4 ms·

In America, we love events that are boons to our local economies, even when it inconveniences us personally.

mschuster91 3y ago
If the profits would stay in the local economies, maybe I'd not be so pissed about it. But a huge chunk of the profits ends up at international hotel conglomerates and beer breweries - the only one still independent is Augustiner, everyone else got bought up - and their shareholders. Thanks but no thanks.
- zuzu89 3y ago
  all the breweries that operate tents are local breweries. other operators are local clubs, or local (family) businesses.
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    > all the breweries that operate tents are local breweries. The brewery is local, but the profits go elsewhere: - Löwenbräu, Spaten, Franziskaner: Anheuser-Busch-InBev - Hacker Pschorr: doesn't even exist as a brewery, the brand is owned by a local construction baron and Heineken, the beer is brewed by Paulaner. The only independents (made a mistake above, it's actually two) are Augustiner which is privately held and Hofbräu which belongs to the government.
CogitoCogito 3y ago
That certainly is false as a general statement. In America, you will see countless complaints similar to those coming from /u/mschuster91. This makes sense, since many of those inconvenienced don't reap any economic benefits from it.
fruffy 3y ago
Most of the locals do enjoy the Oktoberfest (speaking as someone from there). It is a fun two weeks of the year and the entire city enters a special kind of mood. But it is not surprising that the HN crowd would find it distasteful. People here are definitely not the type for these kinds of festivities.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  Don't get me wrong: I have no problem with drinking beer, I used to be able to down an entire case of Augustiner in my best days in one night. Personal record at Oktoberfest is something around 6-7 Maß. The problem I have with Oktoberfest is that it's gotten way out of hand, it's too much impact for the local population for way too little gain for common people - and it's increasingly unaffordable: 15 euros for a liter of beer? That's bloody ridiculous.
  - pcl 3y ago
    > 15 euros for a liter of beer? That's bloody ridiculous. Better cross Norway off your vacation list, then!
    - mschuster91 3y ago
      People in Norway earn way more money than Germans do [1], that offsets the high taxes on alcohol. [1] https://www.handelsblatt.com/karriere/norwegen-arbeitszeit-halbiert-gehalt-verdreifacht/21024014.html https://www.handelsblatt.com/karriere/norwegen-arbeitszeit-h...
      - Gud 3y ago
        And what about compared to Munich/Bavaria? Munich is very rich by German standards and doesn't seem to be too far off compared to Norway.
        mschuster91 3y ago
        Munich locals pay the most expensive rents in Germany, and those who have the cash to buy are facing the second-most expensive real estate market in Europe [1]. [1] https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/immobilien-preis-europa-100.html https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/immobilien-preis-eur...
- dunefox 3y ago
  > Most of the locals do enjoy the Oktoberfest Most of the locals certainly don't.
browningstreet 3y ago
Obviously such a generalization can't be true. When the Olympics come to town? When Fleet Week comes to town? When the giant music festivals happen in the parks? When the big awards show takes over the tourist area? When SF tourists make our ski mountains require paid parking on the weekends? People grumble..
- c5karl 3y ago
  In Washington, D.C., every May we get Police Week. Which is to say our drunk tourists have badges and guns and short fuses. No one in Washington loves this "boon" to our local economy. Oh, and ask people who own houses in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood what they think of Gasparilla.
musicale 3y ago
Usually people/cities appreciate event and tourism business and money (and lament its loss, as during covid) but dislike the crowding and inevitable anti-social behavior that you can run into. That being said, I've read some positive comments regarding tourists recently, noting that they are often enthusiastic about parts of your town that you might be jaded about or have written off as useless tourist areas but might actually be something that locals could enjoy as well.

If the profits would stay in the local economies, maybe I'd not be so pissed about it. But a huge chunk of the profits ends up at international hotel conglomerates and beer breweries - the only one still independent is Augustiner, everyone else got bought up - and their shareholders. Thanks but no thanks.

zuzu89 3y ago
all the breweries that operate tents are local breweries. other operators are local clubs, or local (family) businesses.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  > all the breweries that operate tents are local breweries. The brewery is local, but the profits go elsewhere: - Löwenbräu, Spaten, Franziskaner: Anheuser-Busch-InBev - Hacker Pschorr: doesn't even exist as a brewery, the brand is owned by a local construction baron and Heineken, the beer is brewed by Paulaner. The only independents (made a mistake above, it's actually two) are Augustiner which is privately held and Hofbräu which belongs to the government.

CogitoCogito 3y ago

That certainly is false as a general statement. In America, you will see countless complaints similar to those coming from /u/mschuster91. This makes sense, since many of those inconvenienced don't reap any economic benefits from it.

fruffy 3y ago

Most of the locals do enjoy the Oktoberfest (speaking as someone from there). It is a fun two weeks of the year and the entire city enters a special kind of mood. But it is not surprising that the HN crowd would find it distasteful. People here are definitely not the type for these kinds of festivities.

mschuster91 3y ago
Don't get me wrong: I have no problem with drinking beer, I used to be able to down an entire case of Augustiner in my best days in one night. Personal record at Oktoberfest is something around 6-7 Maß. The problem I have with Oktoberfest is that it's gotten way out of hand, it's too much impact for the local population for way too little gain for common people - and it's increasingly unaffordable: 15 euros for a liter of beer? That's bloody ridiculous.
- pcl 3y ago
  > 15 euros for a liter of beer? That's bloody ridiculous. Better cross Norway off your vacation list, then!
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    People in Norway earn way more money than Germans do [1], that offsets the high taxes on alcohol. [1] https://www.handelsblatt.com/karriere/norwegen-arbeitszeit-halbiert-gehalt-verdreifacht/21024014.html https://www.handelsblatt.com/karriere/norwegen-arbeitszeit-h...
    - Gud 3y ago
      And what about compared to Munich/Bavaria? Munich is very rich by German standards and doesn't seem to be too far off compared to Norway.
      - mschuster91 3y ago
        Munich locals pay the most expensive rents in Germany, and those who have the cash to buy are facing the second-most expensive real estate market in Europe [1]. [1] https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/immobilien-preis-europa-100.html https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/immobilien-preis-eur...
dunefox 3y ago
> Most of the locals do enjoy the Oktoberfest Most of the locals certainly don't.

browningstreet 3y ago

Obviously such a generalization can't be true. When the Olympics come to town? When Fleet Week comes to town? When the giant music festivals happen in the parks? When the big awards show takes over the tourist area? When SF tourists make our ski mountains require paid parking on the weekends? People grumble..

c5karl 3y ago
In Washington, D.C., every May we get Police Week. Which is to say our drunk tourists have badges and guns and short fuses. No one in Washington loves this "boon" to our local economy. Oh, and ask people who own houses in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood what they think of Gasparilla.

musicale 3y ago

Usually people/cities appreciate event and tourism business and money (and lament its loss, as during covid) but dislike the crowding and inevitable anti-social behavior that you can run into. That being said, I've read some positive comments regarding tourists recently, noting that they are often enthusiastic about parts of your town that you might be jaded about or have written off as useless tourist areas but might actually be something that locals could enjoy as well.