Only 7% of travellers could name seven ancient wonders of the world

MODERN travellers are somewhat vague about the ancient wonders of the world, according to a survey.

Only 7% could name all seven of the old wonders, while some thought the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Empire State Building were in the ancient list.

On modern wonders, travellers voted for the Channel Tunnel and the Millennium Dome as well as Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower, the survey from online travel company ebookers.com found.

The ancient wonders were the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Greece.

The survey, of 1,160 travellers, found:

89% could name one of the ancient wonders, with most getting the Great Pyramid

64% could name two (mostly the Great Pyramid and the Pharos Lighthouse), while 38% could name three

The Hoover Dam in Arizona was mistaken by some for an ancient wonder, while others cited the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, and the Statue of Liberty in New York were cited as modern wonders.

Ian Carter, British managing director of ebookers.com, said: “Although we might think that the seven wonders are a great part of our heritage and date back to ancient times, this survey shows that people have very little idea what or where the seven wonders are.

“When tourists travel abroad they often go in search of the renowned food, plentiful drink or hectic nightlife but are consequently missing out on the historical side of the country which would be so easy to visit.”