If you live in a holiday destination....

[SamprasTheRabbit]

Inspired by the seaside thread. So many people are opting for U.K. based holidays this year, I don't think I realised how many have an annual abroad holiday until now!

If you live in a holiday destination (seaside, city or country) what would you want visitors to know?

I'll start with... disposable BBQs are dangerous if buried under the sand. They'll stay red hot and burn or cut some poor unsuspecting person's foot if trodden on. Pop them NEXT to the bins on the promenade and everyone else on top in a stack. They can go in the bins when cooled properly by the next morning.

Stick to the roads (avoid the moors, even).

On the tube - stand on the right walk on the left, always
If the gates don't open when you touch your card, stand well back and try again - that usually works. If you are stuck then step back from the gate and let others use it and go to where the ticket person is standing, they will let you through.

Bus drivers may only know their own routes , if they can't answer your question not related to their route please don't ask another question, the bus needs to leave and there is a map right next to you.

The street performers in Covent garden are just your average street performers, please don't form an audience so large that no one can get through.

The ripper walk is definitely worth it.

If you are a tour guide, do not just meander aimlessly with your yellow umbrella allowing your party to block the pavements. Some of us are hurrying to work/nursery pick up. In fact if you are a tour guide with a yellow umbrella please develop some special and societal awareness full stop.

Also please don't carry your small child in their puschair down the tube escalators, it is really not safe and makes me nervous. Some stations are sadly not step free.

@poshme no. No they don't shit in my garden, just as I have never shat in a garden in the countryside.

Also I don't tell tourists who come to London to just fuck off. Not even behind their backs.

I'm making the point that there are more tourists in London than anywhere else in the uk and the locals don't need to be so bloody rude to or about them.

Stop using disposable barbecues on dry grass. It's common sense really.

jesus, all the posters getting upperty because people in tourist areas are asking people not to do certain things😂

Most of the things listed are pretty reasonable requests which I would hope for most are common sense, but as has been experienced by these locals lots don't know or just don't care.

RLNI is mostly volunteers, who put their lifes online to save people. some maybe at work and have to leave their paid job to do rescue when a call comes.

Same with mountain rescue.

Anything mentioned about livestock, fencing, gates or crops, is because damage to any of them could result in a loss of income.

the other advice seems mainly about the safety of the tourists themselves or the safety of the locals by the tourists actions.

litter is just discussing and is a big problem every where at the moment.

shitting in public is 🤢

At the end of the day, if you already know all the above why get all annoyed? its plainly not aimed at you. Can't you just nod in agreement that some people are twats that spoil it for locals and other tourists alike?

6 pages and only few posts that are rude telling people to fuck off. So why class the whole thread as sneery?

I don't live in a tourist area, but I'm not twat when I visit these areas, so I didn't feel victimised and then need to state "well I'm not going there then" or "this is why I don't holiday in the UK" 🙄

It’s very funny that some people think politely suggesting tourists shouldn’t litter or hurt the local wildlife etc is rude, or that everyone should shut up and be grateful. I don’t think the people of Paris or Sydney should be grateful if I poo in their gardens or leave rubbish lying in the road, just because I’m a tourist there. So why should be the people of Cornwall or Cumbria etc pull their forelock and thank you very much for the same? There is a bit of a “but we PAID FOR THE PRIVILEGE” tone about some people who clearly think tourists have the right to trash the place. If you can’t see why that’s wrong, I can’t help you.

... and for the record I’ve lived in tourist towns and major cities including London. There IS a difference in how tourists behave- partly because cities are just bigger but if you live in a small village or town in a popular area it’s akin to living in Trafalgar Square in terms of chaos/mess etc. Certainly no part of London I’ve lived in has been anything LIKE living in eg Padstow in high summer. It’s the mess, it’s the crowd - but worst of all it’s the attitude. So my advice to tourists would be, don’t assume the locals are thick or have no life outside of service. You may only see the ones who are working in cafes etc but there are IT workers, factory workers, doctors, architects etc same as everywhere. So please don’t ask “What on Earth happens here in the winter?”

And for the record I worked in tourist facing jobs for years and 90% were delightful and I made friends for life - only a tiny minority were twats.

I live in a national park and it's beautiful but (some) people who don't live here literally throw their rubbish out of the car window and that's just obviously, terrible behaviour.

You get a nice view of a famous monument from my drive and in peak season, you'd be amazed how many chip wrappers and Coke cans I have to pick up from my driveway.

@NewYearNewTwatName haha exactly “well I can’t wait to head back to the Canary Islands where they thank me as I crap in their gardens and applaud me for running over their grandmother’s dog”. Dream on!

@FoxgloveSummers

It’s very funny that some people think politely suggesting tourists shouldn’t litter or hurt the local wildlife etc is rude, or that everyone should shut up and be grateful. I don’t think the people of Paris or Sydney should be grateful if I poo in their gardens or leave rubbish lying in the road, just because I’m a tourist there. So why should be the people of Cornwall or Cumbria etc pull their forelock and thank you very much for the same? There is a bit of a “but we PAID FOR THE PRIVILEGE” tone about some people who clearly think tourists have the right to trash the place. If you can’t see why that’s wrong, I can’t help you.

... and for the record I’ve lived in tourist towns and major cities including London. There IS a difference in how tourists behave- partly because cities are just bigger but if you live in a small village or town in a popular area it’s akin to living in Trafalgar Square in terms of chaos/mess etc. Certainly no part of London I’ve lived in has been anything LIKE living in eg Padstow in high summer. It’s the mess, it’s the crowd - but worst of all it’s the attitude. So my advice to tourists would be, don’t assume the locals are thick or have no life outside of service. You may only see the ones who are working in cafes etc but there are IT workers, factory workers, doctors, architects etc same as everywhere. So please don’t ask “What on Earth happens here in the winter?”

I've got no problem with the polite ones. It's just a couple of twats whose advice to tourists visiting was simply "fuck off".

Yes, also in London we do things like go to work and take our kids to school, so may I politely ask tourists not to travel with pushchairs on public transport in rush hour. I think that's my only gripe.

Know the tide times on the beaches. Only swim in lifeguarded areas. Read about how to survive rips. Even the strongest swimmer isn’t the safest in the sea. Please don’t be the tourist that ends up the tragedy by thinking you are immune. It’s devastating to hear these sad stories every year.

Don't bury drinks cans in the sand so my toddlers cut their feet on them (and then deny that you've done it...while I watched you).

Don't stop slap bang in the middle of the street to decide where you want to go / eat / shop / chat.

Locals hours in shops pleeease. I've been into our new farm shop once because I can't get inside the door for tourists!!

Don't leave your crap (sometimes literally) on the beach. Please.

@LaChatte

I think if you chose to live in a tourist hot-spot then you can't expect people to stay away 😂

Of course you can’t expect people to stay away. You can, however, expect them to treat the place with the same respect they’d show their own area.

Many don’t. It’s not unreasonable to object to inconsiderate behaviour. From whoever, whenever, and wherever.

If there’s a reason that would be a problem, I’d love to know.

Oh I forgot....

Please don't bring your caravan down the road that says nothing wider than 7ft. Because literally it means it. You. Will. Get. Stuck.

@poshme you can't get into my garden without scaling fences.

No one should be crapping anywhere but a toilet & if they are caught short then they should clear it up.

Yes, also in London we do things like go to work and take our kids to school, so may I politely ask tourists not to travel with pushchairs on public transport in rush hour. I think that's my only gripe

Suitcases are my pet peeve, always in rush hour too.

@NewYearNewTwatName

jesus, all the posters getting upperty because people in tourist areas are asking people not to do certain things😂

Most of the things listed are pretty reasonable requests which I would hope for most are common sense, but as has been experienced by these locals lots don't know or just don't care.

RLNI is mostly volunteers, who put their lifes online to save people. some maybe at work and have to leave their paid job to do rescue when a call comes.

Same with mountain rescue.

Anything mentioned about livestock, fencing, gates or crops, is because damage to any of them could result in a loss of income.

the other advice seems mainly about the safety of the tourists themselves or the safety of the locals by the tourists actions.

litter is just discussing and is a big problem every where at the moment.

shitting in public is 🤢

At the end of the day, if you already know all the above why get all annoyed? its plainly not aimed at you. Can't you just nod in agreement that some people are twats that spoil it for locals and other tourists alike?

6 pages and only few posts that are rude telling people to fuck off. So why class the whole thread as sneery?

I don't live in a tourist area, but I'm not twat when I visit these areas, so I didn't feel victimised and then need to state "well I'm not going there then" or "this is why I don't holiday in the UK" 🙄

If you mean "uppity", please don't use that term as it has horrible racist overtones and connotations of slavery.

Thanks

Oh dear this is all a bit embarrassing. Some of you obviously don't leave your towns, what with being trapped in by the hoards of tourists and all so let me educate you a bit, bless you.

• We don't all live in cities
• Some of us even live in other tourist destinations, we just like to visit other tourist destinations to not be so insular
• Some of us live in the country too
• We have narrow roads and passing places here
• We know how to handle our dogs properly around livestock
• We have farmers here too
• We're educated enough to know to clean up after ourselves and not leave our rubbish lying around
• We have pavements here and know not to walk 3 abreast
• We eat and shop at independent places in our home towns and love seeking them out on holiday
• We also aren't fans of chain restaurants
• We have crowds where we live too but we're actually quite proud of where we live and like people to come and enjoy it.

I mean, obviously we can still fuck off as we're obviously all the same - yobs who don't know how to behave or deal with the apparently unique problems that only exist where you live, but I just thought you might like to understand a little bit about other areas too. Hope that helps.

In London we welcome tourists😂😂😂😂aye right!!!

I've both lived in and visited London as a tourist, I know full well what the attitude can be to tourists and don't even get me started on the ripping off side of things!

and now it's more enjoyable to watch Londoners smack him. 😂 case in point!

I do get frustrated with myself now that I've apparently forgotten all I learned about how to navigate London. I used to be spot on when I lived there - clueless now! Used to know which buses, underground stops knew all the "tricks"...sigh

We have signs around here saying "leave nothing but footprints"

But it's not always adhered to.

@Eyestotheright it's perfectly possibly to support the Uk tourist industry without being a dangerous, inconsiderate idiot!

None of the things mentioned are impossible or even that inconvenient to do!

Basic manners and consideration for the areas and population of the places people are visiting is NOT that big an ask!

Plus not everyone CHOOSES to live in a tourist area, they may well have been born and raised there, have family there etc

tourists are a big source of income.

Which is reduced or even negated or even causes cost in terms of cleaning up after them if they don't behave appropriately.

Someone who shits on a beach won't read this thread & suddenly decide only a toilet will do.

If it shames even one such person into NOT doing so that's a win surely? It may not be the pooper that reads but their partner/parent/child even and they may have a word with them. It's completely unacceptable.

Somewhere I used to live that is a very well known seaside resort had MAJOR problems with this last year due to the ridiculousness of beaches being opened and public toilets NOT - whole beaches had to be closed and sanitised at considerably cost to the LOCAL council ie LOCAL taxpayers - but they could have bagged their poop and taken it home to dispose of there are even special bags with absorbent deodorising pads in for toilet training on the go that would have been suitable for this purpose.

Those saying "well I shan't bother then" are you saying you're THIS kind of tourist? That leaves litter, is inconsiderate to the locale and it's residents and wildlife? That ignores signs and creates hazards that you wouldn't dream of doing at home?

In which case if you are I counter with - fine! Stay at home and have a true staycation.

Decent human beings who appreciate that this is our home are more than welcome

Exactly!

To be fair, I don't suppose the French or Spanish much like beaches left full of litter, hot barbecues and human excrement

Precisely it's not a question of where you're holidaying it's how you holiday

or spoke the language and could understand what the smiling and welcoming staff in the bar were actually saying

Indeed! I'm fortunate to be able to understand/get by in several non Uk European languages but my clearly British appearance and my usually initially speaking in English means it's usually assumed I don't speak the local language - the things I've heard! If people are under the impression tourists of the type being described on thread are welcomed overseas when they're not here they need to think again! Not only British tourists either it's quite fascinating to get an insight into local "rivalries"

If it shames even one such person into NOT doing so that's a win surely? It may not be the pooper that reads but their partner/parent/child even and they may have a word with them. It's completely unacceptable.

I disagree, if someone has no shame 💩 & not bothering to clear it up or adequately cover it then they won't be shamed.

Agree @awaketoosoon, if you're a beach shitter you probably don't give a crap 💩 about being told off by the Mumsnet massive 😂

I do hate littering, we live next to a common & had real problems with litter the last yr. I don't understand why people don't take it with them.