Auckland - New research has shown that the Wonders of the World, long considered draw cards when it comes to attracting travellers, are now being overlooked.

The latest survey conducted by global hotels expert Hotels.com has found that global holidaymakers are leaving many of these 'must-see' landmarks off their travel itineraries.

The research put global holidaymakers to the test to see if they knew their Great Wall of China from their Taj Mahal and, more importantly, if they had actually made the trip to see them.

Surprisingly, almost one in three travellers (30%) admitted they had never visited any of the Wonders, while a further one in five (20%) were not even aware of their existence.

Despite the appeal of the world's most spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures, some have been barely visited by global travellers, including Machu Picchu (5%), Peru's Inca sacred site and Petra (6%), Jordan's archaeological desert phenomenon.

On the other hand, the Wonders of the World that attracted the most global travellers included Rome's ancient amphitheatre the Colosseum (33%) and Beijing's Great Wall of China (17%).

Surprisingly, only one in eleven (9%) of travellers around the world have visited hugely famous sites such as Christ the Redeemer, Brazil's infamous statue of Jesus Christ, and the Taj Mahal, India's majestic marble mausoleum .

Aussie and Kiwi travellers, often considered a well-travelled group, fared even worse than the global travel community when it came to being familiar with the 'Wonders', with almost half (43%) admitting to having never visited a single one of the sites, either ancient or modern. Luckily, Australasia managed to redeem some travel cred by a huge majority (94%) at least being aware of which landmarks make up the Wonders of the World.

Katherine Birch, Hotels.com Head of Marketing, Australia & New Zealand said: "Given their globe-trotting character, I'm surprised at how few Wonders of the World have been visited by Aussie and Kiwi travellers.

"That said, there has never been a better time for us to earn back that reputation; many of the Wonders of the World are located in destinations offering Aussies and Kiwis great value for money, thanks to the performance of the Australian and New Zealand Dollar. I would urge travellers on this side of the world to start making their way through that travel bucket-list."