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Anger Over Tourists Swarming Vacation Hot Spots Sparks Global Backlash
- phyzome 8y agoPaywall, can't read.
- yourduskquibble 8y agoTry the following link redirect: https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fanger-over-tourists-swarming-vacation-hot-spots-sparks-global-backlash-1527000130 https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.c...
- FlyingSideKick 8y agoI've been lucky enough to travel to almost 40 countries and unfortunately many locations designated as a must visit have been completely ruined by over tourism including Boracay, Varcala, and Mue Ne just to name a few. Often times by the time the travel press is heralding a place it's character has been changed. Cartagena and Iceland are good examples of this where 10 years ago they were infrequently visited and were replete with services aimed at locals, now many of the shops and restaurants cater to serve the needs of tourists. Good for the proprietors but bad for the authenticity of local culture.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- astura 8y agohttp://outline.com/pWwZXX http://outline.com/pWwZXX
- tomhoward 8y agohttp://archive.is/5zMmn http://archive.is/5zMmn
- jurassic 8y agoThis resonates. I was recently in Seville, Spain, and felt myself on the verge of a claustrophobic panic attack while touring the cathedral because of the thundering herds of tourists pressing in from every side. Big organized tour groups where 20, 30, or more people are led around by a single guide speaking to them through mic and bluetooth headsets are the worst because they distort and concentrate the tourist density. One minute it might be fine to go up in the giralda and a few minutes later an hour+ wait if a couple of these giant groups decide to queue up at one time.
- ct0 8y agohttp://archive.is/zE2dN http://archive.is/zE2dN
- jackconnor 8y agoGetting a lot of these WSJ paywall articles in here. Seems like people who have a subscription would probably read these on their own, and we can just leave them off HN so they stop annoying the hell out of everyone else.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- tomhoward 8y agoI can always get to paywalled articles on WSJ, NYT, WaPo and other news sites via http://archive.is/ http://archive.is/ I this case: http://archive.is/5zMmn http://archive.is/5zMmn
- yourduskquibble 8y agoTry the following facebook link redirect[1] if you can't get past the paywall: https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fanger-over-tourists-swarming-vacation-hot-spots-sparks-global-backlash-1527000130 https://www.facebook.com/flx/warn/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.c... [1]: You can add the following as a bookmarklet to your browser and click on it when you hit the paywall on wsj to get the redirect link. javascript:window.location="https://m.facebook.com/l.php?u="+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href);
- rando444 8y agomy simpler first approach: right click 'web' and open in an incognito window.
- yourduskquibble 8y agoMy simpler first approach is to use a ref control[1] plugin ;) [1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/referer-control/hnkcfpcejkafcihlgbojoidoihckciin https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/referer-control/hn...
- paulsutter 8y agoCongestion pricing. Cities like Venice and Barcelona are beautiful and should absolutely have the right to control tourism, why not do it with a (steep) tax? A double benefit: fewer tourists and more public funds. The tax could be dynamically adjusted to control visitors Im generally an advocate for low taxes, but why shouldn’t cities benefit from being desirable rather than suffer for it
- pishpash 8y agoBecause you may find yourself completely locked out of places you might want to visit in the future. Yes, there are always people richer than you, who don't want your company, either.
- scrumper 8y agoWhich is in effect saying that the residents' right to control access to their city is subordinate to random tourists' right to visit whenever they like. That doesn't sound like a reasonable position. Maybe a lottery system then? 5k free "tourist visas" per year, that sort of thing.
- jschwartzi 8y agoThis is how they do mountains here. You enter yourself and your party in a lottery for a permit. A limited number of permits are also sold on a first-come first-serve basis, so if you wanted to summit Mount Adams at the last minute you could show up at the ranger station at 4:00 in the morning and camp out in line like you're buying a PS4 on launch day.
- alistairSH 8y agoIn some cases (major world heritage sites), one could argue the tourists' right to visit should be considered along with residents' rights. It's a tough balance and I don't have answers. But, I would hate to be locked out of the Vatican because they realize they can charge $5000/day for visitor passes. A lottery of some form might work, if prices are kept reasonable.
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- alistairSH 8y agoYup. I visited Reykjavik last winter and was astonished at the number of tourists visiting in mid-January. I had wrongly assumed it would be a down-time because of poor weather and short days. Nope, tour agencies just cut prices enough to entice people to travel "off-season". We had a long weekend, so stuck to the main tourist sites within a few hours of the city. They were all crowded with buses and vans full of tourists. Not only were the crowds themselves an eyesore, a huge number of the tourists were poorly behaved. Not just inconsiderate in the face of large crowds, but actively damaging to the area. Littering, hopping "do not cross" safety lines, wandering too close to the water's edge (Iceland has rough seas and it's easy to get swept into the ocean). I don't know if there's an easy answer. All the tourists do bring money. But, I did get the impression that Iceland was being ruined. I also recently returned from a trip to Peru, where we hiked part of the Inca Trail and visited Machu Picchu. While the crowds were large, I was pleased to learn Peru has limited visitors both to the ruins and the trail to try and ensure both are maintained for generations to come. The Inca Trail limit used to be 2000 people/day and is now 500 (that includes guides and support staff, so ~200 tourists).
- pishpash 8y agoWasn't that because of WOW Air?
- alistairSH 8y agoIn part, yes. WOW and IcelandAir both run substantial tour programs, allowing split tickets for those heading from Western Europe to the US, bundled with discount lodging and tours to popular sites. That, along with Instagram, make Iceland a desirable place to visit.
- rando444 8y agothis is largely incorrect. wow air does not run any tours, tour groups, transport, lodging, etc. it's just a budget airline and they are only interested in transport.
- titzer 8y agoI generally only tell my family and close friends about the spots I find. It won't last forever, the masses might find out another way, but mostly the urge to show off lessened over the years. I have my pics and my memories, and that's enough for me.
- gusfoo 8y ago> Anger Over Tourists Swarming Vacation Hot Spots Anger at hot spot marketing department for successfully selling! How dare they!
- ggm 8y agoTo give a contrarian view, what do people have against other people? If the goal is exclusivity, Then this is faux experience. The places are now, temples to humanity and humanity is what they contain. I have touristed in places packed with locals, the physical effects are no different. It just cultural supremacy to believe because they are "local" somehow your experience is distinct from having a hoarde of little old ladies with rainshields on around you. (Nara for instance, which is jam packed with Japanese of all ages and religions, but few westerners when I was there. The queue to get local food at lunchtime was unbelievable.)
- pathseeker 8y ago>To give a contrarian view, what do people have against other people? When you flood a place with people who don't share the same culture as the locals, it's disruptive to the culture and it can even permanently destroy it.
- ortuna 8y agoThe article is talking about remote areas (NZ - Lord of the Rings), beaches, camping trails etc. These areas didn't get a lot of traffic. Now they do which is leading to the undesired outcomes. It's not talking about locals vs tourists. It's mainly talking about sudden influx of people coming into an area.
- Taniwha 8y agoI'm a kiwi, I don't think people are against visitors per-se - it's the enormous amount of poo they leave behind that they ought to be packing out - it's particularly a problem because we have a culture of 'freedom camping' - stopping on the side of the road for the night, but now we have tens of 1000s of camper vans without builtin facilities piling on the roadside poo PS: Lord of the Rings was a movie it's not actually what we're about
- mkingston 8y agoMe too. But I'm a bit out of touch. I'm aware roadside camping waste has been a mainstream issue for a while, but are many in NZ talking about pressure on environmentally sensitive areas? Is that a very big part of the conversation? (This article might cause one to believe as much).
- atomical 8y agoBest option is to find some other place in the country to visit. Find an old trail go for a hike. Throw away the traditional bucket list and focus on having fun.
- linuxlizard 8y agoSlow motion version of Larry Niven's "Flash Crowd" ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Crowd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Crowd
- bsenftner 8y agoI expect many destination cities will experience economic inflation, rendering them only available to the international wealthy. People's homes will become where they vacation, as, after all, that'll be the only place many can afford. "VR Vacations" will actually become what people do when they take vacation.
- pmlnr 8y agoHaving been to tourist hot spots in China, it's bad there as well - unless you take the old roads on foot. Nobody takes the long ways any more, so if you want that genuine experience, walk.
- merinowool 8y agoIs this site compliant with GDPR? I thought restricting the user experience depending if user would give up his personal details is forbidden? This site also doesn't say it doesn't cater to Europeans. I am confused.
- dorwi 8y agoObviously personal information is a commodity, which we can trade for comfort, and it doesn't have much value since most of the people are happily giving it up... so I'm not too surprised about this
- epx 8y agoThis is one reason I refuse to go to typical tourist destinations. The other reason is, tourists are fleeced. My parents paid 6, 7 Euro for a bottle of water in Europe!
- pmlnr 8y agoTapwater is drinkable in many parts of Europe, they should have refilled the bottles instead. Also generates less waste.
- rm_-rf_slash 8y agoJust gotta know where to go. A local vendor at small Mediterranean town I visited sold 1.75L of one the most delicious red wines of my entire vacation for barely €3. Given the article’s subject matter, the location stays a secret with me ;)
- BerislavLopac 8y agoI bet it was Croatia, or possibly Albania. ;-)
- jkira 8y agoI've always thought this was a great opportunity for VR. Pop on your favorite VR headset and see the sights without having to fight the crowds or spend a fortune getting there. And being VR it could add the optional time-travel element so you could go back to see whatever historical event made the place famous... :)
- kasperni 8y agoAnd it is only going to be a bigger and bigger problem in the future. Great that people are talking about how much free time people are going to get in the future. But where are they going to spend it? I was always, how bad can in be living in tourist hotspots like Venice or Barcalona. But having lived in Copenhagen, and seen the number of tourist in the inner city increase by 10% every year for the last 5-6 years at least. I have changed by mind, and there are a lot places worse then here. At some point it is just not going to be sustainable anymore. And I don't see alternative but to put some kind of limit on the tourist horde.
- lopmotr 8y agoIsn't it ironic that tourists themselves are complaining about other tourists. It's like somebody concerned about climate change saying "I used to drive my overpowered car without any worries because there weren't enough car owners to cause a problem but now the world is full of cars and they're polluting it! Let's do something about those other car owners!" It sounds a bit entitled to want the scarce things for yourself any not have to share them with poor people who can now afford them more than they used to. Wanting those poor people to stay in their slums where they belong, and perhaps be subjects of tourism themselves but not rise to the level of tourist themselves. Maybe it's just a sign of greater global economic equality, which is widely seen as a good thing. Let's have more of it!
- mdb333 8y ago...well don't go to China lol! can't read the article due to paywall but can grok the content based on the title. When you break it all down it's pretty much a supply/demand type issue where supply is constantly limited, or in reality decreasing, and demand is increasing rapidly. The only thing that can adjust the speed of the above is pricing and regulations. Unfortunately, many "destinations" are hungry for the tourist dollars and don't think about (or know how to) building a sustainable industry. Regulations can help; some examples: --Antarctica treaty limits size of boats that can make landings, number of people that can be on land at once and the minimum ratio of guides/tourists. --Bhutan limits the number of tourists allowed in the country annually, requires they tour with a guided company, and mandates a minimum spending amount per day. --Ecuador limits boats in Galapagos to maximum of 100 passengers, limits the port of calls allowed based on boat size and has consistently increased entry fees to balance demand --Even in San Francisco they passed an ordinance banning tour buses in certain neighborhoods as they were a constant nuisance of noise and pollution. Beyond regulation, its just a matter of price and accessibility. There's tons of wilderness still throughout the world but very little is easily accessible or of interest to typical tourist. If there's only one or two flights in/out per week to a remote destination you know tourists numbers will be limited. Anyone with 30-60k can visit the north pole. Ive seen pictures and it looks boring AF but at least it's exclusive. Even climbing Everest now is described as an escalator up the world's highest garbage dump. Comparatively, Venice is a city of 50-60k ppl but sees 20M tourists a year! They are starting to put some things in place to control the insanity but it's probably too little too late. Unfortunately, at the risk of sounding racist, a big part of the problem for more typical destinations is newly rich asian middle class hungry for luxury but completely unaware of local culture/customs, uneducated on the sensitivity of ecosystems, etc. Seems like everyone agrees that the Chinese have taken the lead position as world's worst tourists... and they've already reached 2x the size of Americans (which are admittedly also pretty terrible) int'l annual travel volume. Also, the internet must share some of the blame! you used to have to work hard to discover a new place, research a desination, meet locals to find out the best secrets... now the Internet lays all to bare and its simply a competition of who has the most impressive instagram roll. Even, the park next to my house used to be a relative deadzone but now gets all sorts of tourist traffic because it was featured on some hidden gems of SF type website.