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Australia's ABC reports on a growing backlash against the level of tourism in Europe, including in Spain where AirBnB rentals have driven up rental housing prices to levels where many locals cannot now afford to live there, and Dubrovnik where Game-of-Thrones tours are driving the locals nuts.
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(Score: 5, Informative) by lgsoynews on Sunday August 13 2017, @12:24PM (1 child)
(I'm french.) France is -by far- the country with the most foreign visitors each year (this does not include french people on vacations, etc.)
The article is about Spain (3rd most visited), but the problems are similar in France, so I'll give my own perspective.
In 2014, foreign visitors were 84,2 millions, compared to the US ( the second most visited country) with "only" 66,7 millions. Remember that the US population (324.8 millions) is about 4.8 times the population of France (67.5 millions).
Each year, in France, the number of incoming visitors is MUCH HIGHER than the number of natives! To put it into perspective, in 2017, only 15 countries in the world have more than 85 millions citizens... Basically, the equivalent of whole countries go and visit France each year (such numbers boggle the mind). In July/August, when you take the subway in Paris, you hear so many different languages around you that sometimes you wonder where are the natives (they are also on holidays :-), it's quite funny.
This means obviously that the tourism sector is something HUGE in France.
Of course, this is a big deal, both in term of economical benefits and, more subtly, in terms of cultural/political influence.
A lot of people in France are quite xenophobic and simply assholes toward tourists (especially foreigners), only seeing the drawbacks & conveniently forgetting all the benefits (plus it's an easy target for the various "haters" who need some scapegoats).
Obviously, there are some drawbacks to such numbers. People must eat, consume various things, so even if there are careful about it, they will pollute, then there is noise, congestion of streets, problems with lodging in the most touristic areas, etc. It's difficult enough to deal with native tourists, add to them millions of foreigners and it's a headache. Ever tried to visit a major touristic place like the "Château de Versailles", especially during the holidays? Good luck! Theme parks will seem empty in comparison.
But suppress suddenly all those visitors in those very crowded -and successful- places, and you'll see the local economy take such a dive that most of the complainers will be jobless within a week. There has to be a balance. And it's true that in some places that balance is seriously out of control.
Then of course, there is the problem that huge number of people means huge number of jerks/assholes (the ones people will remember). Add to that the very old problem that many people don't behave the same when they are not at home, because there is not long term negative consequences (they'll be away in a few days of weeks) in comparison with doing it in their own neighborhood. French themselves are pretty bad in that area. Being in a subway especially during the holidays can be jarring when a group of people behave like really obnoxious jerks: talking VERY loudly, singing, pushing other passengers, making a real mess, and behaving as if there was nobody around. Not the majority, but numerous enough to be a problem for everybody else (including the foreign tourists who behave like real adults).
So, in conclusion, yes, some places are victims of their own success. There is no easy solution. But investments in infrastructures to accomodate tourists would help a lot, you can only be host to so many people, especially in the historical areas. Unfortunately, given how dysfunctional most french local & national administrations are, I won't hold my breath...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:06PM
I live in Paris.
Way too many tourists are loud, smelly, block the way, etc. as if they were kings there when they should act like guests. The tourist hate doesn't come out of thin air. And the French tourists aren't any better, I'd get them up there with Americans as the worst (especially since they are so fat).