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?

Yes, we’re supposed to be going to Cornwall in July and I doubt it’ll be going ahead anyway - but even if we are allowed to go by then I don’t know if il want to. The anger directed at people visiting these holiday places has put me off and I can’t see locals suddenly changing their tune just because the government says it’s ok to travel.

I feel like if we went down we’d be met by angry locals waving pitchforks and blockading the roads. Not sure it’ll be enjoyable.

It must be quite hard living in a world where one Facebook post is considered indicative of how an entire county/region feels.

I bet not a single business page from that area has posted anything 'vitriolic'.

Some people are angry anyway. Some people are stupid anyway. Most people are just trying to bloody survive.

It really does seem a little over sensitive to take this stuff personally.

ANoiseAnnoys
I think it depends on whether people stop for a minute to consider the difference between "can I" and "should I".

When restrictions are lifted it's unlikely to be everything in one go. The risk of the virus hasn't suddenly vanished in the 24hour where the rules swap from avoiding non essential travel to it being fine to travel.

The people who decide to pile into smaller communities the second the lockdown is lifted are probably lacking any sense of social conscience.

Unfortunately given there's people during lockdown desperately trying to argue their selfish actions are technically ok in law because maybe this totally unnecessary trip is actually absolutely necessary to them, or mixing households to socialise i totally ok, and that as lockdown was announced police in Devon were stopping cars clearly going for holidays, it won't be surprising to find that some selfish people will think nothing of piling into communities and get stroppy if they locals aren't falling over themselves in gratitude.

I think that second home owners and tourists are a completely different situation. Like a pp has already said, they destroy communities and price locals out of the housing market. A nearby village has 70% of the houses as second homes. In the last 7 years in that village the post office/shop, 2 cafes and craft Centre have all shut. How could they keep going when 70% of the houses are only occupied a few weeks a year?
Tourists however do keep so many businesses going, regardless of anyone’s else opinion. Just because an individual in a seaside town might be employed in an industry other than tourism, I can guarantee they have family and friends who do rely on tourism.

Do you think people moving into their second homes permanently would be welcome? Would they still be seen as the non local?

Do you think people moving into their second homes permanently would be welcome? Would they still be seen as the non local?
In my experience when second home owners visit regularly, get involved in the community, and get to know the neighbours then they are viewed differently to people who buy a second home that sits empty 49 weeks of the year.

In my friends' village there's a running joke about one house. The people who own it visit for 2 weeks a year in a good year, park inconsiderately in the village and have the most exquisite cat's bum face. When locals find it hard to get housing and nearby villages are losing schools, library services, post offices and so on it's understandable that there's resentment.

If someone moves into their second home and it becomes their permanent residence then I can't see people having an issue other than the tiny group of people who think anyone who moved 10 years ago is new.

Thanks Lola, that’s very good to know! I guess some owners buy it as a long term retirement plan? The less socially talented ones might not realize that they should try and connect to their neighbors early.

My sister lives in a tourist village in the Lake District. She says the suspicion from the locals towards people they don't recognise is terrible.

In my experience attitude is everything. You don't have to be best buddies, but if you're in a village it doesn't take much for some good mornings, smiles and avoiding the insufferably obnoxious attitude of being better than everyone else.

I've been in villages overhearing the most ridiculous conversations where couples are surprised they can't get an unusual ingredient in the local shop when they are in a rural area, or sighing and complaining loudly to themselves in a painful drawl that the butcher closed at 5, complete with comments about how clearly villagers just aren't quite used to the 24/7 lifestyle. 🙄

No but it has changed my view on foreign travel

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

This is very silly & unfair. Tourist spots are also homes for people, and often in otherwise under-resourced areas (eg Cornwall & Cumbria). Not something you see as a visitor.

Residents were rightly angry about selfish thoughtless people who decided they couldn't bear lockdown in their own homes. That is all.

I'm sure when we all learn how to live with this virus as a constant threat, non-twattish visitors will be very welcome, as long as they behave appropriately.

The anger directed at people visiting these holiday places has put me off

Please be a bit more logical! The anger was because we in the "pretty" spots actually have far scarcer resources, and people deciding they would go on "holiday" during the lockdown were acting incredibly selfishly.

It was the circumstances not the character of the local people

Bt really, do you require locals to like you wherever you go on holiday?? That's a wee bit daft.

I live in a tourist area. We just want people to stay away for a few weeks. The absolute entitlement of a small number of people is the real reason they are facing hostility.

With one tiny local hospital and a big elderly population, of course we don't want hordes of people arriving from densely populated cities with high infection rates. Why would we?

I’m in the Lakes :) Just to remind people that rural areas were back in the day very often heavily populated - before machines there were people working in the fields so our area used to have a large permanent population (just fact checking :) ). And we still have quite the population still... not loads of us but more than 3 Not all of us rely on tourism at all, it’s sort of something that happens around us and our friends anyway. There are definitely tourist hot stops, but lots of it is full of normal people too.

Re tourists... we have some lovely ones that come to the valley repeatedly and we consider friends (and basically residents). We’ve got to know them over generations, others are new and we like all of them as they’re just nice people! These groups use the local holiday cottages and are lovely, we’ve missed them so far as they’ve stayed away. I suspect people are mostly only funny about locals being defensive, when you’re in the wrong and wanting to use your second home as an escape. In our area, our local hospital can not cope with the inflated numbers - it has been built and developed for the permanent population, GP access likewise. It would be second home owners risking themselves (and they have), we are riddled with corona up here. For some reason people think rural areas won’t get it - well we’ve all got it!

Anyway.... we love people coming and appreciating the area, we love making friends and seeing those friends again each year. No one likes a rule breaker - a local farmer (of a very VIP farming family) was still reported for breaking the rules, this isn’t something just against second home owners.

Sorry for rambling post, bit sleepy :)

Nb I love breaks to Devon where we have family, but wouldn’t think twice about going again once this is over.

Maybe there’s a variation in areas and some people ARE being nasty in tourist areas.... equally, if you’re going to be mean about Cumbria then I recommend you holiday elsewhere as we won’t be begging to have rude people here! We’re a pretty honest bunch!

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

How DARE people enjoy OUR beach. We should be the only people allowed to enjoy our beach and no one else!

And we should be the only people allowed in OUR town centre to shop in shops that are only there because of tourist, and eat in cafes and restaurants that are only there because of tourists, and use facilities that only exist because of tourists.

If the people of Jaywick Sands In Essex can keep tourists out then so can we. We should model our town on theirs!

Beatrix Potter bought up farms in Cumbria to keep second home owners out...

Aesopfable is definitely welcome everywhere with such manners and grace! And her money! Gosh it saves whole towns that would otherwise just slip into the sea!

I was hoping to visit a popular tourist destination this summer for the first time. I've always wanted to go. I won't be visiting. Some of the venom towards Londoners on Mumsnet has been horrible. There are other places to go to.

We’re supposed to be going to Cornwall in September. Obviously I have no idea if it will go ahead but in a way I’m hoping there are still travel restrictions so I can get a refund. I’m worried what sort of reception we’ll get if things are open and we do go but also don’t want to lose the money.

I live in an area popular with holiday makers and second home owners. Tourism is only a small part of our local economy though.

Those who have traditionally relied on income from tourism will continue to welcome holiday makers and have certainly not been posting anything negative on social media or in real life.

Those who don’t directly benefit from or are inconvenienced by tourism will continue to dislike holiday makers, much as they ever have. They’ll return to doing it in quiet though!

Both sides are united by their hatred of second home owners.

I don’t think any underlying opinions have changed to be honest (sorry!) I just think those with negativity towards tourists have been given license to openly express it.

I sympathise as we love to holiday in rural France and am pretty sure the locals there think the same of us.

Would you still go if the country were locked down PinkSparkly?

Yes - you deserve a shitty welcome.
No - then any anger you see isn’t directed at you!

I genuinely had no idea people hated second home owners so much! I guess it's not relevant to me as I just own the one home, and I live there year round. Is it the same abroad? I presume so.... Nice tourists OK ish (tolerated) Second home owners frowned upon?

And if you do live year round in a scenic/tourist area, where do you go on holiday? Genuine question.

I live in a beautiful tourist spot. A very very very very tiny minority of the population were unpleasant re people arriving here after lockdown. Most of us are just normal people. I like most did think holidays are not essential travel. And still do. While the advice to not travel unless it is essential is in place people shouldn’t come. The will be as welcome as always later.

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