Tourists exodus today relieved

[justasking111]

Well it's over today the tsunami of tourists will be gone.

We have never experienced such, rudeness, aggressive behaviour from them as we have this summer. Our businesses have limped along short staffed, been abused, threatened as have locals. The littering has been something else.

I know everyone has had a bad year but so have the Welsh our lockdowns harder and longer than others.

We still wear masks in shops fgs

So hopefully you all had good holidays but glad of a bit of peace now

Just had a lovely break in Wales. Couldn't believe how much cheaper food, petrol is. Everyone was lovely.

I agree, or maybe you just don’t want to admit it. It’s well known that shops, pubs etc charge a tourist and a local rate.

That most certainly isn't true here.

I like speaking welsh in wales
I often do it in small and large businesses
Is that really that weird
I'm quite capable of speaking English
But wherever I holiday I try and use a little of the local language

Come in op you are meant to be forever grateful for the hordes of us English that kindly share our holidays with you regardless of how sown behave

I don’t blame you. I have friends abroad who feel exactly the same way

I bet that “tsunami of tourists” are also so relieved to be leaving!

we reluctantly swapped our usual french rural holiday for two weeks in the UK.
Granted: a week in very remote Scotland was restful, despite iffy weather and not much to do locally. Sadly no summer sun to be had. Plus it took us nearly 12 hours to drive there (as opposed to the suggested satnav 8hrs )
A week in Devon on the other hand... A feeling of being thoroughly ripped off by our host left a real sour taste in the mouth.
We've been left feeling that our original reasons for not holidaying in the UK were validated:
Over priced. Bad weather. Poor service. Overcrowding. Not to mention poor driving conditions.

It's ok for people to criticise the behaviour of some tourists, but the problem with these sort of posts is that they are clearly tarring all tourists with the same brush. It's not believable that all visitors to Wales are rude and aggressive so it gives the impression that you'd experience hostility entirely based on being from across the border. That's really off-putting. Which is fine if you genuinely don't want visitors I guess.

Half my family live in a very touristy area and have said the same. There has been a steep increase of violent aggression towards locals and people in the hospitality industry. I even noticed when I went for lunch one day that the lone middle aged waiter looked a bit frightened when he told us there'd be a wait of about twenty minutes for food as though he was used to being shouted at. It is horrible. I am sorry to hear it's been happening in Wales too.

@Kokeshi123

Am I the only person who lives in a popular tourist area and LIKES seeing tourists? It's pretty flattering to think there are people who'll pay just to visit the place I live in all the time. Tourists bring in money and motivate LAs to look after the appearance of cities. And nearly all visitors are lovely!

I like tourists! I live in London, 5mins from a very popular historic tourist attraction. We get tourists all year round not just in the summer (although summer is busiest). Lots and lots of large school parties visit from other parts of UK and EU during term time and every weekend is busy with visitors of all ages and locals. The area is incredibly well kept by the LA, lots of flowers planted and hanging baskets, lots of great facilities such as outdoor pool, river cruises, pubs, parks and events all year round. Without the tourists am sure the LA wouldn’t make half as much effort and the nearby businesses would disappear. Some of the events are too busy and driving in the area is a nightmare but I just make sure to avoid the crowds during those times and not take the car out in that direction (which I can do), normally events are a long weekend or 5 days.

We’re currently in the north Norfolk coast and it’s busy but don’t recognise any of the rudeness from visitors or locals that op mentions in her post.

In general tourist areas need tourists and everyone should try and get along, not always easy when busy but we manage where we live. I’ve visited Wales once and even though I have Welsh heritage have no desire to go back after seeing a sign in a shop saying “English, spend your money and go home”, have seen similar in Majorca a few years ago and have obliged and not returned. Have instead visited Sardinia, Montenegro, Antigua, Jamaica, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, and have a rearranged holiday booked for Barbados next year. There’s plenty of places to visit where locals are lovely. Op where do you go on holiday?

A UK holiday has proved (much) more trouble than it's worth for a lot of people. I suspect things will be a lot quieter next year.

For all the weird comments you keep hearing about how "tHe pANdeMIC haS BrOUghT a NeW NORmal iNto BeinG" where people are supposedly "questioning" the value of things like going to restaurants, socializing in groups or going shopping in person, most people I know have flung themselves back into restaurants, shopping and socializing with gay abandon. I think foreign travel will pick up very fast as quarantine rules are peeled back. Most people I know can't wait to travel again.

Depends where you were @Hobnobswantshernameback if you were in a farm shop in Rhyl no it’s not, if you were in a tesco express in Trefforest then yes.

I bet the local economy has appreciated the income though.

I will also assume OP that your own income is not derived from hospitality.

@justasking111

We're just not used to knifings, fighting in a pub because one bloody beer has run out. Being physically threatens because you politely point out that an area is for staff only. Leaving awful reviews on Google because they had to wait in a line for a table to be cleaned down even though they were walk ins. Or hurling abuse because there was not a free table or were asked for track and trace details.

The knuckle draggers were out in force this summer. Where do they usually holiday I wonder??

Cheap package deals in some 'little Britain' area of the Mediterranean probably.

@Hobnobswantshernameback

I like speaking welsh in wales I often do it in small and large businesses Is that really that weird I'm quite capable of speaking English But wherever I holiday I try and use a little of the local language

It’s not weird, but surely you know that many welsh people don’t speak Welsh? My DH is Welsh… he’s just learned Welsh at the age of 38. Didn’t speak a word of it growing up. Learning was his lockdown project.

I agree that people are people and judging all based on the behaviour of a few is unfair. It's a shame that so many posters here are tarring all of Wales or all Welsh locals with the same brush and vowing never to visit again based on a few encounters / posts by rude people.

We still wear masks in shops fgs

So do we. Almost everyone wears a mask in shops round here. Voluntarily.

@Kokeshi123. That includes us . Can't wait to go somewhere warm and sunny where we can take our DC swimming in the sea without a wetsuit.

That said, we do enjoy out-of-season breaks in the UK when places are quieter, although it does mean a lot of restaurants and attractions are shut.

My cousin lives in a popular tourist location and she and her neighbours say that in all their years there they have never ever experienced the level of entitlement, rudeness and aggression they have this year. They are not usually tourist complainers, after all many of them work round the holiday cottage industry and hospitality so they reap the benefits of tourism. But they say this is a whole other level.

Op, I totally understand what you are saying but have to say that many years ago I rented a holiday cottage in Wales. It was lovely as were the owners. But in the shops we often found they switched to Welsh when realising we were English. Happy to take our money so we quickly learned to just put the stuff back and walk out. We have never visited since but from your description is sounds pretty hellish atm.

We also visited a remote area of the Western Lakes for a day out with the children. Lovely day with families there except for a large group with huge boom boxes. Why would you go to a beautiful, peaceful remote location and do that? I just don't get it. It is so hostile and confrontational.

What gets me is the number of people taking the OP's comment personally. If you think it's about you, have you got reason to? I would say most visitors are nice and polite, but a significant minority are appalling.

"Did other years truly feature much more polite tourists, and far less littering by them?"

I go to Wales camping most weekends and whenever else I can. There is a difference this year. All the local news channels have reported this since we couldn't travel by air. There's people who are heading to our beaches and countryside who have no respect for either. They don't close gates, care about litter, have dogs on leads and aren't used to the type of service in the UK. The aggressiveness that we aren't used to seeing in rural places, is everywhere. I go to Wales from Liverpool. Our accents stand out and it changes the opinion of scousers back to what it once was.

"Where do the knuckledraggers usually go?"

Turkey, Kavos, Benidorm, Magaluf, Fuerteventura etc.

As for charging locals a different rate, you get that across Europe. Every local event has different rates for people who pay council tax to that authority. They are their bread and butter.

Now I need to know where you went @CampaignToo. Sounds bliss!

Obviously I can't tell you that but there are loads of beatuifulplaces in the green belt that aren't tourist hotspots. "We" tend to go further afield on holiday and then barely see the places on our doorstep. This place was 55 minutes from home for me and I've never been before

Yikes, glad I found somewhere a bit more welcoming in the UK to spend my money this year. We had a lovely time and the businesses seemed to be doing well too.

I noticed this a bit last summer too, an attitude that they’d been “working so hard the whole way through!” while simultaneously having no business so customers had to put up with any old shit.

(When actually they’d been furloughed enjoying their homes in the sun while I’d been fucking slaving away working 12 hour days with no childcare for months but hey ho.)

Bad behaviour is never acceptable but the idea the rest of us never encounter it and turn into thugs on holiday is a bit much.

You’re going to be torn to shreds on here but I agree with you OP. I’m in London but have seen so many articles about how tourists have trashed parts of Wales. Yes, tourism is essential for the economy but you’re allowed to be angry about this! It’s disrespectful and disgusting. You shouldn’t have to put up with it.

I live somewhere instagram friendly (dont work in toursim) and I have to say behaviour has been increasingly obnoxious for the last 5 or so years and this year just intolerable: rubbish everywhere, puke on the pavements, people walking up peoples front paths to pose and have mini photo shoots outside the front doors of other people's private homes, nicking stuff (not shoplifting but taking things out of people's gardens or moving them around for photoshoots without permission- yes really!)
Photoshoots on pavements meaning normal people going about their business whether they are holiday makers or not get told to move out the way. Asking for discounts everywhere, threatening people who have provided perfectly good service with a shit review unless a discount given. These people are cunts and I loathe them

People who live in places with lots of tourists seem to have an over-inflated view of their area and themselves- it's like they believe it must be a superior place because others want to visit, and the tourists all come from uncivilised slums somewhere. in reality, most tourist areas are nice to visit- pretty scenery etc. but most don't want to live there, usually because it's full of snotty locals and the shops and hospitality venues are all a a bit pretentious and fake and overly twee. Everyone's usually happy to return to their own places where life has a real purpose and soul and is not just based on creating a false idyl to impress visitors.