European locals: 'Enough is enough', 'refugees welcome, tourist go home' - Sensationalist Headlines

[img]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8796324-3x2-940x627.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8796862-3x2-940x627.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8796940-3x2-940x627.jpg[/img] [quote=Europe correspondent Lisa Millar, ABC News]The continent's favourite tourism hotspots are suffering from chronic overcrowding, prompting many locals to lash out, with some going to far as to attack tourist buses. There is a growing backlash over tourism in Europe as the favourite hotspots suffer from chronic overcrowding and locals face rising prices for basic needs such as rent. The busy summer season in the Northern Hemisphere means the sight of hordes of tourists descending on cities and towns throughout Europe — to which some locals and activists are saying "enough is enough". A protest group in Spain have attacked a sightseeing bus and have issued a warning they are planning more acts of intimidation to make tourists stay home.[/quote] Read the rest of the article at [url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-12/european-tourism-angering-locals-as-visitor-numbers-grow/8792984]ABC News.[/url]

I hope we weren't one of the tourists that'd be told to go home. People need to certainly learn to respect other countries shit if they're visiting.

Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?

[QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] They certainly are but they do cause problems if not managed properly. Littering, taking up space, traffic, in some cases property damage.

[QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] [quote]rising prices for basic needs[/quote] So people who got tired of putting up with tourist related shit just have to move somewhere else?

[QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] The protest group that is prominently featured in the article appears to be a communist group, so yeah... Hopefully I need not elaborate. Tourism is always great. But the article mentions how tourists using services such as Airbnb are driving up rental prices so high as to out-compete local renters, among a number of other issues such as overcrowding. So while tourism should be encouraged, it's not without its issues that need to be addressed.

[QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] having your city being desirable to live in is better than having it as a good place for tourists

Being a local, I'd greatly appreciate if tourists visiting Croatia would lighten the load on Dalmatia/Southwestern counties. These last few years, for the lack of a better word, have been record breaking. Every year consistently we receive more and more foreign tourists which spend more and more days in the country, in a record breaking way that make the 1985-1990 Yugoslavia tourist seasons look sane by comparison. And the infrastructure just can't take it. The border crossings are clogged all summer. New air and sea passenger terminals have to be built on a yearly basis. Public transport service is filled to the brim and inadequate for so many tourists. There's not enough people willing to work summer service jobs in harsh conditions for low pay. And there's so many tourists in the country that it actually makes leisure and night life problematic; Beaches and cafes are clogged by large families and Ibiza-like pub crawlers. I know that's where the money is, but catering to tourists destroys our authenticity. I'd rather we don't accommodate people thirsty to see Game of Thrones sets and make Dubrovnik [I]completely untraversible[/I] and rather push them out to the countryside. If you want a good time exploring Croatia, I advise you to look for things off the beaten track. Interact with the locals. Track down ancient ruins and abandoned fortresses of dead empires and old regimes. Traverse the Velebit mountains. Go fishing and hunting in Lonja and Moslavina. Get lost in Zagreb's art galleries and sarcastic tours, or in Zagoria's vineyards. Or take on the almost desperate village and war tourism in East Slavonia and Lika. But don't turn the coast into a tourist trap. Because that's all that it will be in the end.

[QUOTE=BF;52566297] Tourism is always great.[/QUOTE] No it's really not

[QUOTE=croguy;52566337]Being a local, I'd greatly appreciate if tourists visiting Croatia would lighten the load on Dalmatia/Southwestern counties. These last few years, for the lack of a better word, have been record breaking. Every year consistently we receive more and more foreign tourists which spend more and more days in the country, in a record breaking way that make the 1985-1990 Yugoslavia tourist seasons look sane by comparison. And the infrastructure just can't take it. The border crossings are clogged all summer. New air and sea passenger terminals have to be built on a yearly basis. Public transport service is filled to the brim and inadequate for so many tourists. There's not enough people willing to work summer service jobs in harsh conditions for low pay. And there's so many tourists in the country that it actually makes leisure and night life problematic; Beaches and cafes are clogged by large families and Ibiza-like pub crawlers. I know that's where the money is, but catering to tourists destroys our authenticity. I'd rather we don't accommodate people thirsty to see Game of Thrones sets and make Dubrovnik [I]completely untraversible[/I] and rather push them out to the countryside. If you want a good time exploring Croatia, I advise you to look for things off the beaten track. Interact with the locals. Track down ancient ruins and abandoned fortresses of dead empires and old regimes. Traverse the Velebit mountains. Go fishing and hunting in Lonja and Moslavina. Get lost in Zagreb's art galleries and sarcastic tours, or in Zagoria's vineyards. Or take on the almost desperate village and war tourism in East Slavonia and Lika. But don't turn the coast into a tourist trap. Because that's all that it will be in the end.[/QUOTE] If the car renters in your area offer sports cars, there's an instant way for gearheads to spend tourist dollars there without clogging up the cities: Rent something fun to drive and go have fun on desolate b-roads out in the mountains. There aren't enough of us flying around as tourists to cause any real traffic issues out there and it's basically free tourist dollars without the downsides. [QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] So is having a local populace that can afford to live and work in the city. I'd rather have that than tourists. Tourists are a cancer, they don't give a fuck about anything more than a facebook selfie in front of something 'exotic' to them, and they don't care if they do so at the expense of the locals. I work in one of the US's major tourist draws: Nashville. I'm not even in the tourist-y part of town, nor the industry, and yet it's *still* causing me headaches getting in and out. God forbid I ever decide to take a trip to Centennial Park to see the steam locomotive down there, because that's also where the Parthenon replica Nashville is famous for lives. I think if I do go see that ol' steamer before they move her into a secluded restoration hall itt'l have to be when it snaps cold this year....I have a feeling next year she won't be viewable to the public until she's on the rails and running under her own steam again in 2020 and right now it's height of tourist season so crowds and traffic are gonna be hellish.

This is why I try to be as non-stereotypical tourist when I travel abroad. Like in Iceland there's an endlessly growing concern for tourism from overcrowding and how idiotic most of them are. We've had people getting lost and sometimes they even stop right in the middle of the road to take pictures. There's also cases where they take a dump in a national park or how Airbnb is buying houses to rent them to tourists. Also local stores getting closed so they get replaced with puffin shops or how cafés charge 10-15 bucks for a (very)small slice of cake...

As someone who lives in the top destination city for Spain, I know just how tourists really are nothing but a nuisance.

[QUOTE=Liem;52566401]No it's really not[/QUOTE] It is. Tourists always bring money with them from overseas, so tourism is essentially a major cash injection into the local economy, which may otherwise be stagnant and with fewer job opportunities (think tourism industry, hospitality, recreation etc). Then people who work in those places will have an income to spend on everything else that they need. But I acknowledged that tourism can lead to some problems, yes, hence why I posted this thread in the first place. Sort of related, but my university has a very large population of international students. But I hate working with international students in group assignments because of the language and cultural barriers and other issues, eg not understanding what plagiarism is, citing Wikipedia, or not thinking at an Australian undergrad level. However, I know that those international students play a big part in the Australian economy, and so I tolerate them.

Tourism is a legitimate problem. It's not about misbehavior or the economic benefits or nativism. Tourism puts locals on the backfoot in every way. It jacks up the prices of basic goods and companies like air bnb fuck up rental prices. Tourism goes hand in hand with gentrification. It's even just a question of having the right to go and do things in your own borough or neighborhood like getting a cup of coffee as normal, or without having to fight against enormous crowds that are disproportionate to the spaces they concentrate in. Venice had a population of a hundred-something thousand in the seventies and it's down to i think somewhere around sixty or fifty thousand.

[QUOTE=BF;52566509]It is. Tourists always bring money with them from overseas, so tourism is essentially a major cash injection into the local economy, which may otherwise be stagnant and with fewer job opportunities (think tourism industry, hospitality, recreation etc). Then people who work in those places will have an income to spend on everything else that they need.[/quote] Ahh, yes, seasonal low-to-minimum-wage retail hell jobs, the bread-and-butter of families trying to support themselves! Truly, everyone should welcome tourists to their towns, as everyone's dream job is to be paid $9/hr to wait tables while asshole tourists treat you like shit without a care in the world on the basis that they won't be there in time for any consequences to show up. [quote]Sort of related, but my university has a very large population of international students. But I hate working with international students in group assignments because of the language and cultural barriers and other issues, eg not understanding what plagiarism is, citing Wikipedia, or not thinking at an Australian undergrad level. However, I know that those international students play a big part in the Australian economy, and so I tolerate them.[/QUOTE] I see you mention citing wikipedia as an issue they do...here's the funny thing: All they need to do is cite the sources cited on the Wiki article, paraphrase/re-word what they glean from Wikipedia, and nobody'll ever know they used it as a source. Worked for me throughout high school.

This isn't even just a European issue either. I've noticed the effects of it an in abstract way here in New York. I've been shopping in Manhattan only to be stepped over by staff so they could assist obvious tourists. Tourists also lack manners and I get pushed and shoved by them on the subway all the time.

[QUOTE=BF;52566509]It is. Tourists always bring money with them from overseas, so tourism is essentially a major cash injection into the local economy, which may otherwise be stagnant and with fewer job opportunities (think tourism industry, hospitality, recreation etc). Then people who work in those places will have an income to spend on everything else that they need. But I acknowledged that tourism can lead to some problems, yes, hence why I posted this thread in the first place. Sort of related, but my university has a very large population of international students. But I hate working with international students in group assignments because of the language and cultural barriers and other issues, eg not understanding what plagiarism is, citing Wikipedia, or not thinking at an Australian undergrad level. However, I know that those international students play a big part in the Australian economy, and so I tolerate them.[/QUOTE] You should read up on the affects of tourism on the Canary islands to get the idea of what is an unsustainable tourism.

[QUOTE=BlackMageMari;52566280]They certainly are but they do cause problems if not managed properly. Littering, taking up space, traffic, in some cases property damage.[/QUOTE] there are shitty people that live there, and shitty people that travel there. if anything they should be telling all the shitty people to get out, not just the ones who aren't locals.

just ensure tourists behave, make rules, use police and law (hefty fines so they remember to not cause trouble) spread tourism more evenly instead of focusing it into several areas/cities yet, the person who wrote refugees welcome hasn't idea how more problematic that will be (cost wise, security wise, healthcare wise, education wise, integration wise) you might have issues with like 25 per 1000 tourists visiting i doubt you can manage to have less than 10% problematic refugees

[QUOTE=BF;52566509]It is. Tourists always bring money with them from overseas, so tourism is essentially a major cash injection into the local economy, which may otherwise be stagnant and with fewer job opportunities (think tourism industry, hospitality, recreation etc). Then people who work in those places will have an income to spend on everything else that they need. But I acknowledged that tourism can lead to some problems, yes, hence why I posted this thread in the first place. Sort of related, but my university has a very large population of international students. But I hate working with international students in group assignments because of the language and cultural barriers and other issues, eg not understanding what plagiarism is, citing Wikipedia, or not thinking at an Australian undergrad level. However, I know that those international students play a big part in the Australian economy, and so I tolerate them.[/QUOTE] people have gotten by without tourists before, they should be able to get by without them now what will my city lose if we say cut the number of tourists in half? the overpriced shops and bars? rents going down? traffic not as bad? less hawkers and beggars crowding the streets and screeching at me to see them when i just want to go to tescoes to buy some jelly babies?

[QUOTE=BF;52566509]It is. Tourists always bring money with them from overseas, so tourism is essentially a major cash injection into the local economy, which may otherwise be stagnant and with fewer job opportunities (think tourism industry, hospitality, recreation etc). Then people who work in those places will have an income to spend on everything else that they need. But I acknowledged that tourism can lead to some problems, yes, hence why I posted this thread in the first place. Sort of related, but my university has a very large population of international students. But I hate working with international students in group assignments because of the language and cultural barriers and other issues, eg not understanding what plagiarism is, citing Wikipedia, or not thinking at an Australian undergrad level. However, I know that those international students play a big part in the Australian economy, and so I tolerate them.[/QUOTE] What's the point in all that money if the place you live is horrible to be in?

I had never gone sightseeing to barcelona despite living 20 mins from it, I went there the other day and they wanted me to pay 3€ for a bottle of water in a summer day, because turists are willing to pay that. This was in front of la sagrada familia. We went to another shop in the metro and they sold me a bigger bottle for 1€

I hate tourism with a passion. The whole summer you can't do anything, it is crowded, noisy, the place gets dirty, people think they own the place, locals just look how to take more money out of tourist's pockets... I live in a place with only around 200 local people, but in summer there are 2000-3000 people in the same area. Even though we were at war and poorer then, I fondly remember the 90s when tourism was dead, you had the place for yourself and could enjoy summer. Now I feel like a prisoner in my own town and just want to run away when June comes.

the edinburgh festival (the biggest arts festival in the world) is particularly dreadful for tourists, it started just over a week ago (it gets bigger and "better" every year) and i already want them all to get out of here. nobody wants to go see some shitty feminist "satire" play that costs £9.50 to get into and its a "comedy" but isn't actually funny at all. there's art as well for the discerning connoisseur, like dildos glued onto squirrels or something so if you like that then come on over to edinburgh to see that shit also who the fuck are these dudes on unicycles? you'll typically also get some fuckarse who orders everyone in the street to make a big circle around him so they can watch his show and end up blocking off half the street. there's also a wanker who can balance a stick on his ears so he can get money from some tourists to pay for his ticket back to wherever the fuck he comes from (anywhere that isnt our filthy grimy streets coated with pigeon shit). these arseholes from all over the world inevitably flood the city and clog up the trams and buses. loads of morbidly obese american boomers who get into arguments with the ticket guy on the tram or at the castle (my last name is mcdonald, i'm scottish and therefore i deserve a discount), then they come into the restaurants and cafes and treat the staff like shit. tourists are often a lot of trouble, especially the cunty ones

[QUOTE=Dr.Cola;52566434]Also local stores getting closed so they get replaced with puffin shops or how cafés charge 10-15 bucks for a (very)small slice of cake...[/QUOTE] There used to be a lovely playground with murals and half pipe next to the main street in Reykjavík. I wanted to see it again, only to discover a construction well for a hotel.

I mean, totally different situation, but I live in probably the dinkiest town in Indiana, yet every fucking year thousands of people come around here for a weekend to do god knows what, buy shit, camp, whatever. and it is a hellhole that time of year doing anything around here. I can't even imagine having a whole fucking season dealing with this shit. and whenever I tour, I try to make it a goal to go on the least busiest part of the week/year, just because I hate people.

The removal of airbnb would be a huge plus for people who live in tourism-heavy places.

According to wiki, tourism contributes about 11% of Spain's GDP. The rest of the Mediterranean have similar numbers. If you took away the tourism, it would be a heavy blow to their economies. These countries have evolved to basically need tourism to survive.

Could also tell that to the crazy amounts of russians and brits that come to Bulgaria's Sunny beach, get [I]absolutely [/I][B]shitfaced[/B] with alcohol and go around ruining everyone else's vacation. Haven't gone to our seaside in about 10 years because of it.

[QUOTE=Steam-Pixie;52566268]Don't they realise that tourists are good for the economy also?[/QUOTE] There is more to life than solely the economy. Sure the economy helps, but lots of people seem to think that the economy trumps all. I am all for sustainable tourism, but in places such as London, prices (which were already ridiculous) have reached record levels for basically everything, while straining infrastructure, housing, transport and more to breaking point, in addition to being awful for the environment. Hell, the amount I am paying in rent to share a tiny little three room flat with two other people would let me rent me a small house by myself back at home.