A few days ago the winners of the New7Wonders of Nature was announced and I’m sure more than a few people were surprised by the results. Considering some of the ‘big names’ that made the final 28 it was very interesting to see how influential the public vote was in determining the winners.
It is pretty clear to me that there has been some serious campaigning done by the tourism boards of some of the lesser known wonders in order to gain a place on the list, unfortunately at the expense of what I will call ‘quality control’.
Here is the sequence of events that led to a decision being made:
- The voting process began back in December of 2007 with a global vote to determine the nominees from over 220 countries. This voting continued until the 7th of July 2009 and the 77 nominees were then selected.
- A Panel of Experts then selected 28 finalists on the 21st of July 2009.
- The public then voted for their favorites – with more than 100 million votes cast.
- The 7 winners were announced on the 11.11.11
So to give you a little background here is the list of 28 finalists and we will discuss the winners shortly.
Amazon: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
Angel Falls: Venezuela
Bay of Fundy: Canada
Black Forest: Germany
Bu Tinah Island: United Arab Emirates
Cliffs of Moher: Ireland
Dead Sea: Israel, Jordan, Palestine
El Yunque: Puerto Rico
Galapagos: Ecuador
Grand Canyon: USA
Great Barrier Reef: Australia, Papua New Guinea
Halong Bay: Vietnam
Iguazu Falls: Argentina, Brazil
Jeita Grotto: Lebanon
Jeju Island: Korea (south)
Kilimanjaro: Tanzania
Komodo: Indonesia
Islands of the Maldives: Maldives
Masurian Lake District: Poland
Matterhorn/Cervino: Italy, Switzerland
Milford Sound: New Zealand
Mud Volcanoes: Azerbaijan
PP Underground River: Philippines
Sunderbans: Bangladesh and India
Table Mountain: South Africa
Uluru: Australia
Vesuvius: Italy
Yushan: Chinese Taipei
Ok so from this esteemed list of natural wonders the following seven received the most votes by you and were announced the New7Wonders of Nature.
- Amazon: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
- Halong Bay: Vietnam
- Iguazu Falls: Argentina, Brazil
- Jeju Island: Korea (south)
- Komodo: Indonesia
- PP Underground River: Philippines
- Table Mountain: South Africa
Is it just me or does this list seem a little stacked. Firstly more than 50% (4 out of 7) of the winners are from the same continent – Asia. Secondly there are only 3 continents represented – Asia, South America and Africa. Finally, the vast majority of the winners are from developing countries.
Why is this important to the voting? Well in my opinion there are 2 major factors – 1. Government backing and funding 2. National pride
I am not here to say that these wonders shouldn’t be on the list but they definitely wouldn’t be on my own personal list which would look something like this: Amazon (South America), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Maasai Mara National Reserve (Africa), Grand Canyon (USA), Dead Sea (Israel), Antarctica, Mount Everest (Nepal)
Now it’s time to have your say. Tell us what wonders would be on YOUR list?
Image credits: New7Wonders
Michael is the founder of TravelByU.com
After backpacking around Europe he worked for Club Med in the Whitsundays and Mauritius before becoming a travel agent.
He is a passionate traveller and has recently set a goal to spend a year visiting the best festivals around the world.
