4 ms·

Some of this is overblown. Locals who live at tourist destinations have always complained about tourists, even when those tourists are the economic lifeblood of

Some of this is overblown. Locals who live at tourist destinations have always complained about tourists, even when those tourists are the economic lifeblood of the area. Talk to anyone who grew up in a beach town. The multiple snide comments about cruises seem both classist and misplaced. Most of those cruise ship passengers are going to travel somewhere, and having them on the cruise ship effectively minimizes their impact on locals. When they get off the ship, most passengers either take a guided excursion in an already heavily touristed area, or just go to a beach club. Would you rather they rent Airbnbs in the downtown neighborhoods of the cities they'd like to visit? Or would you rather build new resorts and timeshare communities at beach destinations? Venice also seems like an unusual case that might need special attention. Most cruise ship ports are not beautiful places in need of preservation. Many places in the world (especially national parks) are successfully restricting visitor volume. The solutions are well known: Require permits (either via purchase or lottery) and/or increase the cost to visit (via entrance fees, additional hotel taxes, etc.)

matwood 7y ago
> Talk to anyone who grew up in a beach town. I grew up and still live in a beach town. Tourists were somewhat bothersome, but they allowed me to make plenty of money in restaurants when I was younger. Today the bigger problem is people are moving here. I rarely go to the beach anymore (unless it's 6am surf session) because of traffic and crowds. Just in the last couple weeks, 4 new stop lights went up near my house. But, with all the growth has also come real jobs. So it's not all bad. > Venice also seems like an unusual case that might need special attention. Having been to Venice, I never understood why so many people like going. It is basically one giant tourist trap.
- dagw 7y ago
  I never understood why so many people like going Venice has some of the coolest and most unique urban planning in the world, it's one of the most historically significant cities in Europe, the Biennales always have fun events (many of them free) and honestly if you avoid peak tourist season and get a couple of streets away from the grand canal there aren't that many tourists around. Sure most of the restaurants and bars and basically all of the shops are tourist traps, but you can always just ignore those. Venice is definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe where you can't ski.
- kwhitefoot 7y ago
  > Having been to Venice, I never understood why so many people like going. It is basically one giant tourist trap. How much time did you spend away from St. Mark's square, the Rialto, and the Grand canal? My wife and I and our three children went for five days some years ago; we rented an apartment in an old palazzo about ten minutes walk from St. Mark's. We went out for walks all over Venice, sometimes early in the morning before the other tourists arrived, we walked on the north side of the island and saw almost no tourists even though it was the high season. We ate in small restaurants away from the bustle and rip off prices of the Grand Canal. Essentially, we avoided all the high profile locations and never queued for anything. It was brilliant.
  - matwood 7y ago
    I spent a few nights there in an apartment on the island, so I was able to see it in a slower time. I may have been a little harsh in my original comment. I'm glad I visited Venice, but it's not a place I would go again. I will admit, my view was also likely a bit tainted because I had just spent time in Slovenia and Croatia. Cities like Rovinj, Piran, and Pula are great. If I had to do it again, I would stay in Rovinj and take a ferry day trip to Venice.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  >But, with all the growth has also come real jobs. So in addition to fleecing tourists and fleecing people who fleece tourists there's now career paths that involve fleecing people who retired to where they spent a week every summer getting fleeced? I too grew up in a beach town. I'm rooting for sea level rise.
jsight 7y ago
Yeah, I really don't get it. I live in a tourist city and can see the areas that get overwhelmed with tourists at times. There's a lot of money in that and those dollars drive a lot of the things about the city that are pleasant as well. Not all seasons are tourist seasons, and maybe it would be more of an issue if they were.
elliekelly 7y ago
Ecuador has done a really incredible job balancing the needed economic benefits of tourism with preservation of the Galapagos. They limit who can take tourists to which islands and when and have a carefully choreographed schedule that’s centrally managed. I believe there’s no more than 12 or so people and a guide on a given trail at a time yet the archipelago gets a few hundred thousand visitors a year. I think they even require the tour companies give a steep discount to native Ecuadorians since their tax dollars fund a lot of the centralization.
pier25 7y ago
> Talk to anyone who grew up in a beach town. Can confirm. I'm from Mallorca.

matwood 7y ago

> Talk to anyone who grew up in a beach town. I grew up and still live in a beach town. Tourists were somewhat bothersome, but they allowed me to make plenty of money in restaurants when I was younger. Today the bigger problem is people are moving here. I rarely go to the beach anymore (unless it's 6am surf session) because of traffic and crowds. Just in the last couple weeks, 4 new stop lights went up near my house. But, with all the growth has also come real jobs. So it's not all bad. > Venice also seems like an unusual case that might need special attention. Having been to Venice, I never understood why so many people like going. It is basically one giant tourist trap.

dagw 7y ago
I never understood why so many people like going Venice has some of the coolest and most unique urban planning in the world, it's one of the most historically significant cities in Europe, the Biennales always have fun events (many of them free) and honestly if you avoid peak tourist season and get a couple of streets away from the grand canal there aren't that many tourists around. Sure most of the restaurants and bars and basically all of the shops are tourist traps, but you can always just ignore those. Venice is definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe where you can't ski.
kwhitefoot 7y ago
> Having been to Venice, I never understood why so many people like going. It is basically one giant tourist trap. How much time did you spend away from St. Mark's square, the Rialto, and the Grand canal? My wife and I and our three children went for five days some years ago; we rented an apartment in an old palazzo about ten minutes walk from St. Mark's. We went out for walks all over Venice, sometimes early in the morning before the other tourists arrived, we walked on the north side of the island and saw almost no tourists even though it was the high season. We ate in small restaurants away from the bustle and rip off prices of the Grand Canal. Essentially, we avoided all the high profile locations and never queued for anything. It was brilliant.
- matwood 7y ago
  I spent a few nights there in an apartment on the island, so I was able to see it in a slower time. I may have been a little harsh in my original comment. I'm glad I visited Venice, but it's not a place I would go again. I will admit, my view was also likely a bit tainted because I had just spent time in Slovenia and Croatia. Cities like Rovinj, Piran, and Pula are great. If I had to do it again, I would stay in Rovinj and take a ferry day trip to Venice.
dsfyu404ed 7y ago
>But, with all the growth has also come real jobs. So in addition to fleecing tourists and fleecing people who fleece tourists there's now career paths that involve fleecing people who retired to where they spent a week every summer getting fleeced? I too grew up in a beach town. I'm rooting for sea level rise.

jsight 7y ago

Yeah, I really don't get it. I live in a tourist city and can see the areas that get overwhelmed with tourists at times. There's a lot of money in that and those dollars drive a lot of the things about the city that are pleasant as well. Not all seasons are tourist seasons, and maybe it would be more of an issue if they were.

elliekelly 7y ago

Ecuador has done a really incredible job balancing the needed economic benefits of tourism with preservation of the Galapagos. They limit who can take tourists to which islands and when and have a carefully choreographed schedule that’s centrally managed. I believe there’s no more than 12 or so people and a guide on a given trail at a time yet the archipelago gets a few hundred thousand visitors a year. I think they even require the tour companies give a steep discount to native Ecuadorians since their tax dollars fund a lot of the centralization.

pier25 7y ago

> Talk to anyone who grew up in a beach town. Can confirm. I'm from Mallorca.