Hostility to tourists

BigHandsOliverKahn

BigHandsOliverKahn

Well-known member
Looks like the golden age of mass tourism is over with more and more places now becoming hostile to tourists.

Venice seems to no longer like tourists and so is slapping them with fines if they don't pay a day tripper fee.

Amsterdam has tried to deter tourists by shutting down a lot of businesses that catered for a certain type of clientele.

Even Kyoto in Japan is going to ban tourists in key parts of its city.

I am sure there are more examples than the above that I knew about. There seems to be a trend developing.
 
Popular destinations close to home introduced a 'tourist tax' a couple of years ago, which the UK hasn't replicated. This is because we don't want to deter tourists.
More concerning, is today's news from the Canaries, who the Brits have supported for many years, which has helped them to grow & develop:

UK holidaymakers who are staying in the Canary Islands or who are planning to travel to the popular holiday destination have been issued a travel warning as mass protests will take place across the five islands against overtourism. On April 20, people will take to the streets in "historic" demonstrations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma.
The protests have been organised under the banner: "The Canary Islands have a limit". It comes after protests were held last year with protesters carrying placards saying "the Canaries are no longer a paradise" and "the Canaries are not for sale".
Protesters demanded the introduction of an "eco tax" to pay for the environmental damage caused by the millions of tourists that flock to the islands every year.
 
585 = never give up said:
Popular destinations close to home introduced a 'tourist tax' a couple of years ago, which the UK hasn't replicated. This is because we don't want to deter tourists.
More concerning, is today's news from the Canaries, who the Brits have supported for many years, which has helped them to grow & develop:

UK holidaymakers who are staying in the Canary Islands or who are planning to travel to the popular holiday destination have been issued a travel warning as mass protests will take place across the five islands against overtourism. On April 20, people will take to the streets in "historic" demonstrations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma.
The protests have been organised under the banner: "The Canary Islands have a limit". It comes after protests were held last year with protesters carrying placards saying "the Canaries are no longer a paradise" and "the Canaries are not for sale".
Protesters demanded the introduction of an "eco tax" to pay for the environmental damage caused by the millions of tourists that flock to the islands every year.
Click to expand...
Wonder if all the hotel staff + bar/cafe owners etc will join the protest?
 
585 = never give up said:
Popular destinations close to home introduced a 'tourist tax' a couple of years ago, which the UK hasn't replicated. This is because we don't want to deter tourists.
More concerning, is today's news from the Canaries, who the Brits have supported for many years, which has helped them to grow & develop:

UK holidaymakers who are staying in the Canary Islands or who are planning to travel to the popular holiday destination have been issued a travel warning as mass protests will take place across the five islands against overtourism. On April 20, people will take to the streets in "historic" demonstrations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma.
The protests have been organised under the banner: "The Canary Islands have a limit". It comes after protests were held last year with protesters carrying placards saying "the Canaries are no longer a paradise" and "the Canaries are not for sale".
Protesters demanded the introduction of an "eco tax" to pay for the environmental damage caused by the millions of tourists that flock to the islands every year.
Click to expand...
I hadn't picked up on that one. Certainly will affect a lot of British tourists. I wondered if it might be to do with foreigners buying places and hardly ever using them but it seems it is simply over-tourism that is the gripe.

Interesting times.
 
The 2 key words above are "over tourism"

In the Canaries, the operators get greedy, councils permit more and more accommodation, and measures are not taken to minimise impacts.

We have had an issue up here in the Highlands post covid, which is causing a lot of heated debate. We are reliant on tourists, yet at times overwhelmed with Campervans, the worst of whom make little contribution and leave rubbish and waste for the councils to pick up. Likewise, the NC 500 which has appeared on AVFTT before has problems with road wear. These tiny single track roads, designed as a link between houses, have now got huge numbers of cars, lorries and camper vans. Again, a mixed blessing, some businesses are doing very well out of it, but the council's road repair budget is overwhelmed.

There has been much talk of a Tourist Tax, as there was in the Lakes who we ran a business there. How would it be implemented, when we have no toll roads, free access to the vast majority of the countryside, personally, I haven't a Scooby?
 
Tangerinemoss said:
The 2 key words above are "over tourism"

In the Canaries, the operators get greedy, councils permit more and more accommodation, and measures are not taken to minimise impacts.

We have had an issue up here in the Highlands post covid, which is causing a lot of heated debate. We are reliant on tourists, yet at times overwhelmed with Campervans, the worst of whom make little contribution and leave rubbish and waste for the councils to pick up. Likewise, the NC 500 which has appeared on AVFTT before has problems with road wear. These tiny single track roads, designed as a link between houses, have now got huge numbers of cars, lorries and camper vans. Again, a mixed blessing, some businesses are doing very well out of it, but the council's road repair budget is overwhelmed.

There has been much talk of a Tourist Tax, as there was in the Lakes who we ran a business there. How would it be implemented, when we have no toll roads, free access to the vast majority of the countryside, personally, I haven't a Scooby?
Click to expand...
Wouldn't the Tourist tax be on accomodation and the sites that you park caravans,campavans or pitch up your tent?

If you just want to pull into a layby which many will do will be very hard to Police.

For me anything to stop people flying so much is a good thing but when you can fly to the Canaries and back cheaper than a train to London what does anyone expect.
 
Predictably the same old union flag wavers become deeply offended without attempting to find out why these places should suddenly be anti tourism. The fact is they’re not. Their concern is with the impact over tourism is having on their environment. Residents cannot afford accommodation because it’s much more lucrative to rent to tourists and the governments are slow to react by building affordable housing. There is not enough staff to cope with the influx and they can’t be attracted because they can’t find accommodation and yet the government continues to allow hotels to be built. I’m talking primarily about Lanzarote because I’ve been going there for almost 30 years and have seen the effects of over tourism but one thing I have never come across is any anti British sentiment.
 
poolseasider said:
Wouldn't the Tourist tax be on accomodation and the sites that you park caravans,campavans or pitch up your tent?

If you just want to pull into a layby which many will do will be very hard to Police.

For me anything to stop people flying so much is a good thing but when you can fly to the Canaries and back cheaper than a train to London what does anyone expect.
Click to expand...
👍
If you just tax accommodation and camp sites, you miss out on all those casually using any lay-by, beach, road and drive. There are sites telling folk where they can park overnight, believe it or not, they included our Primary School car park in the list ! Those who use accomm and sites are already contributing to the local economy, it's the other who are parasitising off everyone else, and they are the biggest issue atm, besides all the arguments about capacity.
 
traffordtang said:
Predictably the same old union flag wavers become deeply offended without attempting to find out why these places should suddenly be anti tourism. The fact is they’re not. Their concern is with the impact over tourism is having on their environment. Residents cannot afford accommodation because it’s much more lucrative to rent to tourists and the governments are slow to react by building affordable housing. There is not enough staff to cope with the influx and they can’t be attracted because they can’t find accommodation and yet the government continues to allow hotels to be built. I’m talking primarily about Lanzarote because I’ve been going there for almost 30 years and have seen the effects of over tourism but one thing I have never come across is any anti British sentiment.
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All those factors apply in the Lakes and Highlands as well, with the exception of new hotels.
 
The last time I read an article about this in the press the focus was Venice, where the local residents were annoyed with the cruise ships. The tourists from the ships spend little time in Venice and contribute little to the local economy. Other than that, the residents were welcoming to those who were staying in the city. That was some time ago so things might have got worse in the meantime.
 
Tangerinemoss said:
All those factors apply in the Lakes and Highlands as well, with the exception of new hotels.
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Yes. It seems that since lockdown there has been an explosion in tourism generally. With regards to this country lots of people bought caravans and dormobiles during lockdown and are making good use of them. It’s a fine balancing act between the economy and the environment
 
Tangerinemoss said:
👍
If you just tax accommodation and camp sites, you miss out on all those casually using any lay-by, beach, road and drive. There are sites telling folk where they can park overnight, believe it or not, they included our Primary School car park in the list ! Those who use accomm and sites are already contributing to the local economy, it's the other who are parasitising off everyone else, and they are the biggest issue atm, besides all the arguments about capacity.
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I agree those who pay £50k plus for camper vans & park up anywhere bar a campsite & cook in the van do nothing to help the local economies. We see them all over the place usually close to the campsites we’re staying on.
 
Sooty59 said:
I agree those who pay £50k plus for camper vans & park up anywhere bar a campsite & cook in the van do nothing to help the local economies. We see them all over the place usually close to the campsites we’re staying on.
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And probably walking into the campsite to use the toilets and showers, Glenmore Campsite up here has big issues with that.
 
traffordtang said:
Predictably the same old union flag wavers become deeply offended without attempting to find out why these places should suddenly be anti tourism. The fact is they’re not. Their concern is with the impact over tourism is having on their environment. Residents cannot afford accommodation because it’s much more lucrative to rent to tourists and the governments are slow to react by building affordable housing. There is not enough staff to cope with the influx and they can’t be attracted because they can’t find accommodation and yet the government continues to allow hotels to be built. I’m talking primarily about Lanzarote because I’ve been going there for almost 30 years and have seen the effects of over tourism but one thing I have never come across is any anti British sentiment.
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What a weird introduction!
Who are the "predictably the same old union flag wavers etc"?
I thought posters were raising reported issues for considered debate. I haven't read an 'anti Euro, we hate the Britons' post.
As a Brit who's been going to Lanzarote for almost 30 years, are you not a flag waver for the UK? You've certainly contributing to the world's pollution problem 😂
 
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Maybe we should follow suit and be as unwelcoming as possible, especially to all those who come across on little rubber dinghys.
 
585 = never give up said:
Popular destinations close to home introduced a 'tourist tax' a couple of years ago, which the UK hasn't replicated. This is because we don't want to deter tourists.
More concerning, is today's news from the Canaries, who the Brits have supported for many years, which has helped them to grow & develop:

UK holidaymakers who are staying in the Canary Islands or who are planning to travel to the popular holiday destination have been issued a travel warning as mass protests will take place across the five islands against overtourism. On April 20, people will take to the streets in "historic" demonstrations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma.
The protests have been organised under the banner: "The Canary Islands have a limit". It comes after protests were held last year with protesters carrying placards saying "the Canaries are no longer a paradise" and "the Canaries are not for sale".
Protesters demanded the introduction of an "eco tax" to pay for the environmental damage caused by the millions of tourists that flock to the islands every year.
Click to expand...
We have 20% VAT on hotels,restaurants,etc,etc…..but then that doesn’t benefit the local tourist areas just the exchequer……it’s part of the reason a lot of us go abroad because it’s a darn sight cheaper.😂
Mind you not been away anywhere for the past 4 years….except the travelling over for home games and local shopping😂
 
bleach51 said:
We have 20% VAT on hotels,restaurants,etc,etc…..but then that doesn’t benefit the local tourist areas just the exchequer……it’s part of the reason a lot of us go abroad because it’s a darn sight cheaper.😂
Mind you not been away anywhere for the past 4 years….except the travelling over for home games and local shopping😂
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That's true!
Most countries now charge a tourist tax, per person, for the first 7 days of your stay, above the age of 16yrs.
The rate varies from country to country. Or in Spain's case, region to region - between 4 Euros per night in Barcelona to 1 Euro in other places. It also depends on the star rating of the accommodation.
It's payable to your hotel when booking in and it's been increased this year in a number of regions in Spain.
The money goes to the local government to improve the environment. If that's auditable, then it's not a bad thing.
  • Next year, the EU will begin implementing a new tourist visa, whereby non-EU citizens travelling from outside the Schengen zone will need to fill out a €7 application to enter the country. Initially, this was due to be introduced last year.
 
BigHandsOliverKahn said:
Looks like the golden age of mass tourism is over with more and more places now becoming hostile to tourists.

Venice seems to no longer like tourists and so is slapping them with fines if they don't pay a day tripper fee.

Amsterdam has tried to deter tourists by shutting down a lot of businesses that catered for a certain type of clientele.

Even Kyoto in Japan is going to ban tourists in key parts of its city.

I am sure there are more examples than the above that I knew about. There seems to be a trend developing.
Click to expand...
yep off to Japan in October with a tour of Kyoto already booked but as you say have been impacted by this ban of the geisha district.
 
There’s about 4 billion too many humans infesting this beautiful world. The Chinese had a damn good go at a mass cull but those pesky ladies in Oxford Uni scuppered that (plus the virus wasn’t anywhere near as good as the old Black Death at halving the populous).

Time for the Hunger Games.
 
Tangerinemoss said:
The 2 key words above are "over tourism"

In the Canaries, the operators get greedy, councils permit more and more accommodation, and measures are not taken to minimise impacts.

We have had an issue up here in the Highlands post covid, which is causing a lot of heated debate. We are reliant on tourists, yet at times overwhelmed with Campervans, the worst of whom make little contribution and leave rubbish and waste for the councils to pick up. Likewise, the NC 500 which has appeared on AVFTT before has problems with road wear. These tiny single track roads, designed as a link between houses, have now got huge numbers of cars, lorries and camper vans. Again, a mixed blessing, some businesses are doing very well out of it, but the council's road repair budget is overwhelmed.

There has been much talk of a Tourist Tax, as there was in the Lakes who we ran a business there. How would it be implemented, when we have no toll roads, free access to the vast majority of the countryside, personally, I haven't a Scooby?
Click to expand...
Spot on, if you go abroad or a holiday destination in the UK pay a fee.

People take the pish, drop litter, get drunk and cause agro, the lack of respect is off the scale so charge them.
 
Chunkylad said:
There’s about 4 billion too many humans infesting this beautiful world. The Chinese had a damn good go at a mass cull but those pesky ladies in Oxford Uni scuppered that (plus the virus wasn’t anywhere near as good as the old Black Death at halving the populous).

Time for the Hunger Games.
Click to expand...
I think there's only me and you on this site who get it.
Over population is costing the environment and everything else bad that comes with it.👍
 
Another place with problems coming to a head with locals, including police officers, now living out of cars... Ibiza

I can't help but think that these kind of problems around tourist destinations show that capitalism isn't now working for the majority.
 
We paid a tourist tax of a couple of Euros a day each whilst staying in southern Germany last autumn. Collected by the accommodation provider, in return we got a ticket entitling us to free use of public transport (bus, tram, rail) plus a range of discounts on tourist attractions in the area. We got more back than we put in, plus our car stayed at the site.
 
BigHandsOliverKahn said:
I hadn't picked up on that one. Certainly will affect a lot of British tourists. I wondered if it might be to do with foreigners buying places and hardly ever using them but it seems it is simply over-tourism that is the gripe.

Interesting times.
Click to expand...
It is the Canary Island authorities themselves that have allowed more and more hotel and other developments that have caused overcrowding and unsustainability. I can remember going to the various islands 20 and 30 years ago and they were building on just about every plot they could and taller and taller buildings.
 
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