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Anyway, to actually contribute to the thread, the only place that comes to mind for this is Madrid. While I liked it, it kind of seemed like any other big city to me. I did enjoy the Prado, however, and hanging around the plazas (such as Plaza Mayor). But generally with European cities, I find something distinct and interesting about their character...for Madrid, that didn't really strike me as much. I was much more fascinated by Barcelona, Sevilla, Paris and Lisbon.
Now I'm not the greatest fan of Stonehenge- it's fairly local to me and I prefer other ancient sites none too far from there- but to say that they had the audacity to build it ninety miles from London!
Perhaps they didn't have American tourists in mind when it was created.
LOL! My favourite standing stones/circles/cairns are in Kilmartin in Argyll.
Had to laugh when you read your comment about the San Diego Zoo.
When my wife and I were newly married we traveled a bit and had been to several zoo's around the country.
After years of hearing about the wonderful, world class San Diego Zoo in the media etc..., we were in San Diego with our daughter back in the late 90's and decided to go. I was absolutely unimpressed ! It was one of the biggest disappointments I've ever experienced given all the hype about what a world class place it is.
The Phoenix Zoo was far better as I recall, although I haven't been there in about 10 years now. I actually went back to the San Diego Zoo two or three years ago (San Diego relatives wanted to take me and their kids there for a day outing). We had a fun time, but that was more due to spending time with their family than the actual zoo part of it. Perhaps a slight bit better than I recall it was in the late 90's, but not much.
If you are in the San Diego area and want a better experience to see some animals, go to the San Diego Safari Park (formerly called the SD Wild Animal Park when I visited). It was 10 times more enjoyable than the zoo. Seeing the animals in a much more natural habitat compared to the zoo experience of seeing them in small cement/adobe enclosures.
Regarding your comments about Aruba, we've been there for a day on two cruises and really enjoyed it both times. I'm not sure I could spend an week there without getting bored, but spending a day exploring and with a few hours in the beach.....life is good. It's the most well cared for, cleanest and tidiest place we've ever visited in the Caribbean without a doubt. I'd go back for sure, but as I mentioned, I don't think there is any small island like that that I could spend a week on without being bored to some degree.
Yeah, have to agree with you there. Plus, the ugly old guy running the place was very unfriendly, you might even say hostile. He also needs to hire better help and train them in customer relations. Those little guys running around jabbing you with pitchforks got to be pretty annoying after awhile. The final bad experience came when I kept running into people that I knew from my past, some of whom I knew very well.
Totally with you about Orlando. Throw Las Vegas and places like Branson into that category. LCD tourism cities are the worst of the worst.
I think that for many, many people, it has been drummed into them that Paris is dirty city full of rude people and that's EXACTLY what they find when they get there. They set themselves up for disappointment. I'd gladly fly to Paris, any day of the year. I'd fly there even if I knew it was going to be cold and raining the entire time.
What confounds me is that people will go to Paris anyway, even though they're convinced that it's going to be filthy and Parisians are going to treat them like crap. Why? Out of some masochistic martyrdom complex? To brag to neighbors how the trip to Paris was just as dirty and rude as expected?
Some people are just plain weird.
Well I've never been to Paris but would like to go. Every single picture or clip I see of basically every building is gorgeous. That city just seems to ooze beauty. All the people I know, coworkers & friends alike, who have visited Paris all loved it & agreed with my assessment that Paris is beautiful. No complaints on service or inhospitable behavior.
speaking of the underwhelming San Diego zoo, I was totally disappointed by the Atlanta Aquarium, supposedly the largest in the world. I went inside ready to spend half a day and ended up exiting the place a bit more than an hour later.
As a resident of a tourist destination, sometimes it's impossible for a destination to live up to expectations. Hawaii has the Hawaii Visitor's Bureau (frequently referred to as "HVB" since it's easier to spell). They have spent decades in promoting their version of Hawaii and they spend millions or more in advertising each year, trying to convince everyone else on the planet that Hawaii is a "paradise". We also have tons of TV shows filmed here and they have about as much reality base as HVB. There is no way we can live up to those flights of fancy and we've gotten real tired of trying.
It's really hard for locals to have aloha for tourists since they are here for such a short time and are then gone and many of them have entitlement attitudes and are expecting something so different than reality. We can't live up to what they want - especially since they all seem to want something different - so most locals don't bother to try. From a local's perspective, the tourists keep us from enjoying the local spots, they have made a lot of things really expensive since they are willing to pay more for whatever it is than locals can afford and tourism doesn't provide very good jobs. The tourists spend a lot of money at the hotels, but the majority of the money they spend is immediately shipped off island to the owners of the hotel. All the locals get out of it is a minimum wage job changing hotel sheets or driving the bus. And because a lot of the tourists want to have a vacation house in Hawaii, that drives the prices of housing up to where locals can't afford to live in Hawaii unless they stay living with their parents or have a lot of room mates.
Tourists visit and then want to "live in Paradise" and have a mainland source of income or are coming from somewhere with a lower cost of living so they can afford to pay more for a house. That drives the cost of housing out of range for locals. Have you seen the median price for a house or apartment on Oahu? Tourists visit and then want to "live in Paradise" and are willing to work for a lower wage than a local person just so they can "live in Paradise". That works for a little bit, then they get broke and go back to the mainland. But, because there's an unending supply of them willing to work for lower wages, that keeps the wages about 20% below their mainland counterparts. Which in turn makes it harder for locals to survive around here.
It's an island with limited resources and tourists can afford more than locals since the tourists are just here for a short time and many of them have saved up for extra spending money on their Hawaiian vacation. Locals can't compete with a tourist willing to pay $25 for a breakfast so the locals can't afford to eat out at the places they work at. And then the tourists complain about a lack of aloha? As they say around here, "what goes around comes around". Instead of the ever so popular "I'm on vacation therefore you should cater to me" attitude, spread a little aloha around and it will come back to you. Many tourists forget to pack their good manners when they are getting ready to go on vacation. Others of them forget to pack common sense, but that's a different topic.
I'm sure it's the same in Paris, Rome and the rest of the destination locations on the planet.
Well I've never been to Paris but would like to go. Every single picture or clip I see of basically every building is gorgeous. That city just seems to ooze beauty. All the people I know, coworkers & friends alike, who have visited Paris all loved it & agreed with my assessment that Paris is beautiful. No complaints on service or inhospitable behavior.
no, there are actually this love and despise Paris division among people who have visited the city. Some are just amazed by Paris and all its beauty, charm and ambience (myself included) and some find it to be a filthy, dog-poop infested ****hole less interesting than Copenhagen or Oslo.
I have never heard of tourism being bad for the local economy. High number of tourists can be a hassle for the locals sometimes and do tend to drive up the costs of eating at tourist heavy restaurants, etc. But overall, the benefits far outweigh the costs (always).
Almost 3.4 million Americans have traveled to Hawaii this year, putting the Aloha State’s tourism industry on pace for a record-setting year, according to its tourism authority.
Tourism is the largest single contributor to the state’s gross domestic product, representing about 21 percent of its entire economy. Visitors spent more than $14 billion in Hawaii in 2012, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s annual report.
As a resident of a tourist destination, sometimes it's impossible for a destination to live up to expectations. Hawaii has the Hawaii Visitor's Bureau (frequently referred to as "HVB" since it's easier to spell). They have spent decades in promoting their version of Hawaii and they spend millions or more in advertising each year, trying to convince everyone else on the planet that Hawaii is a "paradise". We also have tons of TV shows filmed here and they have about as much reality base as HVB. There is no way we can live up to those flights of fancy and we've gotten real tired of trying.
It's really hard for locals to have aloha for tourists since they are here for such a short time and are then gone and many of them have entitlement attitudes and are expecting something so different than reality. We can't live up to what they want - especially since they all seem to want something different - so most locals don't bother to try. From a local's perspective, the tourists keep us from enjoying the local spots, they have made a lot of things really expensive since they are willing to pay more for whatever it is than locals can afford and tourism doesn't provide very good jobs. The tourists spend a lot of money at the hotels, but the majority of the money they spend is immediately shipped off island to the owners of the hotel. All the locals get out of it is a minimum wage job changing hotel sheets or driving the bus. And because a lot of the tourists want to have a vacation house in Hawaii, that drives the prices of housing up to where locals can't afford to live in Hawaii unless they stay living with their parents or have a lot of room mates.
Tourists visit and then want to "live in Paradise" and have a mainland source of income or are coming from somewhere with a lower cost of living so they can afford to pay more for a house. That drives the cost of housing out of range for locals. Have you seen the median price for a house or apartment on Oahu? Tourists visit and then want to "live in Paradise" and are willing to work for a lower wage than a local person just so they can "live in Paradise". That works for a little bit, then they get broke and go back to the mainland. But, because there's an unending supply of them willing to work for lower wages, that keeps the wages about 20% below their mainland counterparts. Which in turn makes it harder for locals to survive around here.
It's an island with limited resources and tourists can afford more than locals since the tourists are just here for a short time and many of them have saved up for extra spending money on their Hawaiian vacation. Locals can't compete with a tourist willing to pay $25 for a breakfast so the locals can't afford to eat out at the places they work at. And then the tourists complain about a lack of aloha? As they say around here, "what goes around comes around". Instead of the ever so popular "I'm on vacation therefore you should cater to me" attitude, spread a little aloha around and it will come back to you. Many tourists forget to pack their good manners when they are getting ready to go on vacation. Others of them forget to pack common sense, but that's a different topic.
I'm sure it's the same in Paris, Rome and the rest of the destination locations on the planet.
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