experts and site managers have warned that increased visitor numbers can strain on-site waste infrastructure and heighten the risk of environmental damage when litter is left behind.
Site managers and local authorities face logistical challenges in deploying staff and bins across large, remote or steep landscapes, and attractions with heavy footfall may require more frequent servicing of receptacles and additional public information campaigns. Review-based research has limitations, the consultancy acknowledged, because it relies on voluntary comments from visitors and reflects perceptions as well as recorded incidents.
Conservation groups and park authorities have urged visitors to follow established guidance on taking rubbish home when necessary and to use designated bins where provided. The consultancy recommended that operators review bin placement and waste collection schedules and that visitors plan to carry out their own waste if facilities are limited, to help preserve sensitive landscapes and historic sites for future visitors.