AIBU to think tourism can ruin places we once loved?

[Sausagenbacon]

We visited Tiblisi several years ago, and liked it, but have just returned. What a disappointment. It's absolutely overrun with tourists (and I am aware that I'm part of the problem).
AIBU to think that tourism destroys destinations?

No tourism = No money

That'd ruin places of interest even quicker.

Especially historical buildings which are incredibly expensive to maintain.

Too many people at any one time can overwhelm a place this is true. But many places economies rely on tourism.

So will you stop going to places so that you are no longer part of the problems?

Over-tourism can definitely make places less enjoyable to visit. Kyoto is pretty unbearable in places now.

The impact on local people just trying to live their lives is the bigger issue though. Living in a super popular tourist spot looks pretty stressful to me.

Instagram has made a lot of places overrun with tourists. It is noticeable that globally people are on the move.

I thought this was gonna be a thread about Benidorm.

It also tends to provide a great deal of employment though.

This is like when people sit in traffic jams complaining about the traffic 😂

Im beginning to think the best thing to do is head to the most touristy places, and find the hidden gem.

There's a lot more people in the world with more disposable income and access to forms of transport than there's ever been
So yeah. Nothing you can do
At least smaller places will get more tourist income!

True. Although this does depend somewhat on the kind of tourism. If you’re
staying in local hotels and eating and drinking in local restaurants, cafes and bars then you’re probably pretty good for the local economy and jobs.

The places that get huge numbers of cruise ship passengers who eat their main meals and drink in the evenings onboard their ship and spend relatively little money on land struggle more. Those tourists are a lot less valuable to destinations. Tourists who stay in Airbnbs and self cater are also not as good for local economies.

I try my best to be a responsible tourist. I stay in hotels, eat out most of the time and try to visit destinations that are still in need of tourists, but I also sometimes go to places that get tonnes of tourists. They are usually popular for a reason.

What Takoneko said.

The largest cruise ships have around 7,500 passengers and 2,000 crew. Many popular destinations will have up to 5 cruise ships in port at a time. That said, that’s not every day year round for most destinations. You can google ahead of time and plan visiting around at quieter times of the year or days of the week if a short trip. We were in Bermuda a couple of years ago, and the cruise ships were docked just a couple of days a week so we stayed on the hotel beach rather than doing anything “touristy” on those days.

The cruise ships are hellish with the impact on (fairly small) places. I’d say Santorini, Mykonos & Dubrovnik were so awfully busy in the last couple of summers. I’d been to each of them 10-15 years ago, and been back in the last 2-3 years. It was so unpleasantly busy during the days. Night time was bliss, when the ships are gone. I really wish they’d limit the cruise ships, the way Venice has. It’s not sustainable to have 5-6 of these in relatively small places. I’m pretty sure that many of these tourists aren’t even spending much, as they’re ferried/walked about en masse - maybe a coffee/sandwich.

I do understand this sentiment to a degree.

However, if you’re stuck in traffic it is worth asking yourself if you actually need to travel by car during rush hour or whether you might just as easily take a train or travel a couple of hours later. Likewise, if you find yourself in a huge crowd shuffling through a hugely overcrowded destination or attraction, it’s worth considering whether you might go somewhere a bit less overcrowded and more in need of your tourist money next time.

Tourism that is seasonal I view as potentially a bad thing. Creates a culture of temporary and usually low paid employment, and not enough income to put in place the infrastructure to support it.

Year round tourism is much better for a local economy.

Went to St Ives on holiday. Used to holiday there 30 years ago as a child. Had dreamed of returning with my own children. It was the nearest I’ve ever been in life to witnessing a human trampling. My husband had to put our three year old on his shoulders to avoid them literally being crushed to death. We left the holiday early. We will never go again.

‘Influencers’ are also having a terrible impact on lesser-known spots. Did anyone see the viral post about freshly-baked pastries available from a mountain hut in the Dolomites? This led to hordes of idiots piling up on the cable car to a remote spot ‘for the ‘gram’.

The influencers then move on to next thing to ruin and couldn’t give a bleep.

What does "overrun by tourists" look like? If there is a full English breakfast on offer in every eatery and Sweet Caroline blaring from a karaoke bar at 11pm, that's something I'd have an issue with as well. But if it is just a bit busy...well, Tbilisi is a large city. I would expect to see loads of people there, tourists or not.

This is hardly a startling insight: managing over-tourism has been a much discussed issue in the last few years.

I live in the Lake District. Traditional tourists staying in hotels etc are fine.

But now we're over run by van lifers and "wild" campers who leave their literal shit and rubbish everywhere, damage trees and dry stone walls for their fires, park in passing places overnight etc., contributing nothing to the local economy.

They can fuck right off.

@Sausagenbacon I do think you’re stating the obvious

But ironically, your post has reminded me of something else. I am not well travelled as far as Europe is concerned.

Increasingly I notice on here that people are visiting places I’ve never heard of. I think it’s because absolutely everywhere is visited by tourists now.

initially, I thought it was due to my lack of knowledge, but then I realised from chatting with some work contacts, that people are going to places that were absolutely not considered tourist destinations maybe 20 years ago?

and yes, the Instagram thing is ludicrous. And annoying. There’s a couple of “quiet” spots in London that are now overrun with people rushing in to take photographs and then rushing back out again.

It’s an unanswerable question. Everyone wants to go to the interesting / beautiful / historic places. No one wants to visit the wee boring wee church in the town next door, built in the 1960s.
Social media has a part in it though - where folk who couldn’t care less about the culture just want a nice pic - and are happy to take their sweet time in taking it, regardless of how many people are waiting.

So this is true? I’ve heard about this. That must be so awful if you live there.

Surely you’re only seeing these places you love because you’re travelling to them and you are a tourist?

It isn’t tourism that’s ruined things it’s social media. If you told the everyone on the planet that they could go to all of these places but couldn’t document it on their phone, a large majority wouldn’t bother going.

People go to places now just to have their photo taken there which is extremely sad.

I travelled to Croatia in the early 2000’s and it had a feel that you were a visitor in their culture e.g getting fish from the boat at 7am when it came in, restaurants with local cuisine etc. I went back this year and it felt overrun, like it was like any other mass tourism destination in terms of shops/restaurants etc and felt like I was being ripped off at any opportunity

unfortunately due to reasons mentioned in other posts, many places are like this
not much we can do but it’s still a shame

I know I'm part of it, everyone is who goes to a tourist or latest instagram spot and relatively few want to go off the beaten track. Those who do are generally young, fit, cycle or hike over mountains, wild camp or vanlife it, and so on to find that special little spot that is relatively inaccessible and undiscovered. That's fine, it brings in funds to that area I suppose, but not everyone can do that.

I try to go to places that do not have cruise ship docks, I check carefully. Rome is one that I couldn't escape but the dock is in Civitavecchia which is a good bit away from the city, and Rome is big so can absorb them, it will be jammed anyway, cruise ships or not!

To try and mitigate the effect of crowds (on me!) I never go away June - September, or at half terms and other school hols. Apart from anything else the heat is becoming impossible to deal with now, and add in crowds and it's just not enjoyable.

So my travelling is done October - May, and while there are still lots of people about (including me!), the frenzy and queues of the traditional holiday season is not there as much. I am not a sun lover and don't mind a bit of rain and a cold day so it works for me.