Why has (over) tourism become so much of an issue recently?

[CormorantStrikesBack]

So protests in various areas of Spain and other places telling tourists to go home. I get some of it is about housing being used for Airbnb and locals being priced out but even in areas where they’re stopping the Airbnbs they are still saying there’s too many tourists.

in this country various areas such as Snowdonia, the Peak District, the Lakes are rammed. Can’t park anywhere, lengthy queue to touch the trig at the top of snowdon, crazy queues for cafes, etc. I used to live in Snowdonia, currently live near the Peak District and have holidayed in the Lakes for 20 years. Since Covid it’s been bonkers.

did Covid make people decide to get out and about and explore more? Where did these people who now come to uk national parks holiday before? I could understand it maybe in the early post Covid days of people were reluctant to fly but are people still nervous about going abroad? But obviously not everyone because Spain is also rammed. Is it social media encouraging people to go out and explore? I get loads of videos on my TikTok of people who have recently taken up hiking and follow the crowds to watch the sunrise on Mam Tor, never used to be a thing. Now there might be 50 plus people up there watching the sun rise.

I think it's also TikTok and influencers too. Tourists are all going to the same places and taking selfies. Airbnb is a huge issue, similar to cruises, because it increase the number possible tourists by a much larger number than the area is planned for. (If the area has planning permission limits for hotels and traditional commercial BnBs).

But over tourism isn't a new thing. I remember it being bad before my DC were born. So some 15 years ago.

Because local people are sick to death of Tourism and Tourists, it gives them nothing really, accept part time, low paid employment and prices them out of housing and services.... in the UK, Cornwalls housing/schools/roads and health services are crumbling away, the reliance on Tourism has been very negative for most local people, true some have made a fortune but for most, its been a disaster, esp AirBnB's they take away long term rentals and create extra traffic and noise, as people travel to/fro all these little places constantly.

People are also like sheep, Europe is rammed full of places that are stunning, not touristy at all, where local people welcome you with open arms but folk still keep going to Tenerife and Mallorca or even Mam Tor..

Yip, everywhere is busy. I was on the train the other week, off on a short uk city break. There were countless people with multiple huge suitcases, where are they all going?? And how is everyone funding this?

I live in Edinburgh and nowhere is quiet. Huge events add major disruption. At least I don't have a small kid any more, the horror of seething day trips is well in the rear view now.

I don't see tourists where I live. Are these tourists in Edinburgh British? I'm curious where they come from too.

I live in Cornwall, it’s always been like this where I am. I don’t dislike it although it definitely means that we have adjust in the summer by giving ourselves more time to travel, shopping elsewhere for a few months (although I feel for the poor soggy campers right now).

Tourism is good for Cornwall at least.

Yes we have started going to slightly more random places because I have realised there are so many lovely places that aren't on the tourist track. Whether we are abroad or in the UK we tend to pick somewhere a bit random now and it's actually far more fun.

I think there are several issues, I believe a lot of the issues are due to overseas governments not investing in infrastructure for residents, and that air bnb/holiday lets are making housing unaffordable for people who live permanently in these areas.

As an aside we have several holidays to the sun every year and fund it by booking flights early so securing the best price, and not going to expensive AI accommodation…we self cater and live a relatively quiet life when we’re there, our 2 week summer holiday will cost us about £2k in all

Maybe the quiet couple of years really highlighted the issues? Plus the fires last year.

I think it’s a lot of factors. As well as online influencers so many more people are working flexibly and can WFH while away from home or compress their hours to get an extra day off on Friday, there are a lot of people in their 50s/60s whose mortgages are paid off and are spending the money on second homes in holiday hotspots and therefore visiting far more frequently. More and more festivals and events everywhere which pull in visitors.

As far as I understand it, a very large part of the problem in Spain is the large amount of Air B n B properties which have massively increased property prices in local areas. Hotels and villas etc are always going to be seasonal and commercially built properties but Air B n Bs will be residential properties in residential areas and I can see why that would really cause prices to increase and availability to decrease.

The entire world put bank rates to 0 for years. Printed money and threw it away. Covid loans, eat out to help out etc. Money was sloshing and there was hardly anywhere to spend it.

As soon as house viewings opened up people bought huge numbers of holiday homes, then booked holidays.

That momentum for houses has slowed down as rates went up. But the addiction to travel is still there and people are diverting discretionary spending to travel as a priority.

You can’t have headlines for years talking about death without the concept of “enjoy life before you die” penetrating subconsciously.

Social media has also made this activity performative. If a beautiful sight is hidden in a forest, is it worth going there unless you can record it, live stream it, monetise the views?

The algorithm tells us to go, so we go. And the locals just have to put up and shut up.

Yes I went to north York moors last year rather than the Lakes as I couldn’t stand the thought of the Lakes and the crowds. I’ve always stayed in borrowdale so away from Ambleside, Windermere, etc and even borrowdale is rammed. I’m a keen hill walker (was I’m a bit injured now) but even on the fells it seems like there are popular fells which people flock to and ignore the equally nice one by the side.

I go to Mallorca at least once per year (inherited a studio apartment there) and while there have always been lots of tourists their activities have changed: many holidaymakers used to stick in their resorts, lollop on the beach, indulge in crap entertainment, sunbathe etc. and not move much. Now they are all out and about, hiring cars, visiting sites of interest... some places we used to drive to are now impossible to get to because they are ramned. They are also getting involved in sports: you can't get moving for cyclists at some times of the year; meanwhile the resorts and cheesy entertainment bars are much quieter.
There is also the Air B&B factor: more people buying properties to rent out which adversely affects the locals' ability to find housing at an affordable price.

All that said, we were there last week and encountered no tourismophobia: the people are not against individual tourists themselves; rather, the systems that have allowed their hometowns and islands to become overrun and expensive.

But I wonder in doing this are you not then making other areas touristy and moving the problem elsewhere?

I'd say the problem is not tourism but lack of housing, investment etc.

Here in NI there is an absolute crusade to increase tourism, wonder how long it will be before it becomes a problem.

I also can't see how locals don't benefit from the hundreds of pounds we spend in independently owned restaurants, cafés and shops. I live near the North Downs way and shops and businesses are kept going by walkers and other visitors coming at the weekend. The more the merrier.

I think there's at least an element of certain places becoming overly popular due to influencers and things like being famous filming locations. Here in Scotland, places like Skye, the NC500 and anywhere associated with Outlander are massively over-touristed relative to the infrastructure, while other lovely places, for example large parts of mainland Argyll, remain generally quiet.

People might be travelling more so there's more trips/people in a lot of places - see the rise of the 'extreme day trip' where people will go somewhere like Mallorca just for the day or just one night.

I think some people are being less respectful too - I read about Binbeca(?) in Menorca which is a fake white village and how tourists have been sitting in resident's gardens to have picnics and take photographs
Plus of course what was once residential apartments being rented out to tourists pricing out locals and a lot of hospitality workers now having to live a long way from the hotels/bars where they work or even in shanty towns.

I think it's the rise of apps . It's so easy to sit in your armchair and book via an app . Before apps you had to go to an agent to book making the process more long winded . Add to that air bnb which opens up more accommodation to people.

I mean, we stay in shepherds huts and yurts etc (can't do hotels due to allergies) so I doubt we are contributing to the housing problem.

But given we live in a very touristy area you could also argue we are relieving an infrastructure burden when we go away

I don't think tourism full stop is the problem. It's the heavy drinking, mindless tourism that people hate

I think part of the problem now is that tourism doesn't generate enough money to offset the problems it causes.

2 years ago we drove through the Highlands on a Scottish road trip in the summer and were taken aback by how busy it was (we expected it to be busy but not like that).
We spoke to various tourists and so many of them talked about seeing the sights but taking a packed lunch or going back to the motor home for tea, taking flasks of coffee and cold drinks out with them etc - the theme seemed to be that everyone wanted to see the sights but no one wanted to spend in the cafes, restaurants, shops etc.

I also think social media has made people a bit ridiculous- before you'd climb a mountain because you wanted to, you'd be interested in a place so make the effort to see it etc. Now people go because some influencer told them to. They go, cause queues, take selfies and go home with no real idea why.

I grew up in a tourist area and it was hated to an extent even in the 1970’s. But I think some places now are just rammed especially places that are overseas becuse more people can afford to travel. In the past only the very wealthy could fly. I remember in the 1970’s only one child in my entire year went to Disneyland in America. DH grandparents travelled extensively in the 1950’s, it was incredibly expensive. DH went to The Great Wall of China in the very early 1990’s and we have a photo of him on it, almost no one there. In the photo maybe two people in the distance and it’s a photo taken so you can see a huge length of the wall.I saw a TikTok of it yesterday and it looked like a crowd in a nightclub. But TikTok has made a big difference.

I have been a hiker all my adult life. I’m retired now and avoid hiking anywhere well known at the weekend. A farmer quite local to me was saying the amount of litter these days in her fields as a footpath has increased loads since covid.

Yes I agree. I've only been to two or three places where it was all about nightlife etc when I was young and have never experienced that issue anywhere else or felt unwelcome anywhere.

I love to travel, but I also live in London. I can see both sides of this argument. Of course if you are visiting somewhere with a historical site of interest then you want to see it - especially if it may be the only time you visit that country! I don’t begrudge tourists to London clogging up the tube at Green Park or Covent Garden no matter how annoying that is when I’m trying to get to work. I do feel lucky to live somewhere where people from all over the world WANT to visit. The flip side of that though is that London is insanely expensive to actually live and work here, and we NEED normal people with normal jobs (shop workers, teachers, cleaners, people who work in bars) to be able to afford to live here to keep the city running. It’s not a playground for tourists, it’s a city where people live and work and should be able to afford to do so. Otherwise it’s a mess. I do feel for these folk in Barcelona but it’s actually not the tourists fault - it’s the govts fault!