So, How Was ______?
When I came back from spending 2+ weeks in Ireland over Christmas 2006, I intended to continue documenting the travel that Tanya and I have undertaken over the last several years. I found though, that I couldn’t come up with anything interesting to say due to the fact that I just didn’t enjoy the trip all that much. That could have been a story all in itself - how someone could possibly dislike Ireland - but deep down I just felt there was something else going on. I was actually worried that perhaps I had traveled too much; that the thrill of seeing what was over the next hill had worn off; that my dopamine receptors had become bored. But I soldiered on. Largely because Tanya was still abroad for school so I needed to travel to see her. When we went to Spain for three weeks over Christmas 2007 though, I discovered the story I wanted to tell. By taking a similar length vacation at the same time of year with the same one-country concentration, I was able to directly compare and think about why I was having a good time in Spain, but had not in Ireland. It wasn’t any one thing. It was a complicated interaction of many factors. And this got me thinking - how can you effectively rate a country?
When you return from a trip, everyone asks the same question - “How was (country x)?” Most people are not as interested in traveling as I am so they are probably just being polite. They want you to give them a quick sound bite and then move back to regular conversation, which is what I’ve always done. But that one question just doesn’t answer it. It is far too broad, and so it always leaves me frustrated. Instead of answering with a typical sound bite though, what if I could give a simple number that would quickly encompass everything, but at the same time introduce a systematic way of actually discussing travel in a comprehensive manner. Wouldn’t that be a much better answer? Besides, people actually usually want to know more - they just don’t know how to ask. I always want to say more, but don’t know where to begin. Or more importantly, where to end. I figured though, that by combining my ever increasing travel experience with my MBA training in structured analysis and rigorous mathematical comparisons, surely I could find a solution.
And I think I have. Let’s take a look at a sample scorecard before I describe the details. What I’ve done is debatable, but it seems to hold up well over the first few ratings I’ve tried, so I think it is worth extending the trial to several dozen more trips to see how effective it is. My wanderlust is back baby!
When you return from a trip, everyone asks the same question - “How was (country x)?” Most people are not as interested in traveling as I am so they are probably just being polite. They want you to give them a quick sound bite and then move back to regular conversation, which is what I’ve always done. But that one question just doesn’t answer it. It is far too broad, and so it always leaves me frustrated. Instead of answering with a typical sound bite though, what if I could give a simple number that would quickly encompass everything, but at the same time introduce a systematic way of actually discussing travel in a comprehensive manner. Wouldn’t that be a much better answer? Besides, people actually usually want to know more - they just don’t know how to ask. I always want to say more, but don’t know where to begin. Or more importantly, where to end. I figured though, that by combining my ever increasing travel experience with my MBA training in structured analysis and rigorous mathematical comparisons, surely I could find a solution.
And I think I have. Let’s take a look at a sample scorecard before I describe the details. What I’ve done is debatable, but it seems to hold up well over the first few ratings I’ve tried, so I think it is worth extending the trial to several dozen more trips to see how effective it is. My wanderlust is back baby!
Item (Base Weight + Bonus Points) x Rating = Item Score
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + 1 ) x 5 = 25
Events ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
History ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Museums ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Nature ( 5 + 2 ) x 5 = 35
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 5 = 35
Eat ( 5 + 4 ) x 5 = 45
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Learn ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Meet People ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Relax ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Shop ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + 2 ) x 5 = 20
Crime ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Information ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Internet ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Language ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Money ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Time ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Values ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Weather ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
SEE & DO SCORE 100%
EASE SCORE 100%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 100%
So this scorecard shows a theoretically “perfect” country (although that likely only exists on another planet and will have to be covered in another sci-fi story sometime). First, notice the details of the scorecard. I came up with 25 items that make up a country experience. I did this by: 1) brainstorming all of the questions I would ask someone if I was trying to learn about a country; 2) remembering all the things I’ve done on past trips; and 3) reviewing all the information contained in most guidebooks. Next, see the structure. I analyzed these 25 items and found that they basically fall into three categories: 1) things you see; 2) things you do; and 3) the ease with which you can see and do these things. I chose a 5-point rating scale to evaluate these 25 items (basically because a 2 point scale is too blunt, and a 10 point scale is too fine). And finally, there was the simple matter of weighting each item so that its individual score would reflect its importance to the overall rating. Of course, this “simple” task is virtually impossible to get correct. Everyone has different ideas of what is important to them on a vacation. Plus, those importances change based on the type of vacation you are taking and the reason you may have for choosing each destination. I needed to come up with a way to allow for this variation, yet still end up with a total score that was going to be comparable across lots of vacation destinations.
What I did is easy to explain. Each item in the “see” and “do” categories gets 5 points for its base rating. Each item in the “ease” category gets 2 points. 11 bonus points are distributed to any item in any category. (The bonus points above are purely illustrative as they change for each actual country rating.) Why I did this is where the debate is. My argument is that “seeing” and “doing” things is much more important than how “easy” it is to do them. Specifically, it’s 2.5 times more important. You can’t argue with that! Actually, this is a somewhat random choice, but it feels right and it also results in having 11 bonus points left over to distribute among the individual items. (5x13 see and do’s + 2x12 ease’s = 89) This bonus of slightly more than 10% of the overall score feels just about right. And as I said above, I like the results that this is all yielding on the first few ratings I’ve tried. Let’s walk through two ratings to see what I’m taking about and finally (finally!!) get to some good travel pictures.
THINGS TO SEE - ARCHITECTURE
Ireland = 2. No major cityscapes. Contribution to the field ended with stone masonry.
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + 1 ) x 5 = 25
Events ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
History ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Museums ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Nature ( 5 + 2 ) x 5 = 35
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 5 = 35
Eat ( 5 + 4 ) x 5 = 45
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Learn ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Meet People ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Relax ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
Shop ( 5 + ) x 5 = 25
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + 2 ) x 5 = 20
Crime ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Information ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Internet ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Language ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Money ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Time ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Values ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Weather ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
SEE & DO SCORE 100%
EASE SCORE 100%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 100%
So this scorecard shows a theoretically “perfect” country (although that likely only exists on another planet and will have to be covered in another sci-fi story sometime). First, notice the details of the scorecard. I came up with 25 items that make up a country experience. I did this by: 1) brainstorming all of the questions I would ask someone if I was trying to learn about a country; 2) remembering all the things I’ve done on past trips; and 3) reviewing all the information contained in most guidebooks. Next, see the structure. I analyzed these 25 items and found that they basically fall into three categories: 1) things you see; 2) things you do; and 3) the ease with which you can see and do these things. I chose a 5-point rating scale to evaluate these 25 items (basically because a 2 point scale is too blunt, and a 10 point scale is too fine). And finally, there was the simple matter of weighting each item so that its individual score would reflect its importance to the overall rating. Of course, this “simple” task is virtually impossible to get correct. Everyone has different ideas of what is important to them on a vacation. Plus, those importances change based on the type of vacation you are taking and the reason you may have for choosing each destination. I needed to come up with a way to allow for this variation, yet still end up with a total score that was going to be comparable across lots of vacation destinations.
What I did is easy to explain. Each item in the “see” and “do” categories gets 5 points for its base rating. Each item in the “ease” category gets 2 points. 11 bonus points are distributed to any item in any category. (The bonus points above are purely illustrative as they change for each actual country rating.) Why I did this is where the debate is. My argument is that “seeing” and “doing” things is much more important than how “easy” it is to do them. Specifically, it’s 2.5 times more important. You can’t argue with that! Actually, this is a somewhat random choice, but it feels right and it also results in having 11 bonus points left over to distribute among the individual items. (5x13 see and do’s + 2x12 ease’s = 89) This bonus of slightly more than 10% of the overall score feels just about right. And as I said above, I like the results that this is all yielding on the first few ratings I’ve tried. Let’s walk through two ratings to see what I’m taking about and finally (finally!!) get to some good travel pictures.
THINGS TO SEE - ARCHITECTURE
Ireland = 2. No major cityscapes. Contribution to the field ended with stone masonry.
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Above are the best pictures I could find of Dublin and Belfast. Below is an old monastery made entirely of stone (brrrr), and on the right is THE Saint Patrick’s cathedral. Ho hum.
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ARCHITECTURE Spain = 5. Arab and European influence in the Middle Ages. The greatest collection of 19th century Art Nouveau works in Barcelona. Modern masterpieces from the renowned Frank Gehry.
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To the left, the Gothic cathedral in Segovia made of ornately carved sandstone. Below left, Spain’s “prettiest town square” in Salamanca where Plateresque and Renaissance styles dominate. Below right, Barcelona’s version of an “Arc de Triomphe” with unusual Islamic style brickwork. |
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Moving forward in time, here are two of the masterworks of Modernisme master Antoni Gaudi. Modernisme is the Spanish variety of Art Nouveau that swept Europe around the turn of the 20th century. Meant to evoke the natural world in its designs, Spain’s version was also influenced by its location at the crossroads of Gothic, Islamic, Renaissance, Romanesque, Byzantine and Baroque styles. Quite a heady mix - as you can see in the Casa Batllo below left, and a passageway in Park Guell below right.
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And then there is Gaudi’s crown jewel - La Sagrada Familia. Quite simply, I think it will be the greatest cathedral ever constructed when it is complete in about 20 years. I definitely hope to see it. Below right, you can see the unique exterior meant to mimic the organic structure of a cave. On the left though is the magnificent interior with it’s branched columns and leafy canopy ceiling that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a magical forest. Once the stained glass and mosaics are complete, it will be breathtaking.
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Finally, Spain isn’t resting on the laurels of this architecturally rich heritage. Two of the more ambitious recent projects in the world reside in this country as well. Both are by Frank Gehry, who might be more sculptor than architect, but they are amazing to see. Below left is his Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, and below right is a luxury hotel and factory commissioned for the oldest and most renowned winery in Spain. I could have included dozens of more pictures of Spain’s amazing architecture, but we’ve got 24 more categories to get through so let’s move on.
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THINGS TO SEE - EVENTS
Ireland = 4. This category includes things like sporting events, music concerts, operas, theater, ballet, and folk dancing. Basically, any temporary performance you can buy a ticket to. While Ireland severely lacks highbrow items from this list, it makes up for it with the best free shows in the world - jams in bars.
Ireland = 4. This category includes things like sporting events, music concerts, operas, theater, ballet, and folk dancing. Basically, any temporary performance you can buy a ticket to. While Ireland severely lacks highbrow items from this list, it makes up for it with the best free shows in the world - jams in bars.
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EVENTS Spain = 4. Flamenco, two of the Three Tenors, bullfights, and two of the most famous football (soccer) clubs in the world. It’s harder to see the events in Spain, but they are varied and exceptional.
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THINGS TO SEE - HISTORY
Ireland = 4. A magnificent collection of stone ruins from catholic and pagan sites. The first picture on the left is Newgrange - constructed around 3,200 BC, it is more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge. Its main passageway is aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice and visitors are taken inside where the lights are dimmed and they re-enact what this morning ceremony would look like. It’s one of my favorite experiences at a UNESCO site.
Ireland = 4. A magnificent collection of stone ruins from catholic and pagan sites. The first picture on the left is Newgrange - constructed around 3,200 BC, it is more than 600 years older than the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, and 1,000 years more ancient than Stonehenge. Its main passageway is aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice and visitors are taken inside where the lights are dimmed and they re-enact what this morning ceremony would look like. It’s one of my favorite experiences at a UNESCO site.
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This category isn’t just for ancient history though. Visiting the Northern Ireland cities of Belfast and Derry allows you to feel the recent history of the Troubles through huge murals plastered on buildings.
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HISTORY Spain = 3. There was a great Roman aqueduct to see in Segovia, and the moorish castle in the same town was neat, but I think a lot of the ancient history was destroyed during Spain’s many religious wars.
Similar to Ireland, there was also some interesting Basque separatist stuff to see. Since they haven’t succeeded in gaining independence though, that mostly consisted of graffiti or small posters hung up in a few cities in the north. |
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THINGS TO SEE - MUSEUMS Ireland = 1. We spent over two weeks driving around the entire country and there wasn’t one museum I thought was interesting enough to go inside, let alone take a picture of.
Spain = 4. Spain by contrast had excellent collections all around the country. Just to scratch the surface, these pictures are of the lines to get in to the Prado in Madrid and the Picasso in Barcelona. (Do a google search for their collections.) I guess this is what happens when you have an empire (Spain) or not (Ireland), but when you have cold afternoons to kill, who cares where the stuff came from?
Spain = 4. Spain by contrast had excellent collections all around the country. Just to scratch the surface, these pictures are of the lines to get in to the Prado in Madrid and the Picasso in Barcelona. (Do a google search for their collections.) I guess this is what happens when you have an empire (Spain) or not (Ireland), but when you have cold afternoons to kill, who cares where the stuff came from?
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THINGS TO SEE - NATURE
Ireland = 4. Not as spectacular as Mongolia, Ecuador, or the Canadian Rockies, but Ireland’s gorgeous.
Ireland = 4. Not as spectacular as Mongolia, Ecuador, or the Canadian Rockies, but Ireland’s gorgeous.
NATURE Spain = 3. It was too cloudy to get good pictures of the Pyrenees, and we didn’t make it to the Costa del Sol, but the rolling hills of the Rioja wine country and the setting of San Sebastian were pretty.
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THINGS TO SEE - NOVELTY Ireland = 2. You don’t go to Ireland because it is an exotic destination. No one asks, “what is there to see in Ireland?” It’s well traveled and well documented by us English speaking Americans. One little known treat though is jumping on peat bogs - you could feel the vibrations up to 20 feet away. It was like being on a field of jello. |
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NOVELTY Spain = 3. Spain actually has four official languages and remnants from lots of empires that have crossed its land. But it is the third most visited country in the world (behind France and the U.S.), so it’s also pretty well known. I’ve never seen an outdoor moving walkway before though so that’s pretty novel. |
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Since this is a visual medium, and that wraps up the “Things to See” category, let’s move things along a little more quickly to get to the end of this article.
THINGS TO DO - Ireland Drink = 3 Eat = 2 Exercise = 3 Learn = 3 Meet People = 5 Relax = 2 Shop = 3 The pub’s the thing to do in Ireland and it dominates this category. Irish Whiskey and Guinness are great to drink, but that’s kind of it. Most of your (so-so) meals are taken in a pub too. This makes meeting people particularly easy and great, but there aren’t a lot of other options to spend your time relaxing. (The Irish are probably the home of red hair and freckles precisely because of the lack of good beaches.) Wool products are a good buy. |
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THINGS TO DO - Spain
Drink = 4
Eat = 5
Exercise = 3
Learn = 3
Meet People = 3
Relax = 4
Shop = 3
Spain on the other hand scores well here. It is tied with France as the second largest exporter of wine in the world (behind Italy), sangria and sherry are interesting alternatives, and the cervezas are crisp and clean. The New York Times recently said that if they could go anywhere in the world today to eat, it would be to San Sebastian, Spain, which reputedly has the highest per-capita concentration of Michelin starred restaurants in the world. Spanish food is built on the principle of using a few great ingredients and doing very little to them. That sold me. Plus, their tradition of tapas makes it extremely easy to pop in and out of 5 to 6 places in an evening and try everyone’s specialties in town. The rest of this category’s items are average - the people are not the friendliest I’ve come across, the reputation for leather products was a little over-exaggerated, and I’m assuming the beaches are great in the summer.
Drink = 4
Eat = 5
Exercise = 3
Learn = 3
Meet People = 3
Relax = 4
Shop = 3
Spain on the other hand scores well here. It is tied with France as the second largest exporter of wine in the world (behind Italy), sangria and sherry are interesting alternatives, and the cervezas are crisp and clean. The New York Times recently said that if they could go anywhere in the world today to eat, it would be to San Sebastian, Spain, which reputedly has the highest per-capita concentration of Michelin starred restaurants in the world. Spanish food is built on the principle of using a few great ingredients and doing very little to them. That sold me. Plus, their tradition of tapas makes it extremely easy to pop in and out of 5 to 6 places in an evening and try everyone’s specialties in town. The rest of this category’s items are average - the people are not the friendliest I’ve come across, the reputation for leather products was a little over-exaggerated, and I’m assuming the beaches are great in the summer.
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EASE TO SEE & DO - Ireland
Cost = 2 Lodging = 4
Crime = 5 Money = 4
Information = 3 Time = 3
Infrastructure = 4 Transportation = 3
Internet = 3 Values = 5
Language = 5 Weather = 2
Ireland has one of the hottest economies in the world so things are expensive here. It’s a safe, friendly, comfortable place though where everyone speaks English with the most charming accent (that is a lot of fun to imitate while you are driving long distances on the wrong side of the road). There are bed and breakfasts everywhere you turn, which makes lodging fun but a little restrictive on the time you can spend lounging in bed. (Can’t miss those Irish Fry breakfasts and all their blood sausages!) And even though one of my favorite travel writers says there’s no such thing as bad weather - only inappropriate clothing - Ireland’s weather sucks for being a tourist. The constant wind and rain sap the energy from you, and make photos and picnics and walks a constant battle. Luckily there’s always another bar to duck into!
Cost = 2 Lodging = 4
Crime = 5 Money = 4
Information = 3 Time = 3
Infrastructure = 4 Transportation = 3
Internet = 3 Values = 5
Language = 5 Weather = 2
Ireland has one of the hottest economies in the world so things are expensive here. It’s a safe, friendly, comfortable place though where everyone speaks English with the most charming accent (that is a lot of fun to imitate while you are driving long distances on the wrong side of the road). There are bed and breakfasts everywhere you turn, which makes lodging fun but a little restrictive on the time you can spend lounging in bed. (Can’t miss those Irish Fry breakfasts and all their blood sausages!) And even though one of my favorite travel writers says there’s no such thing as bad weather - only inappropriate clothing - Ireland’s weather sucks for being a tourist. The constant wind and rain sap the energy from you, and make photos and picnics and walks a constant battle. Luckily there’s always another bar to duck into!
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EASE TO SEE & DO - Spain
Cost = 3 Lodging = 4
Crime = 4 Money = 4
Information = 3 Time = 5
Infrastructure = 4 Transportation = 4
Internet = 4 Values = 4
Language = 3 Weather = 4
Spain is a little more reasonably priced, but since it’s on the Euro it is a little expensive for us right now. The language is surprisingly difficult unless you know Spanish. That’s one of the world’s most spoken languages so Spaniards seem to expect you to know it - rather like us English speakers. The country has been on the receiving end of many infrastructure grants since it joined the EU in 1986 so there are great roads, metros, trains, busses, and hostels with free wi-fi throughout the country. With late nights and siestas, it’s the perfect pace for travelers, and the weather is much sunnier and drier. I don’t have any good illustrative pictures for these categories, so I’ll just add two final shots in order to remind you of the architectural brilliance of Spain, and the fact that it has the best ham in the world too. What’s not to love?
Cost = 3 Lodging = 4
Crime = 4 Money = 4
Information = 3 Time = 5
Infrastructure = 4 Transportation = 4
Internet = 4 Values = 4
Language = 3 Weather = 4
Spain is a little more reasonably priced, but since it’s on the Euro it is a little expensive for us right now. The language is surprisingly difficult unless you know Spanish. That’s one of the world’s most spoken languages so Spaniards seem to expect you to know it - rather like us English speakers. The country has been on the receiving end of many infrastructure grants since it joined the EU in 1986 so there are great roads, metros, trains, busses, and hostels with free wi-fi throughout the country. With late nights and siestas, it’s the perfect pace for travelers, and the weather is much sunnier and drier. I don’t have any good illustrative pictures for these categories, so I’ll just add two final shots in order to remind you of the architectural brilliance of Spain, and the fact that it has the best ham in the world too. What’s not to love?
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It’s almost time to add it all up. I just have to distribute my 11 bonus points based on what I was looking for in each of these vacations. For Ireland, I wanted to spend the days seeing the countryside, and the nights drinking with people in bars while listening to folk music. So, I gave 3 extra points to Events, 3 more to Nature, 2 to Drink, and 3 to Meet People. For Spain, I wanted to spend my days visiting museums and marveling at the architectural sights, and then (after a siesta) take tapas tours every evening. Therefore, Spain got 3 points each for Architecture, Museums, and Food, plus 2 more for Drink. What does this all mean? Let’s go to the scorecards.
IRELAND
Item (Base Weight + Bonus Points) x Rating = Item Score
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Events ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
History ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
Museums ( 5 + ) x 1 = 5
Nature ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 3 = 21
Eat ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Learn ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Meet People ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Relax ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Shop ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + ) x 2 = 4
Crime ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Information ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Internet ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Language ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Money ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Time ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Values ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Weather ( 2 + ) x 2 = 4
SEE & DO SCORE 62%
EASE SCORE 72%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 64%
SPAIN
Item (Base Weight + Bonus Points) x Rating = Item Score
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Events ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
History ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Museums ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
Nature ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 4 = 28
Eat ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Learn ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Meet People ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Relax ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
Shop ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Crime ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Information ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Internet ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Language ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Money ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Time ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Values ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Weather ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
SEE & DO SCORE 75%
EASE SCORE 77%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 75%
So there you have it. Spain takes it on the relative dominance of its architecture, museums, food and drink. My gut feelings were right on, and now I have an official system to prove it. Just to check, I quickly did this for 5 more countries and came up with the following rankings.
COUNTRY SEE & DO EASE TOTAL
Turkey 84% 82% 83%
France 79% 77% 78%
Mongolia 80% 60% 75%
Spain 75% 77% 75%
England 64% 72% 66%
Ireland 62% 72% 64%
Ukraine 63% 48% 59%
This looks exactly right. Over the next few weeks, I’ll pore over all my old trips and come up with a more comprehensive ranking of the 30+ countries that I’ve been to. Basically, it looks like if you have been an empire in a warm climate, you are going to score very well on this tourist scorecard. Tanya and I just booked tickets for 2 weeks in Italy, so that trip should confirm this hypothesis. I’ll be sure to let you know!
IRELAND
Item (Base Weight + Bonus Points) x Rating = Item Score
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Events ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
History ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
Museums ( 5 + ) x 1 = 5
Nature ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 3 = 21
Eat ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Learn ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Meet People ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Relax ( 5 + ) x 2 = 10
Shop ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + ) x 2 = 4
Crime ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Information ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Internet ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Language ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Money ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Time ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Values ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Weather ( 2 + ) x 2 = 4
SEE & DO SCORE 62%
EASE SCORE 72%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 64%
SPAIN
Item (Base Weight + Bonus Points) x Rating = Item Score
THINGS TO SEE
Architecture ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Events ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
History ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Museums ( 5 + 3 ) x 4 = 32
Nature ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Novelty ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
THINGS TO DO
Drink ( 5 + 2 ) x 4 = 28
Eat ( 5 + 3 ) x 5 = 40
Exercise ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Learn ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Meet People ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
Relax ( 5 + ) x 4 = 20
Shop ( 5 + ) x 3 = 15
EASE TO SEE & DO
Cost ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Crime ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Information ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Infrastructure ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Internet ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Language ( 2 + ) x 3 = 6
Lodging ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Money ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Time ( 2 + ) x 5 = 10
Transportation ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Values ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
Weather ( 2 + ) x 4 = 8
SEE & DO SCORE 75%
EASE SCORE 77%
TOTAL SCORE (% out of 500) 75%
So there you have it. Spain takes it on the relative dominance of its architecture, museums, food and drink. My gut feelings were right on, and now I have an official system to prove it. Just to check, I quickly did this for 5 more countries and came up with the following rankings.
COUNTRY SEE & DO EASE TOTAL
Turkey 84% 82% 83%
France 79% 77% 78%
Mongolia 80% 60% 75%
Spain 75% 77% 75%
England 64% 72% 66%
Ireland 62% 72% 64%
Ukraine 63% 48% 59%
This looks exactly right. Over the next few weeks, I’ll pore over all my old trips and come up with a more comprehensive ranking of the 30+ countries that I’ve been to. Basically, it looks like if you have been an empire in a warm climate, you are going to score very well on this tourist scorecard. Tanya and I just booked tickets for 2 weeks in Italy, so that trip should confirm this hypothesis. I’ll be sure to let you know!
