Clubmed.co.uk have discovered the most popular (and, in some cases, strange) souvenirs by country from around the world.
A good vacation can last much longer than just the time we are there. The memories they create can stay with us forever, which is why so many of us choose to remember our time spent on postcards, photos and souvenirs.
We all know someone with a fridge full of magnets from distant destinations and novelty mugs in the closet of places once visited.
With its famous unpredictable weather, it is no wonder that the most popular souvenir in the UK is an umbrella! Although it is a staple for many of those living in the country, tourists who come to experience the wet weather for themselves find the object a unique souvenir that encompasses the UK in one.
For those visiting the US on vacation, their unique style of American sweets is the souvenir chosen to bring home to friends and family. Planning a trip to Australia? You will find that the most popular souvenir is a boomerang, a globally recognized symbol of Oz, used by Australian Aboriginal peoples for hunting.
Countries, including Ireland, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Grenada and Belgium, all have chocolate as a top souvenir, while coffee is most popular in countries near the equator, such as Guatemala, Ecuador and Indonesia. Blue Mountain Coffee, a luxury blend, is available exclusively for those traveling to Jamaica, coffee lovers choosing to take home the premium blend, grown in the mountains, over any other souvenir in the Caribbean.
Surprisingly, Denmark’s top souvenir is Lego. Although plastic bricks may seem like an unusual choice, they were invented by a Danish carpenter in the 1930s and are reported to be much cheaper in his home country. The most popular souvenir in New Zealand is also a nod to pop culture, with the unique ring (the object of desire throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy) being the best choice for tourists, as the entire trilogy was filmed there.
Handmade wooden artifacts, beads and masks are also very popular souvenirs across the continent, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia and Angola.
Textiles are among the most sought after souvenir choices for those visiting African countries. In Nigeria, Aso Oke, a vibrant, traditional fabric worn by yoruba is a popular item to take home. The fabric is also the top souvenir for Zimbabwe and Cameroon, while hand-woven rugs are an excellent souvenir choice for those traveling to Malawi.
Rum lovers should head to Mauritius, Dominica, Barbados, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Being their top souvenir export, these countries all know a thing or two about taste. Each has its own unique flavors and offers the perfect gift to bring home to friends and family.
What better souvenir to take home than a piece of paradise itself? Sea shells are very popular because they are cheap, easy to incorporate into luggage and delightful to look at. I found that the Bahamas, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis all have seashells and shell objects as top souvenirs.
So why not go for a day and collect your own shell souvenir with a trip to the Seychelles?
While some souvenirs will allow you to bring home the unique cuisine of another country, others are related to the distinctive culture of that country.
A perfect example is North Korea. The country in East Asia that is notoriously difficult to visit because you will usually have to be part of a government-approved organized tour. However, those who visited reported rather strange souvenirs … propaganda. From postcards to posters, souvenir shops across the country are filing government-produced propaganda to further idolize their leader Kim Jong-un and his controversial policies.
For tourists who like to take their taste buds on a trip, souvenirs from traditional cuisine are in high demand. Countries in North America, such as the USA and the most famous souvenirs in Canada, are the ones that taste as good as they look. In the US, tourists love to stock up on classic American chocolate, while those who visit Canada love to go home with maple syrup.
Strange souvenirs by country from around the world do not always promote the leader of the nation, but also their beer. Tourists visiting Laos in Southeast Asia are most likely to come home with a T-shirt announcing the country’s most popular drink, Beer Lao.
Source: clubmed.co.uk
This is such a great post. Everyone that travels likes to keep some sort of suveniers to keep the memory of the trip alive. Aiva 😊