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This is clearly a case of which came first, the chicken or the egg. I believe the tourists have always been there, whereever "there" is....It is just simply being broadcast more widely through the web than the past when family and friends were being subjected to slides, photographs and video's.
I don't get it. No offense to the OP, but aren't you one of those tourists that you are complaining about?
I went to Italy in November, it was wonderful. Days as high as 70 degrees. Rome to Milan to Florence and Sienna and back to Rome, driving for 10 days. Tourist problem? None.
London and Paris I went in April. Tourist congestion? None.
Estes Park? No problem, went in August.
I visited all these places a decade ago. Maybe things have changed.
I've never experienced horrible tourist congestion. I suppose I expect to see other people. One club in Paris had a huge line, we knew it had to be a winner, and it was. It was locals waiting to dance in Paris to American disco music. Ah, the irony!
As for finding places where the locals hang out--easy. Follow the locals, that's where you find the best restaurants, best cafes, best bars. I remember one night not knowing where to eat. Saw a line of locals waiting to get in a restaurant in Paris.
So that's where we went. The line moved fast, everyday food, nothing special, but we got to hang with the locals. Another restaurant in Rome at lunch time, saw locals going in the door, sure enough, typical Italian spaghetti, half carafe on every table of everyday chianti. Was the food the best ever? Nope, but it was the experience hanging with the locals that we were after.
Will echo those who recommend going off-season. Went to Madrid (with day trips to Toledo, Aranjuez, El Escorial, and Segovia) in January and London (with Oxford and Cambridge day trips) in March and encountered no problems of this kind.
Some places are strictly seasonal (much of New England outside of big cities, northern based national parks and other hiking destinations) and crowds are just going to be an issue there. But for many locations, off-season times work just fine.
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Congestion Charging in Europe coupled with more fuel emission laws and cleaner air, more cycling lanes, more pedestrian zones and better public transport linkls seems to be the way forward.
It's terrible--and I'm speaking not as a tourist but from someone who lives in a tourist city, NYC.
Mass Tourism has definitely spun out of control to the point where it's had a detrimental impact on the quality of life here for locals. Because tourists are looking for cheap thrills and familiarity, NYC locations like Times Square has basically become an open air mall filled with the same national and international chains as anywhere else, and the entire city has developed a cheesy, artificial Las Vegas/Mall of America vibe. Nothing feels like the real NYC anymore.
And some of our better, off-the-beaten path locations have become so choked with tourists that they've been ruined. We have two riverside parks that used to be wonderful places for people to just chill out and enjoy peace and quiet. Now they're crazy packed. And I don't mean in the way that you'd expect for any popular tourist attraction. I mean insanely packed like you see in some really densely populated Third World cities, a human swarm. Yes, it's wonderful to have people around but there's a difference between bustling crowds and grotesque.
Having so many tourists also resulted in problems we never had before, like people putting locks on the Brooklyn Bridge, streets becoming clogged with traffic or groups of tourists wandering in droves into residential areas looking for locations they've seen on TV shows.
This type of situation is getting so bad here in NYC and around the world that some cities are losing their native populations. Venetians have been fleeing in droves because they can no longer handle the mass tourism there.
Quote:
It is no secret that the tourists are the ones pushing the Venetians out of their city. They have always been part of the city's landscape, but the difference is that in decades past, "elite" visitors sojourned for days and even weeks or months at a time, pumping valuable revenue into the city coffers. Now, with cheap flights and package deals that pair Venice with other cities like Florence and Verona, daytrippers make up the bulk of visitors. There is no need to stay in expensive Venice when hotels elsewhere are much cheaper. Local officials say that most visitors don't even buy tickets to the city's museums or eat at the restaurants. Why Are the Venetians Fleeing Venice?
I have no doubt that many New Yorkers have decided to flee NYC for the same reason. It's not NYC anymore.
Agree with others that it really depends on where you go. If you are hitting well know landmark cities, yea, they will be crowded. Want a more local experience, get off the beaten track.
I've been fortunate enough to visit some very small villages in Germany and Switzerland. The local feel of these compared to the cosmopolitan international airport cities was night and day.
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So the threat of terrorism has not affected tourism. Surprised to learn that.
not really... I feel at risk in USA (Texas, Colorado, Oregon especially) There are a lot of quacks and a lot of guns in USA. And a lot of quacks with guns (or access to such). Very polarized social dynamics, perpetuated by a split democracy (?) and political 'battlegrounds'. Claiming more 'territory' to get the vote. It is about to get a whole lot worse.
I was in / near Brussels, Paris, London, and Tokyo during attacks (and I am rubbing shoulders with 'who-knows'?? nearly every month. in SE Asia. I generally feel pretty safe internationally. It is the 'locals' in NA I keep an eye out for.
Global economy emerging from several years of stagnant performance + Christmas season + a tourist targeting tourism-dependent locations ... Whoa Nellie, wonder why all these tourists are here? Now, there's a shocker!
I used to go to Europe for work most years and would find myself free to travel about beginning in mid-May. No place was particularly overrun with tourists then, not even Florence or Paris.
NYC is becoming Las Vegas only if you hang around Times Square -- and why would you? Dress like a local and use the subway.
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