'We will decide when the lakes are open' AIBU to be irritated?

[Aberforthsgoat]

Just been on the phone to my cousin who lives in the Lakes. We were discussing how Cumbria has been really badly hit; I was saying how gutted we are to miss our Lakes holidays this year but how I hope it gets under control for the residents, and we are so looking forward to being able to go when we can.
My cousin said 'IF you can come'
And I acknowledged that of course, we would absolutely not come until it's safe for everyone to do so and government says we can; even then we would make our own risk judgement
My cousin responded by saying, quite smugly 'it doesn't matter what the government says,the people who live here will decide when its open, we are keeping people out at the moment'
She proceeded to tell me how much they all hate tourists and how they would blockade to keep people out if the government lets people visit too soon

I understand it must be scary and I would be worried if I live there too but AIBU for thinking this is quite a nasty reaction?! It's made me feel like actually maybe I won't go back, which I know is petulant and cutting off my nose to spite my face, but it's left a bad taste.

I had no intention of finding a loophole so I could go, I was talking about next year or the year after hopefully!

I live in Cumbria, and while I'd like to think your cousins attitude is not representative, sadly it is, my FB feed is full or bollocks like that.

It makes me ashamed to say I'm Cumbrian, the majority are giving the minority of us a bad rep 😆

I went swimming with a friend at the weekend 20 minutes from my house, but her husband came and "stood guard" because he was worried we'd get abuse from "the locals" - WE ARE SODDING LOCALS THOUGH so we shouldn't have to be worried about where we park or being abused!!

The hysterics from a lot of Cumbrians is mind boggling - yes there will be a small contingent of people who will still come here for days out, but FFS everywhere is CLOSED, there are no toilets, cafes, pubs or anything open so why would people descend here in their masses??? They won't. Ergo, it's not hysterical hand wringing worthy of getting worked up about.

I hope there's a more formal statement. We are due to pay the balance on a Lakes cottage for August soon. And have no insurance... Thought about it too late for COVID. I worry that cottage owners will go ahead and rent, but with local hostility and very little open I don't know if we'd want to go.

I'm stunned by how many people who live in places that rely enormously on tourism for their economy 'hate' tourists.

Tourists can stay away for good if that's what they'd prefer but how will they survive?

Oh let them get on with it then OP

Will soon be crying out for Tourists !!

and just FYI - our small understaffed hospitals managed just fine during the peak, you know, when we had one of the highest rates in the UK!

In fact currently, our hospitals are quiet and there are empty wards!

Given that Cumbria has one of the highest infection rates in the country, surely the tourists are more likely to catch it from the locals, than the other way round?

Yes this !!

Got to ask, why did she decide to live there if she hates tourists this much? It's not like you can move somewhere and dictate that there must be no more tourists. You have to accept the cons of a location, if there are any. Not just have an irrational hatred of one group of people.

People shouldn't be rushing to tourist hotspots obviously, but your cousin sounds like a smug arse. I live in Cumbria, and there are some locals who just love to be rude about tourists, even though the area needs them to survive. No, locals do not have the power to keep people out.

Being angry at people ignoring the rules or clamouring to be allowed to come to the Lakes asap is totally fair enough. Responding to responsible, law-abiding people's regret over missing their visit to your beautiful area with gleeful, vigilante-style remarks is twattish.

is it not the case that Cumbria's numbers are high is because of Barrow specifically?

I’ve read this too. It’s one of the most economically deprived areas in the UK which may have contributed. It also has the shipyard which is a huge employer, I’m not sure if it was shut down quickly.

The Lake District Coronavirus FB page which a friend invited me too has been in a state of constant hysteria. It doesn’t match the numbers.

National Parks belong to the Country, not to those living there, the key is in the name! Our taxes support it's upkeep. She is wrong.

Exactly, FrangipaniBlue. I used to be on a Lake District FB group when I first moved here. It was full of lovely photos and useful info, but I soon left the group because of people like those you describe. Fortunately I don't know anyone like that in rl.

I expect all the people living in tourist areas feel differently about tourists when they're on holiday themselves

Personally I’d a kid the lakes at the minute given I’m more likely to catch it off them but actually you can go the lakes as long as your time there is longer than your drive so it’s wrong to say we can’t go yet

We can go where we like if the balance is right as per gov advice

I live 2 hours from lakes and know loads of people who’ve gone walking for the day

My brothers a policeman and you can’t be stopped for this - they can advise against but it’s not u mnlawful to go anymore

Not unlawful

People have lost all perspective.
Perhaps though we need to use this to totally change our economic model, and areas which have relied on tourism should find another way - perhaps go back to small scale farming (we may need to think about becoming a bit more self sufficient as a nation) and green industry.
If these tourist-centred areas can engage positively with ways of surviving without tourism, that might be a good thing longer term.
But just being negative isn't particularly helpful - these areas need to find another way to stave off increasing poverty and social injustice if they don't want tourism.

I got a similar response from scottish highlands and islands when discussing plans to travel next year. It also makes me feel like i now don't want to go but i do wonder how these areas expect to survive without the tourist market.

We live in a seaside town, we know that we will get inundated with tourists whenever the weather is nice. The town needs them to survive, 3/4 of the local economy relies on the tourism industry.

Yes it can be annoying, especiqlly at the moment when we're trying to social distance, but the alternative is high local unemployment and loss of local services and businesses so we accept it. If you don't want to deal with tourism don't live in a tourist hotspot.

I'm not sure your cousin is alone OP -there was a huge amount of backlash growing against mass tourism before Coronavirus. Of course national parks are for everyone but last summer on our trip to the lakes it was horrendous, unlimited amounts of people with drones, barbecues and remote controlled cars all crammed in to a very remote campsite with hardly any facilities.
Loads of cities unhappy too https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/20/soaring-rents-and-noisy-parties-how-airbnb-is-forcing-out-barcelona-locals?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

On the south coast, people don’t want daytrippers either, local police are stopping people in their cars and sending them away. Is that legal, the PM has said we can travel anywhere in England so who makes the laws?

Also, there’s no restaurants or cafes open locally so you’d have to self cater for every single meal so what’s the point in travelling down here just to have a different view when you’re eating your own dinner? We drove into our local town, 2 miles, and bought fish and chips and sat on the front to eat them. It was lovely watching the kids on the beach and admiring the view. Not sure how far I'd be prepared to drive to do it and I know I'm lucky it is on my doorstep but I can well understand why people would want to do it.

The owners of local tourist related businesses will ultimately decide when they wish to open for business, subject to government guidance/financial support etc, not people who just live in tourist hot spots.

I lived in Cumbria for three years. I couldn't wait to get the hell out of it. I found the people insular, narrow minded and bigoted. And that's at the best of times. Lovely scenery, shame about the people.

This. I have found a lot of places like Cumbria and others to be just like that. Such a shame, since they rely so heavily on tourist money to keep them going. We don't visit similar places after some interesting experiences and discourage friends from doing so as well. And I myself have spent most of my life living in locations that rely on tourists for a large chunk of their economy.

They should focus on following lockdown rules themselves rather than looking at others - infection rates are high - they are not following them doing their own sweet thing. They are economically ignorant if they think they can survive without the tourism, its desperately poor and deprived with seasonal flows of work even with it.

I love the lakes and spent the first part of my life there but there is a general malaise of its everyone else's fault - but to be fair that is not unusual elsewhere in the country either

She was bloody rude as well

You NEVER hear Londoners complaining about 'outsiders' coming to our palaces, royal parks, local attractions etc.

Guessing you're a Londoner? Because whenever I'm there i hear huffing and puffing about how slow they walk, how they stand on the wrong side of the escalator etc etc and how they do the tourist stuff that the real London folk don't bother with.

Swings and roundabouts. But if people came to my village and shitting behind bushes the pitchfork wielders would be out and rightly so.

Also, there’s no restaurants or cafes open locally so you’d have to self cater for every single meal so what’s the point in travelling down here just to have a different view when you’re eating your own dinner?
That is every holiday I have ever been on! That is the whole point of a holiday for me. Different views.