Tourists 24/7 365 days a year..

[IsawwhatIsaw]

I have lived in a tourist town for several decades.
And we always had tourists but it felt manageable with a quieter time during the winter.
But now there is no quiet time at all, and I actively avoid the centre as so many coach loads of people arrive daily . It’s so busy it feels oppressive.
So it feels like there is no let up at all. I spoke to a friend in Edinburgh who had a similar story - she is now looking to move out.
Just wondering if other cities experience this?
we are wondering about moving elsewhere, but like where we live.
Is it unreasonable to resent how our City has changed?

Yeah I’ve heard of this not just in UK but abroad too. So much for COL crust if so many people can afford to swarm around like ants on holiday all year round.

A huge yes to that! It's all well and good people complaining about tourists, (or Unis) but lots of the tourist/Uni towns would be dead without them. Yes, I fully understand why local residents don't like what their towns/cities have become, but from someone living in a run down Northern town, you wouldn't like the alternative either, of barely any shops left on the High Street, social deprivation caused by lack of local jobs, proliferation of drug dealing/money laundering turkish barbers, ethnic supermarkets, vape shops, etc. I think everyone needs to accept things have changed - in some places, tourists and Unis do seem to have taken over, but lots of places without them have suffered badly too. At least tourist towns still usually have lots of amenities, shops, pubs, restaurants, etc which locals can enjoy.

Most roads are busier/there's less space, so while you notice it more with tourists coming. most towns are crowded compared to in the nineties. Just something to think about if you do move, because relatively few places are quiet now (though a lot of high streets are dead in terms of shops, but they've been replaced by housing/take-outs etc, and still have a lot of people around).

I live in fairly central London and love the constant buzz from people. But I can understand why that would be frustrating when focused on a small location.
Is this a new thing where you live? Has it suddenly become popular because it was used in a TV show, and therefore might die down again?
If you genuinely do still love where you live, perhaps you could stay near the town but just slightly further out?

She won't be a tourist, she'll be a traveller, which is completely different. She goes there to absorb the local culture and wouldn't be seen dead looking at a touristy thing.

I live in a well known historical seaside town. It can be a bit irritating when we can’t park near the beach because all the car parks are rammed, or there are huge crowds everywhere, but tourism is essential to the town surviving. I enjoy trying to spot tourists as opposed to local people - tourists seem to walk with greater determination!

I also live in a very popular town that mn hates! Coastal town, very touristy. I live in a nice, quiet area but we are near a big attraction. The season used to be Easter to November, now its February to new year. The parking issues are mad, nearly all year, we have a drive but often tourists block us in, or out, because we are one of the only streets without permit parking and car parks are really expensive here.
We could move, but our dc have school/college and I work in the town, and I like it here! (Apart from the parking!)

It's everywhere and has got much worse since the pandemic. 10 years ago you'd get the odd tourist in Glasgow in the summer months. Now there are coachloads of them every day from March through to October. Partly because cruise ships have started calling, partly because Edinburgh is SO expensive and heaving with visitors people have cottoned on that they can stay in Glasgow and travel through.

Tourism and travelling is good and everyone should do it.
BUT recent experiences of hordes blindly following a flag/ teddy on a stick would suggest that some people lose all mental competency when in a tour group, so those should be banned with immediate effect.

You think tour groups are stupid ?

Well it’s not going to change, so you either suck it up or move. What other options are there?

I work in the centre of a very touristy university town and l don't mind it, to be honest! You get used to dodging the language schools, the traffic's always insane anyway and there's loads of nice shops, pubs, cafes and galleries due to all the tourist money coming through. I love the huge mix of different cultures swirling around looking at our history and eating our cake 😂
Disclaimer - l do work for a cultural institution that would struggle without the money the tourists spend, so l am a bit biased ...

Have you never been a tourist OP? Where do you go when you travel?

I kind of get your point, but places are like this the world over. Recently went to Florence, for instance - the place is rammed with tourists. Cambridge is also chaos with tourists although I would say it's still primarily a working and student city. Edinburgh however.... we went fairly recently and I was quite shocked at how the Main Street (the Mile?) is seemingly now just tweed shops or whiskey shops. All a bit twee and naff. Also, what with all the Harry Potter tours in Edinburgh?

You are surprised the Royal mile has tourist shops ? Fwiw it isn't the "main street" of Edinburgh

Ah yes. Some of us go travelling and some of us go on holiday. It’s a very important distinction. 😂
Honestly though, these people who think they can gate keep where they live and that the Tourist rabble shouldn’t be there despite them reaping the financial rewards of them. Irritating.

I lived in Cambridge for 10 years and left a few years ago. I loved how buzzy the city was and felt very lucky to live somewhere so beautiful and historic where lots of people wanted to visit. I only left for family reasons.

I have never seen any evidence to the contrary. The worst are the ones who have to wear big badges so that they can be easily rounded up by their handlers and ushered back on to their floating petri dish cruise ship.

I live in Edinburgh and it's busy all year round. I avoid going into the city centre unless I absolutely have to.
The Council had the perfect opportunity after the pandemic to listen to residents and attempt to scale down the Fringe/Hogmanay etc but as usual it only cares about the money that these events bring and not the impact on people who live here all year round.

Oh @SadiraOfTyr how superior and far more intelligent you are than the rest of us. Congratulations.

With so many shops closing on our high streets, I think I’d feel blessed that people are helping your town’s economy so much

Good point. I live in a town that has no attraction for tourists at all. Two thirds of shops on the main street are empty and half of the rest are charity shops.
Very unattractive place to visit for locals let alone tourists.

The problem is because these towns/cities take so many tourists, the shops start to cater to them and not residents.

I live in a village and the high street is just full of gift shops and cafes. I can no longer nip down and get some milk, put the duvet in for a wash, post a letter because everything I need is now gone.
Unless I’m in need of an emergency Jellycat or an overpriced coffee…I no longer bother using my own high street. It belongs fully to the tourists now.

There’s nothing you can do. I travel to the next town for my shopping. A lovely village with absolutely everything you need and all independent sellers. But….maybe that makes me a tourist 😂

If you can move further out of the town centre you can still easily visit but get a break from the crowds. I had to move out as my rented flat became an AirB&B. As annoying as it was at time, I'm much happier to have the peace and quiet.

Pavements in tourist towns are usually narrow and crowding around bus stops makes it difficult to get anywhere quickly. Edinburgh definitely needs extra public buses in August but the rest of the year isn't too busy.

I’m from a similar place and honestly I don’t see how this influx is making the economy boom.

Rich landlords buy all the affordable homes and turn them into air bnbs. Tourists book accommodation and give money to air BnB and aforementioned landlords (who very often do not live nearby). They buy their big shop from Lidl wherever they live, travel up and cook for themselves in the accommodation that local people can no longer afford to live in. Sometimes if they run out of wine they’ll pop to our local Tesco.

I don’t see much or any investment in local shops or businesses, not enough to justify the increased pressure on roads and hospitals etc and certainly not enough the allow local people to rent or buy property in the local area.

I’m glad people have holidays in nice places. I don’t mind sharing the space/area with crowds of tourists and I love meeting people from different parts of the world. I’m also very resentful that people from here have to move away from their family’s hometown of many generations if they want to have a family.

@IsawwhatIsaw i suspect that we live in the same place. There have been more visitors this year than any other year than I can remember. It doesn’t bother me that it is so busy. What bothers me is the lack of respect from visitors and the amount of rubbish and mess left. The counsel are rubbish and can’t keep up and the city is a filthy mess.

Don't they ever go to other cities for breaks then?