Photo: James Rojas (WBZ)
SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A walking tour based in Salem, Massachusetts was ranked No. 1 on a list of the best cultural and historical walking tours in the United States.
Travel site Tripadvisor unveiled the user-ranked list on Tuesday, placing the History & Hauntings of Salem Guided Walking Tour by Witch City Walking Tours at the very top. The tour also ranked No. 6 in the world for cultural and historical tours and No. 3 in the U.S. for top overall experiences.
The walking tour takes visitors through the 400 year history of Salem, site of the famous Salem witch trials of 1692.
"I started this company as a side job because I love history and I was doing my student teaching," owner and guide Beth Crowley told WBZ NewsRadio Thursday. "And it was just me alone for the first three years, and then I had another person join and a few more people and it just grew."
"It’s exciting to be part of a group of people who really care about the stories of Salem, and it’s really exciting that people are recognizing that," said guide Rebecca Johnson. "I think we also are recognized because we have great customer service, and that is something that all of us on the team believe strongly in."
Visitors like Brian and his family from Missouri took the History & Hauntings tour based on its glowing reviews on Tripadvisor.
"Yeah usually Tripadvisor leads you in the right direction and everything, pretty honest reviews," Brian told WBZ. "So when you get good reviews like they got, it leads to plenty of people booking."
The Deluxe U.S.S. Arizona Memorial and Historical City Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii ranked second among cultural and historical U.S. tours, while the Official Hollywood Sign Walking Tour in Los Angeles ranked third.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports.
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