It feels like this was the year that tourism turned nasty – and local communities started pushing back.
Venice has started charging daytrippers an entry fee, while one busy Swiss town has announced it wants to follow suit. Locals have staged protests in Mallorca and Barcelona.
And while it has come to a head in Europe, this is a global phenomenon. A Japanese town overlooking Mount Fuji erected view-blocking barriers in May (then removed them in August). Bali introduced a tourist entry tax for foreign visitors in February. And US national parks are full to bursting – with 13 million more visits in 2023 than in 2022, according to NPS numbers. In peak season, visitors must book ahead to enter.
[…]
“The tourism industry forgot about its most precious asset: the goodwill of locals. The edifice collapses without that. It’s been lost in many places and will be hard to win back.”
Francis puts it down to a combination of factors: the growth of low-cost airlines, vacation rentals, social media (which creates stampedes to “in” destinations) and expanding economies – meaning more people can afford to travel.
I am an incurable tourist with a pounding wanderlust disorder. I love to travel and I travel a lot. I have certainly witnessed some of this phenomenon.
I get where many of these people are coming from. It’s one thing when your town depends on tourism. It’s another thing when you are in a city that has its own thing going on and also happens to be a tourist destination.
But I think the problem with rude, inconsiderate tourists is just another facet of our culture. In almost every arena, our global culture has become less considerate, less polite, ruder, crasser, and generally less… cultured. This story isn’t about tourism. It’s about the decline of society.
Speaking of which, we just got back from 12 days in Iceland. It is one of the most beautiful and varied scenery in the world and not nearly as expensive as people tried to tell us. We just researched and used common sense in our planning. Every excursion and hotel was planned and paid for months before we left.