Has all this changed your opinion of tourist spots you used to love?

[Makeitgoaway]

There's one in particular that we used to visit for a few days several time a year. The last time was January and under normal circumstances we'd have been there this week.

Obviously we have no intention or desire to go there until the relevant restrictions are lifted but the venom being directed towards tourists and visitors by people fortunate enough to live in beautiful places is making me think it won't be comfortable there, we won't be welcome for a long time after restrictions are lifted. I understand people are scared etc but they also love to see us and our money in happier times and, I assume, do want tourists to return at some point.

Will you be rushing back to your favourite places to support their economies or will you wait?

It's the 'we can tell non local cars' attitude that is the problem and a bit weird if you ask me.

When you live in a small place tourist town or not you get to know local cars and faces, even if you dont know the people personally. Even the caravans that rock up at holidays, we can pick the regulars easily.
So when we go to the shops, see many cars we dont see most days, then see even more non locals in the shop we know your not from round here. When you have bulk pack of water, TP, bags of pasta, boxes of jarred sauce in your trolley, we know your raiding our shops, who STILL cant get stock.

I jokingly said to our stores manager, be great if you could check ID, laughing as i said it, dead pan serious he replies I wish cos it was so bad.
It was him who told me the city panic buyers have been the rudest to staff, ive personally seen it too. He had people admit what they were doing to him cos really, what could he do, couldnt boot em out.
But we still suffering for it in town now

We used to live in Cornwall, the horrible attitude towards holiday makers was one of the reasons we left.

It's been massively amplified throughout this, there are good reasons for people needing to stay away but it has definitely given some people the excuse they've been looking for for a while to be arseholes.

Socks, you said what I was about to. Maybe we live in the same area!

Plenty of people don't work in the tourist industry, here. Plenty of people hate the fact that we can't get near our own town centres or beaches in the summer, because of all the bloody tourists. We hate the longer Friday night commutes when London barfs tourists at us for the weekend, the bank holiday or whatever. We hate turning a corner on a normally empty country road to find grockles walking all over it (no pavements, people, it's a blatant clue!).

Sorry if those of you trying to be victims don't like it. Go, spend your money elsewhere. Leave us in peace.

A necessary nuisance, that's an interesting phrase there. And I was thinking something similar as I read this thread. Is it probable that what was always there, the feeling of mild/moderate irritation, has been amplified into full blown anger/rage vitriol?

Downstairs you'll always be a blow in. It's all about the tribes at the end of the world innit?

Your town centres wouldn't survive without the tourists.

the venom being directed towards tourists and visitors by people fortunate enough to live in beautiful places is making me think it won't be comfortable there

OP you're phrasing your question as if everyone who lives in the same place thinks in the same way. The reality is that a few people have always been resentful of tourists and are taking the chance to say get lost, most people are probably ambivalent about tourism and are enjoying the peace and quiet but accept it won't last for much longer (I fall into that group) and a few more people are desperate for restrictions on travel to end because their business is going down the pan.

The economy of many rural and coastal areas has adapted to take advantage of tourism but If the tourists weren't there or numbers were fewer the economy would change. One hundred years ago there were no tourists in my part of the Lakes, now its dominant. In the future people may be doing something else to earn a living - especially now we've been given the chance to WFH.

As other posters have pointed out - lots of local people don't work in tourism. My friends are social workers, accountants, teachers, administrators. Tourism doesn't bring everyone benefits.

To return to your original point - I think most people will be guided by government advice. If restrictions on travel are lifted locals will understand tourism will start up again and accept it.

Please don’t think that all the people who live there think like this. I live in a small seaside town on the south coast, and although there haven’t been posters up telling visitors to go away, there have been a few very vocal people on social media saying it.
A lot were getting very angry the weekend before lockdown, but our beach was like an August bank holiday so I could understand that. My family however just stayed at home that weekend to avoid it so it didn’t actually effect us, I’m not sure why the people who complained didn’t just do the same really.
We desperately really on tourism here, and for me so does my job. Most people are so grateful for the tourists as it keeps our town going for so many people.
There are always people who complain about everything, and many locals have turned on each other if they think others are going on non essential journeys. But the local police seemed to really encourage this by posting photos on on social media, although fortunately they have stopped now.
So please do go back, I'm sure you’ll be welcomed warmly.

@ifIwerenotanandroid do you never go on holiday anywhere yourself then?

"One hundred years ago there were no tourists". There were no people either! A few farmers and some mine workers, not the number of "locals" the Lakes supports now.

I think second home owners (rather than tourists in general) are pretty despised. They buy a house which sits empty most of the time adding little to the local economy but out pricing locals from buying houses and leading most local youngsters to have to move away to buy a home. Why would tourists want second home owners to come crashing in when the going gets tough putting strain on their amenities and hospitals?

Second home owners have led to whole streets being empty in some areas while local housing lists run into many thousands.

I think the ownership of more than one property should be heavily discouraged through taxation. The money raised could be used to build social housing (not available for right to buy).

If you want a second home buy a caravan/chalet/ lodge on a holiday park not a home designed for permanent occupation.

tourists = locals sorry

I do hope that people like ifIwerenotanandroid and any adult children they might have never visit (and especially don't move to) London causing the same issues, stress, and pressure on resources she complains about people doing where she lives. It works both ways.

I noticed two separate issues with the "anti outsider" posts. One was a legitimate concern over possibly infected people travelling after Covid had already spread in cities. That's an understandable concern, although it slightly rankled seeing some very entitled posters thinking only rural areas deserved that protection (because no-one out up signs saying "Keep Out" to protect people living in cities). I think and hope the entitled ones are a minority.

Separately you get people like ifIwerenotanandroid singling out Londoners for her vitriol. Sadly I've seen a few like her, generalising about nine million people. Personally I don't like to discuss a whole group based on the poor behaviour of a few. She might hate all Londoners simply because of where they're from but I prefer to see people as individuals. I like to think the insular rural local is a minority. I share concerns about feeling unwelcome in the future but then again they don't own the region they live in. They get to benefit year round from the beauty. They also have the good fortune of being spared the worst of Covid so far (hopefully that continues to be the case). The least they can do is let everybody else have a little bit of respite from urban life. People should not be made to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. We all have the right to enjoy the more beautiful parts of this country.

On a similar note. I read of Gordon Ramsay being abused and harassed by locals. The second home issue is contentious when so many across the UK struggle to house themselves (a particular issue in London where the housing crisis is most acute), and perhaps this needs debating in the future, but there's no excuse for the aggression and bad behaviour. He took his family there before lockdown. He has a legal right to be there.

I think the tourism industry will very much notice that "a minority" don't return Lola, especially people like us who usually go all year round
You're missing my point. It will be a minority who are whining about small communities wanting people to follow the bloody rules about non-essential travel.

My point was that the locals won't miss the minority who are whining about not being welcomed for their day trips during lockdown.

I'm sure they will be more than happy for tourism and visitors to resume once a deadly disease isn't killing hundreds of people a day.

"One hundred years ago there were no tourists". There were no people either! A few farmers and some mine workers, not the number of "locals" the Lakes supports now.

@Makeitgoaway Those few farmers and mineworkers formed a thriving community which manged to support three schools between them in an area which now has only one school with around 35 children at it. That's because 80% of the houses are holiday homes. If you think tourism is the saviour of rural areas you're kidding yourself. In many cases it destroys communities.

Much of the original local industry like mining would be gone anyway, tourists or no tourists. I know small ex mining or similar communities that don't attract tourists, they are not thriving to put it mildly. When large parts of a local economy collapse house prices plummet, anti social behaviour and poor health increase, and local facilities worsen.

In the fairly unlikely event that I travel to any touristy area over the next year or so, I won't be put off by whether the locals are welcoming or not, unless they are violent or extremely unpleasant. I don't go on holiday to meet friendly locals and I don't need to feel particularly welcome, thought understand why others might.

Re London. I live in London, but like most people here I am really from somewhere else. I am not sure how people are defining 'londoners'. As someone who lives in London I have little expectation of owning a first home so no danger of a second!

In this city we get tourists from around the globe, I live in a particularly popular tourist area and it can get overwhelming in the summer. I find it quite gratifying though to think that people choose to visit the place I live all the time, and I appreciate their economic contribution. I don't feel that I own the area or have any more right to be here than visitors.

When international travel resumes London will be the place in the UK probably at most risk of imported cases of covid through tourism. I am nervous but I will be welcoming to any responsible traveller. It is up to govts to put limits in place if they are needed.

You're missing the point Lola. At no point have I ever "whined" about not being able to go during the lockdown, it wouldn't even occur to me to want to.

I am concerned that these attitudes will prevail and that the welcome won't be warm once things are starting to get back to normal. I'm wondering if visiting, say, in the first 12 months would be wise.

but they also love to see us and our money in happier times

I live in one if these areas. They don't necessarily love to see you! They need your money but you can keep your lord of the manner attitude! There has not been public vitriol where I live but I don't think any of the residents of any of these places should have had to feel threatened by the likes of you with that attitude! And that is what makes the likes of you so difficult to stomach.

What has been lovely these last few weeks has been to see local families out enjoying our beautiful area in the sunshine when they would normally be working 7 days a week in order to make a living.

Attitudes like yours OP makes me feel very unwelcoming whereas prior to this I had appreciated incomers as loving the same area we do.

Mate, I have a list of places to visit when this is all over. 😂

For every person who elects to now stay close to home will be those of us who will travel with more motivation than ever. ✈

If you can afford it. The cost will be out of reach for most people, especially with a depressed economy.

I travel to Cornwall on holiday quite a bit and have always been treated very nicely by the local people I met. Sure we crowd the beaches for a bit but tourism is important to pay for the local services that people need. Don’t forget that chat forums can attract quite strange individuals who probably can’t function socially in the real world. Like I strongly suspect of @ifIwerenotanandroid

If you're not wanting to go then why on earth would it bother you that communities don't want people rocking up during lockdown?

Your whole attitude towards these places (from hundred years ago these places were just a few farms through to but I bet they want our money) is awful.

If you're that bothered that people not wanting folk to spread a deadly disease to their communities is going to be some endless vendetta against you then decide not to go back for a while. There'll be plenty of other tourists who entirely understand why communities feel as they do right now and will happily go back when it's safe to do so.

BarbeDeMaman very well said.

I am concerned that these attitudes will prevail and that the welcome won't be warm once things are starting to get back to normal. Those attitudes were probably always there for some people but they just didn't say anything until now. There are posters up in my area asking non-locals to go away (which I personally think are over the top) but they also say that visitors will be welcome when the threat reduces.

The prevailing attitude around rural tourism is often "the yokels should be glad of our money" but that's very simplistic. There are some economic benefits to tourism (although jobs are often low paid and seasonal) but these are often off-set by the negative social and environmental impact. The most common attitude I come across in my area is one of resignation - people feel they can't do anything about it so they suck it up.