Unwelcome European Travel

I guess I’ll see first band next month when I travel to Portugal and Spain.

I’m of two minds. I know tourists can be annoying. I’ve seen it firsthand and hopefully I haven’t been one of them. I always try to be respectful of my surroundings and to the people I meet. I can see that the large thongs of tourists would be so annoying to live amongst, but I also know that some businesses and individuals rely on the tourism. I don’t know how a happy medium can be met.

Here in British Columbia they changed the rules for short-term rentals as of May 1 and there are no longer Airbnbs here in the Okanagan. Tourism is definitely down this summer and that is partially to blame. The wineries (already suffering due to a devastating freeze this past winter) and other venues are not happy about it. But tourism is very seasonal here and they have only so many months to take in the tourist dollars, not like Europe and other places where people visit all year round in large numbers.

That kind of thing infuriates me!! What the hell is wrong with people? 😠

WTH I hadn’t heard about the paintballs seriously WTF is wrong with people.

We used to travel a lot.  We'd steer away from the tourist spots in the main.  We'd have say a night or two in Rome or Naples then hire a car and literally head for the hills.  We've been to many places in France and Italy where there are no English speakers and had the most amazing hot chocolate in a small cafe in the mountains, a delicious ragu in the garden of a farm where they just put tables outside and a great meal in a tiny cafe on the heel of Italy that was packed with locals, all of whom stopped what they were doing and just watched us eating and talking.  The owner was so pleased to serve us!   You can find the most amazing quiet and peaceful little villages and towns if you are willing to get off the tourist track.  

I've not read all the other posts but I was reading a piece in the weekend paper where the writer was saying how groups of tourists from the big cruise ships are causing problems to local places.  The tourists don't spend money in the cafes and restaurants in the towns because everything is provided on the ship and the sheer volume of them, many hundreds per ship for just a few hours at a time, causes stress on the environment.  Then, of course, you have the stereotypical boozed up Brits who are disrespectful and rude.  I don't know what the answer is.  

I wouldn't say I've traveled extensively because my DH used to think vacations were for visiting his parents only until I finally convinced him that we should broaden our horizons.

Last fall, we were on a food tour in Lisbon and our guide said that many neighborhoods have almost no locals in the housing due to AirBnBs. I'm guessing it's becoming common is many areas, including my own where they just proposed new rules for short term rentals.

Since the kids are grown & flown, DH and I tend to plan an October trip for our anniversary and a January or February trip to get rid of our cabin fever. Crowds are fairly sparse and I feel like maybe we're a more normalized environment maybe?

Someone mentioned Italy. It's gorgeous there! We traveled all over using their train system. People were so kind and welcoming. Of course this was 2022 and I'm sure they were just so glad to have tourist back after the pandemic.

i posted a gift link on the first page that will allow you to read it.  


katlady

When I was in Norway a few years ago, we ventured into the Fjords area and stayed at what we thought was a quaint hotel in a sleepy area. We woke up the next morning and there was a cruise ship. It looked like the Walking Dead stumbling out of the ship and taking over the area. It was insane! We were hoping to escape the tourists in Oslo and here they all were.

I read an article recently that compared big cruise ships to being imprisoned inside of Applebees!  🤣🤣🤣

DD lives in Barcelona and the rental market is terrible because of AirBnBs. We helped her buy a place so she wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. The protests were mainly in a heavily touristed part of town which she stays away from. When we go, we try to be quiet (many Americans talk really loudly!) and polite so we haven't had any trouble.
There are more tourists period so higher numbers of people behaving badly. With the rising middle class in some countries, there are more tourists from places that only recently started to travel. Many times in their cultures it is not customary to wait in line. Many tour companies cater to inexperienced travelers who want a lot of hand holding so there are a lot of large groups with earpieces following a lollypop. Many of the major cities are incredible and it's completely understandable that people want to go there.
I live in a tourist town. The season is nuts, but it drives our economy. The way they drive is mental.
When I lived in Hong Kong, I saw a lot of funny examples of people wearing t-shirts that they clearly had no idea of the meaning. One was an elderly lady in a shirt that said, "F*^k you, you f*^king f*^k!" It makes me wonder what the characters on my Asian print shirt say. 😂

We travel a lot but we have only taken a couple of cruises. Seeing the sights on a cruise is brutal. Thousands of people at a time disembark, take a selfie, run through a museum, buy a t-shirt, then get back on the ship. They don't eat in the restaurants or buy goods in the mom-and-pop shops so the stores around the tourist attractions are all tourist tat. That's one of the things locals object to. Cruisers spend 4 hours in port and say they've visited the country. For instance, Santorini is beautiful, but it's a $#*tshow when cruise ships are in port. The same with a lot of places.

Instagram and travel blogging have changed travel completely. They provide good information and a look at places we may not have seen, but content creators are EVERYWHERE, oblivious to what's going on around them. I used to wait for people to finish taking a picture, but now it's a complete photo shoot so screw it. I'm so over it that I sometimes wait until the last second and wander into their shot on purpose. I went to the Trevi fountain at 5:30 am thinking it would be pretty empty. No. There must have been 50 Instagrammers dressed in frilly dresses and white sneakers doing the same stupid poses...holding the hat, looking pensive, throwing their arms in the air...with their hapless boyfriends taking their pictures. It was hilarious.

Just go, try local food, talk to local people, learn about local culture, and really get to know a place. There is a lot of English spoken in tourist areas and most places are really safe from violent crime because they don't have guns like we do. Keep an eye on your wallet and phone and don't talk to strangers on the street. You'll have a wonderful time and see the world in a whole new way.

I’ve only been out of the country one time- I went to Belize. I made sure to be courteous, clean up my messes and any that I came upon and spend my money in local shops.

I’m currently in the process of getting my Italy-US dual citizenship. My ancestral town is a tiny village near the Alps. I hope to go there once I’ve got my citizenship. I have one distant cousin still living there as far as I know. I’m thinking I may visit and then maybe retire there. My cousin who is a month older than me already has his citizenship and plans to retire there.

It would never cross my mind that someone wearing a place name top was actually from that place; I just assume they like the top.