Do locals actually want tourists at the moment?

[footprintsintheslow]

What's the general consensus about tourists staying in holiday destinations around the UK?

I'd love to go camping in North Wales, keep myself to myself and go to beaches.

Is it selfish to arrive there?

What would make it better if anything?

@Coronabored

We have just got back from Wales and every worker there said how glad they are people are back. People are genuinely worried about their livelihoods depending on tourists. Living by the sea does not give anyone a right to tell people to stay away from a place you have no ownership of.

Spot on!! I'd say to anyone concerned about going away on a break to just do it. The locals don't own the place, even though a few like to think they do.

A few visitors here has really made the place feel alive again, like it should be!!

Yes, Cornwall as a whole definitely wants it's tourists, just the same as there are some people who would have preferred us to stay locked down forever. My DH delivers to st Ives and the town has gone out of their way to ensure social distancing works and the business owners are very happy to see the tourists back.

Here in Cornwall it’s been quite nice meeting tourists and having socially distant chats.

My family and friends don’t seem to mind because us too will be going all over the UK on holiday during August - so we’re all in the same boat.

Just enjoy and be respectful and careful

Cornish is struggling with groups of teens coming for a boozy holiday but that is completely different

Ahhh sorry for typos! I’m sleepy and the sun is too bright ☀️

From what I gather from the Mountain Rescue teams a lot of the issues the Lakes are currently facing with ill equipped/inexperienced walkers and anti social behaviour aren't actually tourists/holiday makers but relatively local people who would usually be doing something else.

I'm in North Wales. Yes come, the land is for everyone to enjoy. The problem is people coming and behaving like the Pandemic has never happened. They're on holiday and have reverted to auto-holiday mode.

I don't think you'd do that Op but many visitors do.

I’m due to go to the Lakes next month - we booked it on New Year’s Eve before Covid etc. It’s not Keswick or Windermere but a more remote bit, but the village has a pub or two that i would like to partake of. Will they hate us?

Act like decent people and they will be pleased to have you there I'm sure.

We were thinking of trying to book one night overseas in Anglesey but have held off because we don't know how welcome we'd be. Any Anglesey locals around? We're hoping to visit a specific place but it's too far to drive on a day trip as it'd be 8 hours driving.

www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/28/tourist-hotspots-hit-hardest-in-uk-by-covid-19-unemployment

I don't think the 'stay away its ours' brigade really understand just how much some areas rely on tourism.

People's livelihoods are at stake. People may lose homes, businesses and incomes for a long period.
Speaking to family in a very touristy county recently, there is a lot of worry about unemployment, especially for the younger generation.

Well the 'stay away-ers' may have their wishes fulfilled - the tourists may stay away, businesses may fail, unemployment may rise (even more), investment in infrastructure may stall.

Still, at least they'll have the beach to themselves.

@dameofdilemma I actually think many of the stay away brigade do understand the economic issues. But they also understand the clear health risks posed to locals ( here the majority of the population is 65+) by tourists who are forgetting about the pandemic because they are in holiday mode, visitors who maintain social distancing, wash hands, wear masks et are welcome but from reports I have heard from people who work in cafes here, that is just not happening. Drunken beach BBQs early evening and inconsiderate crowds in the streets. We love considerate visitors year round, these, not so much

@pepperycinnamon just be decent visitors and have a lovely time. I'm not on Anglesey just a little along the coast.

We're going to North Wales next week. I cannot wait. The woman we rent the holiday cottage from was ecstatic that she could accept people again.

I was watching on bbc news what was happening in Barcelona. There were marches trying to ban/ limit tourism a couple of years ago as they were overwhelmed , mainly due to airbnb , same as Venice. Now desperate for tourists.
Lesson seems to be, be careful for what you wish for , it might come true.
Although i totally get where the anti tourists locals were coming from pre- covid

I live in a tourist area and it's really really busy at the moment.

To be honest a lot of the locals don't want tourists here, we have a very high elderly population and some of them are worried the tourists will bring the virus with them....

I am not that bothered about it, if you live here you know to expect the tourists during the summer and this year will no doubt be worse than ever. Only thing that annoys me is the traffic, the roads here aren't great and the traffic becomes ridiculous when the day trippers arrive!!

this scares me a bit. We have a family caravan in Scotland and DH wants to go next week and I'm not so sure. We'd be keeping ourselves to ourselves in the van, but we will need food and I don't want to upset anyone. I'm really torn.

We were up at Loch Ness the other weekend (live in Scotland) and there were plenty of tourists from a range of countries and as far as we could see, everyone was getting on fine.

I’m not in Wales, but another tourist area

There’s a very vocal minority shrieking about tourists on FB, but I don’t think they want tourists at the best of times.

Most people accept that our economy relies on tourism and without it we’ll be fucked, so we are open for business.

I'm in Scotland, live in a holiday hotspot. As long as you're considerate and socially distance as everyone else does you'll be grand! We're all just sick of people camping and leaving human faeces and litter everywhere. Which is unacceptable at all times, virus or no virus! I'd imagine that's more just bored teenagers from the city/inland rather than families up from England!

As many have said, there's definitely mixed feelings where I live. We are just on the edge of a big tourist area rather than right in the middle of one, but are seeing a lot more tourists on our doorstep than usual at the moment. The central areas are full, so people are spreading out a bit.
I think in a way people are happy as its bringing money into the area and a lot of people's livelihoods rely on tourism eithet directly or indirectly. I also think that many are enjoying some sense of "normality" returning. Whilst having the place to ourselves was lovely in some ways it was also very weird and really brought home that the pandemic was real and serious, if that makes sense.
On the other hand, we don't like the fact that lots of visitors seem to behave like they are in a theme park and are expecting there to be staff clearing up after them. (Not that littering is ok in a theme park of course!) We don't like the fact that some visitors (and some locals of course) are disregarding social distancing, or that the sheer weight of numbers makes it impossible to adhere to the guidance. We don't like vehiclea double parked in narrow lanes or obstructing driveways. We don't like people putting our emergency services and volunteer rescuers at risk by going out to see on lilos or getting stuck on hills or cliffs they have attempred to climb in shorts and flip flops. And yes, we are worried about the virus spreading through the local population which is older than average, and our limited local health services being overwhelmed.
Of course a lot of this happens every year. There's one of our nearby local towns that I simply don't go to in the summer months apart from the one day I have to brave the impossible parking and packed streets to go to the only shop that sells my children's school uniform. We tend to enjoy our local beauty spots and historic places most between September and April and avoid them in the season in a normal year. But currently its like the peak season on steroids. The fact that people generally aren't taking holidays abroad has meant that the place is absolutely packed and more people overall inevitably means more problems. My adult DD lives in a different part of the UK that is also a holiday destination and its the same there. If you are looking for peace and quiet on a UK holiday this year it may be hard to find I am afraid.
So no, to be brutally honest we don't want tourists, or at least not in the numbers we are getting them at the moment, but we do need them. Vistors who behave responsibly and treat the place and the local population with respect will be welcomed warmly by most people here. Visitors who behave like entitled dicks will get the welcome that they usually do, but with bells on.

I think the thread is a bit wrong to be honest. Covid or not, what 'locals' could start a thread saying, is if you visit Anglesey, Norfolk whatever please don't act like a dick

@dameofdilemma

www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/28/tourist-hotspots-hit-hardest-in-uk-by-covid-19-unemployment

I don't think the 'stay away its ours' brigade really understand just how much some areas rely on tourism.

People's livelihoods are at stake. People may lose homes, businesses and incomes for a long period.
Speaking to family in a very touristy county recently, there is a lot of worry about unemployment, especially for the younger generation.

Well the 'stay away-ers' may have their wishes fulfilled - the tourists may stay away, businesses may fail, unemployment may rise (even more), investment in infrastructure may stall.

Still, at least they'll have the beach to themselves.

I think it's more selfish than that - it's not that they don't know that people's jobs rely on tourism, it's that they don't care that much because they think theirs doesn't (or they're retired). The thing is, they're wrong - when major sources of employment leave an area (like factory closures) it's not just those who lose their jobs immediately who are affected. Unless you want to live somewhere with slashed public services, no infrastructure investment and increased crime and antisocial behaviour you always have an investment in your area staying economically viable. No one is safe from that.

@Coronabored

I think the thread is a bit wrong to be honest. Covid or not, what 'locals' could start a thread saying, is if you visit Anglesey, Norfolk whatever please don't act like a dick

Yes, that just about covers it. Though to be honest, even if people aren't setting out to behave like dicks, the sheer weight of numbers this year is causing additional problems. People are going to need to be more patient and considerate even than usual.

We went to Cornwall last week and everyone was very welcoming. We went down to the Lizard and it wasn't too crowded - we even had an entire beach to ourselves one afternoon. The only crowd I saw was a group of locals celebrating a child's birthday on the beach one day. ON the other hand my parents seaside village on the south coast is overwhelmed and they are avoiding going into the village itself as the streets are narrow. But they aren't complaining about the tourists particularly. Just going for walks in places the tourists wouldn't know about.

I think people are still being cautious and was certainly what happened when I was away. I know people on here make out like everyone is going round hugging strangers but it is not the truth

I wonder if people would consider city breaks? It's my day off, and I've just nipped into the city centre with DC1. 90% of shops and cafes are open, the museums and galleries are reopening in the next week, but it's really quiet and easy to socially distance. Personally I'm not yet ready to spend a long time in a cafe or pub, but a few of the streets are closed to vehicles to allow places to have bigger and more distanced outside seating areas. Most cities have enough green space for long parkland/canalside walks as well, although city centre walks are great at the moment as so few people and cars (the main traffic is now Deliveroo cyclists!).

I do have a long weekend booked in a more rural location. If it's rammed we're happy to drive inland for good hiking in open country, and for one of us to collect a takeaway in the evening.