Over tourism- are you re thinking your holidays

[TheGander]

Have been following the news re demonstrations against tourism in Spain. I’ve been going there on holiday on an off for years. The demos resonate with me as I feel tourism has intensified and accelerated in recent years, partly boosted by the internets ability to create eg air bnb, instagram tourism where people converge on beauty spots for the pics, social media creating popular destinations via sites such as tripadvisor etc. I can read Spanish so I’ve looked at articles in local press. Some destinations I used to love just aren’t enjoyable any more eg Cadiz which is now overrun by cruise ships , ait bnbs and the locals are fed up and going on demos about it. I’m reassessing where to go on holiday as a result. Anyone else?

It's not just Europe that gets over run, I live on the South Coast and I know of at least 3 air b and bs just on my street and also a couple holiday homes. My DH grew up in a village on the South Coast which was listed at the weekend as one of the most expensive coastal places to buy property now. The majority of the homes are again holiday rentals/homes and Air B and Bs it makes it impossible for younger people to buy in their home areas now. I completely sympathise with the Spanish as they are having the same problems, if tourists used the local hotels it would offer employment, support local businesses and hopefully make it less attractive for Air B and B and free up some housing.

I live on Skye. Resident population approx 13k, visitors predicted to exceed 1 million this year.

I keep hoping the bubble will burst but there's no sign of it so far, numbers keep increasing every year. I'd like to see a tourism tax on campervans etc, they're a huge problem up here.

@23Shadows oh don't get me started on Campervans and Caravans we followed a convoy of them yesterday one trying to overtake all the others through the New Forest therefore holding all the traffic up and delightfully giving us the finger as we drove past. We are on one of the main routes to the South West and every other vehicle is towing a caravan at the moment, it's pretty scary sometimes as the poor standards of driving can be scary, I imagine because they are following sat nav and not paying attention to anything going on around them

Yes. So many lovely places are being trashed by tourism. It's really making me rethink my choices.
I was in London recently visiting friends and it was so different from visiting London as a child/young adult. Everywhere is heaving. Attractions are really expensive and booked solid for weeks ahead.
We don't tend to go to popular places as none of us like crowds.
I don't know what the solution is though..
23shadows I went to Skye about 15 years ago - somewhere I had wanted to go to for years and found it clogged with campers and visitors then. I suspect it's much worse now. I understand wanting to go - I want to as well, but we're spoiling these places by sheer numbers of visitors. Queues for mountain summits for another example.

@Tara336 oh yes, the standard of driving is often awful. There have been several serious accidents and numerous near misses this year. People from overseas driving on the wrong side of the road is a regular hazard.

@Beamur I agree, completely understand why people want to visit but it needs to be done in a way that doesn't destroy the very thing they're coming to see. Visitors to Skye used to be limited naturally by the number of people who could get across by ferry and the availability of accommodation. Now they can just drive across in their campervans and clutter the place up.

I made a conscious decision three years ago not to stay in holiday lets, Air BnB and the like. I am also not bound by school holidays any more so go at quieter times.

The other thing which to be honest is a bee in my bonnet is to speak to local people in their local language as much as possible, and not dress as if a Brit abroad.

@LlynTegid This try to speak local language comes up all the time. I recently visited my native country (Finland) and would have liked to speak my native Finnish but on few occasions I came across only English speaking customer service staff. I found it incredulous that I couldn’t get served in Finnish in Finland.

After years of moaning about the traffic etc, have you noticed that this year, people are moaning about tourist numbers being down? Can't win!

I also live in an area where the population quadruples in summer. Not on the scale of Bcn of course but huge to us.

The area unfortunately depends on tourism so we suffer in winter when it drops off so its a shame there isn't some sort of national investment or decentralisation to allow for regular, non tourism employment too. However in general I love the tourists. The area is so much nicer when bustling (even when I can't get parking or a restaurant reservation) and i love to hear how much other people love my beautiful part of the world.

What I don't understand is why people who purport to love this area contribute to its destruction by building and buying holiday homes which they then leave empty and neglected for 50 weeks of the year. The area is dying because of this and so what they loved will eventually be a shadow of what they loved.

Anyway I still go to Spain but I go to smaller towns and always always make sure that I spend cash in small local businesses, park with consideration and am quiet and deferential to the locals. Fitting in rather than taking over.

Conscientious tourism should be the goal.

@TheGander
Yes, I'm pretty sure that most of the accommodation we have rented in Spain has been owned by someone fairly local. And whereas I do get the point that letting out such apartments to tourists is causing difficulties for local people, by staying in a self catering property I am spending my money in local restaurants, cafes, and even those tiny little minimarts for top up shops - wine, water etc .

I have never experienced Spanish people being anything other than friendly and welcoming and at the moment I have no plans to stop visiting there - although I wouldn't be going in the main summer.

We are visiting Dubrovnik at the end of September - staying just outside - so I don't know what that will be like .

I would say most holiday let’s here aren’t separate homes. So rarely taking away a house.
In our street we have a couple which are holiday homes but they are all inherited the last few years from grandparents or parents, and most are planning to move here permanently within x amount of years once they have finished work in the city. So these properties would never have been on the market anyway. They have been in same family since built in the 50s

Most actual guest lets are attached to someone’s homes. In the 60/70s lots of traditional bed and breakfast places were built. Some still open, but most converted the rooms to a couple of independent self catered apartment’s as times change and people want more space, private living area and options to self cater. Some still offer breakfast, some have just 1 small apartment, some larger places a couple. The owners still live in house also, and those with two usually use the apartment themselves once peak season is finished ie they can open up the living spaces for they have larger living area in winter when it’s cold outside, and use the spare 1-2 bedrooms themselves for own family and friends staying throughout off peak.

It’s what our house is like. It used to be a bed and breakfast. We Converted to a house and apartment. The house and hallway doors and apartment entrance doors can all be opened up off season so we live back in the whole property. We live abroad so the guest bedrooms used a lot privately by our family and friends off season

There are hotels also. But most are old ( 100 years+) very few new have been built. So these are very nice, but premium to stay at. It would cost average family of 4 maybe 5 times the price to stay in v a bed and breakfast apartment conversion. So it’s a cost thing for many

I would reconsider going to Majorca and I went to Barcelona years ago so not fussed there but if I was it would change my mind.
I think social media has ruined travel generally as people flock to get the popular pictures with no thought of going a little off the beaten track.
Places like Madrid and Valencia I found fairly quiet and without the heaving Insta crowds.
We are in Northern Italy currently and haven't come across any negativity. There are a couple of popular spots that get busy but outside of that it's fine.
I wouldn't go to Venice, Rome or Florence in the summer season.
I also think the americans seem to travel to Europe more than they did, maybe it's more affordable or things like the Kardashians constantly in Italy have made it so popular.