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?

don’t let this thread put you off. As I said earlier we are happy for the visitors to come, it the ones that leave rubbish and mess everywhere that we don’t want! If you come midweek to the Christmas market, particularly after the first week, it will be less busy.

Should go to Rome - it's a nightmare with huge numbers of Chinese women/girls posing for photos, hair flicks, jumping, some even wearing fake wedding dresses for pretend wedding photos. Lots blocking the hotspots of the Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, etc. You do just have to ignore them as best as possible and if that means getting in their way, then so be it!

Do you take any advantage of what's on in August ?

I'm booked for 21 official Festival events so far. Last year between the EIF and the Fringe I went to 35 performances and that's not counting, exhibitions or just being out for lunches, drinks and dinners. I expect I'll do the same this year.

I honestly can't understand why anyone could think Edinburgh is horrible in August.

I always watch the lady boys but no i don't. It's different tastes surely? but when I have been awake since 4 and stuck on a bus it's horrible. If me and dh didn't have to work and kids school etc we would honestly go away in August

Things change! Of course it’s not the place it was decades ago, what a stupid comment!

Yes, different tastes but it seems a bit odd to choose to live in the centre of a city which is in the top 20 European city destinations and is famous for staging a month long, biggest arts festival in the world and complain about it being busy.

This year EIF has the Berlin Philharmonic and San Francisco Ballet. They are major coups for Edinburgh. Berlin Philharmonic is regarded as the world's best orchestra. This is their 3rd (?) appearance in Edinburgh. I don't think they have ever toured to another UK city other than London.

The SF Ballet is also world class and they won't be in any other UK city apart from London.

I’m in Stratford upon Avon and the money from the tourists keeps the town nice, family groups are fine but the massive bussed in groups (mostly language schools) that take over a whole pavement or an entire restaurant are a bit of a pain.

Bath is the most lovely city and brilliant to shopping but hen parties particularly in May before the summer wedding season are just awful
The worst combination is Christmas market, Bath rugby Home game

Avoid those and may / June and you should be okay

I went to Stratford at Easter for a mini break with my mum and it was absolutely charming
Tourist still seem to be shoved in that bit near Shakespeare's birthplace (that coffee shop opposite is very nice)

I’d hazard a guess that you’re not 15/16 and going about with a group of c40 of your peers though?

As I said, I have no issue with tourists. Much of the local economy is built on them and I’m happy to play tourist information if someone is lost or needs a recommendation. I’ve got one of those faces where people seem to ask me stuff like that, even if I don’t live in a place!

It’s the large, unsupervised groups of teenagers that irritate me. In the past couple of years I’ve been pushed out of the way, sworn at in multiple languages and nearly hit by a car that swerved to avoid a huge group who decided to step out in the road. It’s the groups who arrive en masse and are dumped by the adults who are obviously supposed to be in charge of the trips who cause issues.

Also, the 6pm Cambridge crowd is nothing. Visit on a Friday or Saturday night and take a walk past The Regal in town at about 11pm and you’ll see what feral really is 🤣

Everywhere seems to have got so much busier. Not just touristy cities here and abroad but rural areas too. I used to go to the Lake District at least once a year, northern lakes so not even Windermere, Ambleside area. Had been going for nearly 40 years. Then when I returned the year after lock down it was like visitor numbers had trebled. 90 min queue for popular cafes, 20 min queue at Greggs in Keswick to get a sausage roll. I’m not surprised the locals are fed up.

I was hoping it was a one off post covid blip but tried the following year and was just as bad. Not been back since.

The Peak District which is close to me is the same. Car parks are overflowing, cars park illegally and cause carnage. Places which used to be peaceful now have crowds and crowds of people. Same in north Wales/snowdonia.

Some people have said it’s due to the popularity of social media, so stuff like TikTok and Instagram. People see posts and videos and think that looks nice and want to go.

I feel hypocritical as I’ve always been a keen hiker and climber so have visited these places for decades. But I completely recognise that doesn’t give me a claim over them. I’m as bad as anyone else visiting these places I guess (but I’d never park illegally). But i miss the days of being able to walk up Mam Tor or along Curbar Edge and hardly seeing anyone else. I do feel these areas are not as enjoyable as they were. Luckily I guess there’s always quieter spots, either within areas like the Peaks and Yorkshire Dales or even outside of them. But I feel it takes more and more effort to try and seek these places out.

@JulietteHasAGun

Everywhere seems to have got so much busier.

No surprise when the UK population has risen by a whopping 16% from around 60 million to around 70 million in the last 20 years.

Infrastructure hasn't risen in proportion so no surprise that roads, attractions, towns, etc are busier than they used to be. Those extra 10 million people have to go shopping, use the roads, go on holidays/day trips, use the NHS, etc etc.

I moved out of Cambridge about five years ago after being there for twenty years or so.

it’s always been a bloody nightmare in the summer with coach trips from London or similar plus the language students but honestly when I went in last Saturday to meet friends I was just pleased it had recovered from covid - it was so unpleasant seeing deserted streets and boarded up shops. Shop units are all occupied in grand arcade now!

agree re how rough it gets on a Friday or Saturday night aswell. Friend of mine her son ended up with brain damage after being punched by someone outside the regal on a Saturday night

i live in the middle of the fens now and yeah it’s all boarded up shops and charity shops.

@JulietteHasAGun

20 min queue at Greggs in Keswick to get a sausage roll

If it wasn't for tourists, Keswick wouldn't even have a Greggs! It would be a ghost town if it relied on a very small number of "locals". So the locals ARE benefitting from tourism in terms of the number of shops they have that wouldn't be viable if it wasn't for the tourist trade.

Well I was born here so...

Not sure that's relevant. You're still choosing to live in Edinburgh.

Not in the place I know well. It used to have several butchers, two greengrocers, a toy shop, an electrical shop a post office, three banks. Many of those shops have admittedly disappeared everywhere but locals can’t afford to live there. Most houses, flats and cottages are self catering and to a degree of luxury that’s mind boggling. The shops now are mostly cafes, restaurants, and art galleries and fish and chip shops. They are neither owned nor staffed by locals. The owners of the self catering places are never seen.

I’m not 100% sure that’s true to be honest. My local non tourist town is smaller than Keswick but has a Greggs.

But my point is in 2019 with what was then a normal level of tourists there was never a queue out the door for Greggs. Then in 2020 and 2021 there was a crazy queue due to a massive increase in tourist numbers. Greg’s and other cafes, etc in Keswick were doing ok financially at that point. Obviously for the other cafes and some shops there needs to be a certain level of tourism.

I’m not sure what it’s been like since 2021 as i haven’t been back and probably won’t, so not sure if tourist numbers are still as bad. I’m still in a lot of Lake District fb groups and it seems so. Lots of posts about how it’s difficult to get parked, where there used to be free small car parks are now £12 a day, massive influx of fly campers who walk up Langstrath valley, etc and then come back down leaving their tents, bbqs, empty beer cans, etc. People camping illegally on the lakeside of Derwent water only last night with an illegal bbq. Look what happened at Dovestones the other week with idiots setting off fireworks and causing a massive fire which burned for days and days and smoked out all of Manchester and Liverpool.

It seems that a lot of more recent tourists aren’t very good at respecting the countryside which is a shame. In the Yorkshire dales there are massive signs up by the riverbanks with pictures making it clear that bbqs are banned and people still bbq

Maybe tourist areas will develop better infrastructure to cope with the extended numbers and that will ease the pressure. I know in Llanberis they’ve got a park and ride sherpa type bus service up the pass now. Castleton have put red lines down Winnats Pass which might help the illegal parking but at the minute this just means the village car park fills up earlier. Maybe they’ll extend it.

Maybe Keswick will get a second branch of Greggs. Maybe Dovedale stepping stones will develop a traffic light system so I don’t lose my shit after standing waiting for over ten minutes and people just keep coming and coming from the opposite bank without thinking actually there’s a massive queue of people wanting to come the other way.

Hopefully. But at the minute it all feels a bit crowded and shit.

It’s still a choice. I don’t live where I was born because there were aspects of that place that meant I didn’t want to live there. No point whinging about it, it wasn’t going to change so I had to move.

That’s a shame they’re not even staffed by locals. I’d have thought in a lot of touristy places that cafes, chip shops, etc do provide employment for locals.

I think another issue that can occur in some areas if people not necessarily spending money locally when on holiday/viisting, or if they do it’s in national chain type places. So shop in Tesco and grab a coffee in Starbucks. Or even worse shop in Tesco at home before they leave and travel over with a cooler bag full of food. I will always try and eat in local cafes and pubs. Recently I was away in a tourist type village and the only food shop was a co-op in the village but I shopped there and thought well hopefully that helps keep it open for others as well.

Well yes things change. But I didn’t have a crystal ball to predict both the scale pace and extent of that change.

So because I hate 1 month out of 12 I should move? Pull my kids out of fantastic schools? Including my ds out of a special school? Leave my friends and family? Me and dh leave our jobs which are great ? Leave a city that i grew up in and love? Just because I hate the festival which btw i used to love but it's changed.

No, I didn’t say you should move 🤷🏻‍♀️. You can do what you want, I don't care where you live. I said that it’s a choice to live there. You either put up with the shit bits, or you move. Your choice.

I love living in my city ( Edinburgh). I live about two miles from the city centre, in a suburban area although really it’s more urban than suburban!!!
it’s expensive, but we bought years ago when prices were cheaper.
we love walking or getting the bus into town, we love the vibe, the excited tourists, the shear amount of choice of activities, restaurants, bars, activities. We also have lived here long enough to know the bargains, the hidden gems and the tricks and tips. I love entertaining guests and welcoming them here too.
I work out of town. One thing that would poss me off would be having to navigate city centre traffic on a work day, especially during the festival.

The fire issues are really minor. The buses are taking a slight detour down George Street. Love August. So proud of my wee city. Edinburgh is so special