If you live in a place popular with tourists, how do you feel about?

[Crunchymum]

Currently in a lovely little Airbnb cottage, in a pretty seaside town and I wonder how the locals feel about us tourists.

I get that tourism has major positives - employment / local economy benefits but I'd hate to live next door to an Airbnb or share my lovely beach with a billion others on BH weekend or deal with the noise and rubbish left (not even litter per just the sheer volume)

We are Londoners so are well versed on avoiding tourist hotspots unless we actually want to be in the hub but in smaller places it must be hard for the locals to avoid the tourists?

I'm a born and bred Londoner and I have to say the biggest silver lining of 2020 was being able to see (some parts of) my own city properly for the first time.

Had some amazing walks through deserted central london and had galleries and museums pretty much to ourselves last summer.

The tourists are back now ( with reinforcements!) but I'm glad that we were able to have that experience just once in our lives.

I feel lucky to be able to live in area that people want to visit.

I don't live in one of those places although have lived in London.
I personally think those who live in tourist hotspots will have (or should have) considered this question before moving there/deciding to stay there. If the locals depend on tourism, they cannot also be annoyed by it. Living in one of those places is a lifestyle choice.
There are many tourist places I would love to live in but would never actually consider it because I wouldn't want tourists on my doorstep.

Sorry. I'll get off my soap box now!

I live in a town that's been on the TV for big events in the last couple of years (and many many events historically) and I love it. It looks beautiful on TV and I get so proud of our little corner of the world. We do have an annoying theme park locally which causes traffic but as long as you remember to leave extra time it's fine. We also have a famous school here and the students can be annoying but overall the positives outweigh the negatives.

I live in London and enjoyed the quiet time. Liked being able to actually get a seat on the tube for a change and look in peace, we had a good few weekends of doing stuff we wouldn’t normally do as it gets too busy and I hate the crowds.

If I could I’d live by the coast I much prefer it

I lived in a tourist town for a couple of years. If it wasn't for the tourists (and it's specific history) it would have been just a small market town that would have never developed much so the tourists made it what it was really.
But sometimes the tourists were a total pain. Large groups standing around getting in your way so you couldn't walk down the path to get to work. French and Italian school groups were rude and appallingly behaved. American's were loud . Coaches. So many coaches. Nipping to Boots/McDonalds in your lunch break was totally not doable because of the queues.
But as I said, without the towns history and tourism it wouldn't have developed much at all really.
I kinda miss that town.

I live in the Highlands and I know tourism is important. However people don't respect the Highlands. They dump their litter everywhere, camp in silly places, although there is right to roam there are also responsiblities people should remember they have. They hire giant campervans they struggle to drive and we need to avoid them and potential accidents. For the most part the majority are fine but the minority definitely ruin it.

If the locals depend on tourism, they cannot also be annoyed by it. Living in one of those places is a lifestyle choice.
There are many tourist places I would love to live in but would never actually consider it because I wouldn't want tourists on my doorstep. this is a curious attitude. Are you suggesting that people should leave the areas they have lived in for generations because tourists want to visit?

I've always lived on national parks and generally welcome tourists as they bring much needed revenue to the area and winters are nice and quiet.
However in later years the rubbish chucking from tourists has become unsustainable and is destroying the countryside. i feel like going out there with a shot gun and a lot of the locals are getting very angry about it.

I’m a lifelong Londoner too, and like a pp loved wandering round town without the tourists.

We also have a place on the east coast, in a very popular little beach village. My family have owned it over 30 years, starting with my dad and uncles and now a few cousins have bought a live locally, plus we have friends here so feel part of the community as come regularly, pre pandemic of course..

It’s really difficult and have been pondering this today as I’m up on the coast since the beginning of the month and it has been so lovely until this weekend when the weather perked up and the day trippers arrived. Suddenly litter everywhere, people parking wherever the fuck they like or stopping in the middle of the street. Similar problems they cause in London.

My issue is so many seem to not understand places they visit have functioning residents too. It’s a nice jaunt for them but here are still people here trying to get to work or pick up a prescription. Not everyone is on holiday. In London it infuriates me, but by the beach I’m so aware how many businesses need them to survive.

I'm in Edinburgh. Completely understand the need for tourism but the balance is shocking. You get the sense the council only cares about tourism to the detriment of everyone else. I live maybe 20mins away from the city centre and treat a day there with my kids about the same as I'd treat a day out to Glasgow, Newcastle, or York. Basically it's rare and it's an occasion.

But then I also wonder if most people feel like this. Could the neighbours of your Air B&B in their nice quiet town who hate tourism be planning their trip to Edinburgh this summer? Possibly.

So can I moan? Probably not considering I've been to places like Barcelona, Rome and Paris, and then also places like Benidorm and Marmaris that are basically set up for tourists (wether the locals wanted that or not).

I absolutely hate Air B&B though and would ban that. At least with traditional types of accommodation, there could be some control over how many tourists are in a place at each time.

I lived in a tourist town for 6 years and it did annoy me. Never being able to get around quickly because the roads and pavements were blocked with sightseers. I now live in a nice semi-rural area with no tourists and it is perfect!

London has been a joy without tourists. I mean anyone who lives anywhere has no idea what central London is. Which is where I live.
But I also totally accept that I live in tourist hotspot so in pre covid times i just lived with it and was ok with it. My choice to live in zone 1

I used to live in a seaside town and although it could be annoying at high season, you learn where you can/can’t go and what times to go at so it’s not too bad really. I now live a little inland but actually went to take DS to the dentist today then popped to the beach for an ice cream and a quick walk on the sand. I knew where I could get a parking spot for free away from the hordes and where the cheap ice cream place was etc - so now I get the advantages without the drawbacks as we’re only a 20 minute drive away!

I come from a little sea side town and every local breathes a sigh of relief when the end of August comes and the visitors stop coming. Very few locals make money off the tourists and they are just a bloody nuisance. They leave the place so dirty, when pubs were open they caused havoc on the streets at night and were quite disrespectful to our town.

This has been done to death, OP. And it always deteriorates into undignified arguing.

Unless you are making money off tourists, which many locals aren't, then generally it is a pain. Not everybody has a cafe/shop/burger stall. Nurses, teachers, farmers etc live in tourist areas too. The increased people and traffic is generally a pain, to be frank.

I love where I live and am thankful everyday to be here. Tourists are necessary for the economy, but not as essential as some on MN would have us believe. Yes, they spend money in the summer, but our shops and restaurants manage on local business for most of the year. I don't go near the beach on lovely summer days as the crowds are awful. I do love the beach out of season.

The real issue is the buying of second homes. It means my adult dc cannot afford to buy here. And I cannot believe that someone upthread seriously suggested we should move if we don't like it. My family have lived here for generations - why on earth should we have to move out for more well off second home owners. The house next door os for sale. I'm dreading it becoming air b and b. Just dreading noise, parking issues, and sad that it would be another nail in the coffin of the local primary school which is struggling to stay open as numbers are dropping. It should be possible for my grandchildren to grow up here and attend the school, but it's impossible. No decent affordable rentals and house prices out of the range of young locals as the wages here are much lower than the national average.

It is a double edged sword though isn't it. I love to visit and stay in other parts of the UK so I use holiday accomodation. What I hope I do as a tourist is be considerate of locals. I don't park across their drive or play music loudly in the garage.

Our village is popular with daytrippers, which I really like. It’s a privilege living somewhere with a lovely park and a castle, and it’s nice that people want to come and spend their money in a local economy.

It has a reputation of being very snooty, and there’s constant complaints on the village Facebook page about non-locals using the park/ visiting the pubs/ generally existing when it causes minor inconveniences to some villagers. They get ESPECIALLY het up when they see Irish number plates using some of the limited parking spaces in the park as they are obviously not local

We’re fairly near the capital though, so we don’t have anyone buying up second homes or a seasonal economy like you would in seaside towns etc.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat

I live in a town that's been on the TV for big events in the last couple of years (and many many events historically) and I love it. It looks beautiful on TV and I get so proud of our little corner of the world. We do have an annoying theme park locally which causes traffic but as long as you remember to leave extra time it's fine. We also have a famous school here and the students can be annoying but overall the positives outweigh the negatives.

I think I am in the same place as you! Tourists can be annoying but ultimately it is good if people want to visit where we live! The traffic can be bad (racing days and theme park) but that is not all the time! Also big groups of foreign students walking slowly. I think it would be worse in a bigger place as the tourists only aim for 'the big house on the hill' so can be avoided

I live right by the beach and to be honest when I see tourists I'm just pleased they're bringing money into the local economy.

I live a stone's throw from a very small but popular beach place. For example...
Please stop changing your baby's nappy in my paid for parking permit only street..
And leaving it on the road..
Fucking grim.
I used to remind visitors we were permit only. Now I don't. They get a fine...
Justice for the manky ones.

I live in Pembrokeshire, our economy needs tourism to survive.. and tbh this time of year us locals are too busy working our behinds off to go out out, or go to the beach etc.
The main problem around here is the increase in traffic, and the fact our accident rate soars, its really scary the amount of risks drivers take this time of year (we call it silly season) not just visitors but locals in a rush to get to work etc.

Music in the garden not garage!! Also, as a pp said very few people here actually make their living from tourists. Most work in the hospital or in the schools or for the council. Those who do tend to be youngsters earning minimum wage on zero hours contracts. Tourism really brings more negatives than positives.

I'd hate to live next door to an Airbnb or share my lovely beach with a billion others on BH weekend

I live in the Lake District and the thing is we locals get to appreciate the area and have beaches and lakes to ourselves outside tourist season, we just stay away during the busiest periods and it's all good

or deal with the noise and rubbish left behind

This however is another issue. Wild campers to be precise, no respect for the countryside or understanding that there simply aren't hoards of people going around cleaning up like there would be in the more typical tourist resorts (not that even this makes it acceptable not to clean up your own mess).

But the other issue we're having here at the minute is the sheer volume of inconsiderate parking. This weekend alone several rural bus services had to be cancelled because the buses couldn't get through and there was an accident where emergency services were unable to get to it due to cars parking in passing places and along narrow roads.

There are car parks and buses, unfortunately people don't seem to want to pay!

I live in a tiny village which is a massive tourist hotspot. This week has been a nightmare, and I really dislike second home owners. I appreciate hotels and B&Bs but the second home owners destroy so many areas.

Our council are terrible as well, though. There is shocking parking here and yet they send the parking wardens round to ticket the back streets/residential streets at 6am Sunday mornings but there is never anyone around to ticket the tourists on grass verges midday etc.