Anthony Bourdain was acutely aware of this problem and sought to protect some of the places he visited. My personal experience in the USA was watching where I was raised turn into a 'tourism'...
Anthony Bourdain was acutely aware of this problem and sought to protect some of the places he visited.
My personal experience in the USA was watching where I was raised turn into a 'tourism' destination that completely ruined the area. From seas of shops, water parks and 'attractions' etc. to the emissions from vehicles affecting the national park's flora and fauna that was the initial reason to visit (but in reality became secondary) in profound ways. People made/make money, lots and lots of money. Locals find employment. I found the trade off lopsided and eventually moved when the opportunity presented itself.
Eventually, with the 'Americanization' of destinations that include the same hotels, the same shops, the same restaurants and faux attempts at integrating them into a culture; everywhere starts to look the same, becomes a shell of itself and its horrible.
One of the issues, particularly with cruise ship destinations like Barcelona or Venice, is that very little money goes into the local economy. Most people are in a rush to "see the sights" on...
One of the issues, particularly with cruise ship destinations like Barcelona or Venice, is that very little money goes into the local economy. Most people are in a rush to "see the sights" on limited time. Just one angle is food. Most people won't go off the beaten track and eat in a local restaurant, for example. And why would you when you've paid for meals on board. Spending is concentrated in small "catchment areas" on specific things. If there are five cruise ships in Barcelona on any one day, that's thousands of people who never see much more than The Familia Sagrada, take a stroll down the ramblas and grab some fast food.
This is very true. I live in the Bahamas and you see exactly this in downtown Nassau. There are three blocks around the cruise ship terminal and in there you find Senor Frog's, Sharkeez, Hard Rock...
This is very true. I live in the Bahamas and you see exactly this in downtown Nassau. There are three blocks around the cruise ship terminal and in there you find Senor Frog's, Sharkeez, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. Of course, the whole economy of the country is dependent on tourism (45% of GDP) and then off-shore finance (17%) so it is difficult to see how they could change anything.
As italians, I can assure you that the Venice problems is quite felt but there isn't much to be done apparently. As you said, the main problem with these cruise holidays is that the tourist only...
As italians, I can assure you that the Venice problems is quite felt but there isn't much to be done apparently.
As you said, the main problem with these cruise holidays is that the tourist only travel across a location, often leaving it worse than how they found it and don't actually help the place economically by eating or sleeping there at all.
A good cut on how Venice could be enjoyed in an healthy way is offered, surprisingly (because I didn't know the show, by "Somebody feed Phil" on Netflix. The very first episode of the 2nd season.
I was in Prague about a month and a half ago. Even in May (well before peak season), it was totally crazy. Prague Castle was the worst, with lines an hour long just to get into the castle (let...
I was in Prague about a month and a half ago. Even in May (well before peak season), it was totally crazy. Prague Castle was the worst, with lines an hour long just to get into the castle (let alone any of the popular sites in the castle, like the cathedral), depending on the time of day. Old Town was a zoo, too, not just with the packs of people, but the litter, and passed out bodies in early morning, that are left behind. It's just not for locals any more.
It made me rethink if and how I'm going to visit Europe in the future. That was my first time in Prague, and everyone there said it's a relatively recent thing, that Prague has really only exploded in popularity in the past 5 or 10 years or so. But I think it's problematic outside of Prague. We travelled to a lot of cities around Central Europe and, while none were quite as bad as Prague (yet), all of them had seen a huge increase in tourists in the past few years. I suspect it's only a matter of time before there aren't any calm places to visit in Europe any more.
I don't know how to feel about it. I know I can't complain about it without being hypocritical, because I love travelling myself. Just flat-out not travelling any more seems like an unsatisfactory answer, though, since travelling can have so many benefits. Understanding one another better and all that.
It is a conundrum. On one hand travel expands experiences and understanding of different cultures but on the other hand travel can be destructive of the very experience one seeks. Not really...
It is a conundrum. On one hand travel expands experiences and understanding of different cultures but on the other hand travel can be destructive of the very experience one seeks.
Not really discussed very much are the environmental impacts of traveling not just to a destination that is extremely popular but all that swirls around getting to that destination.
Economically, the impacts are also a mixed bag with displacement of people who live in these areas and ill suited to service industries as employment to gains in property valuations and those who were challenged to make a living, finding steady employment as well as entrepreneurship opportunities.
There are other issues not discussed such as the spread of infections and communicable diseases even when people get vaccines for travel. Anytime you cram hoards of animals together, and we are animals after all, the opportunity for illness rises sometimes in unexpected and profound ways.
Unfortunately that's not even that true. Most of the tourists that comes into Venice vie Cruise ships for example, see the place as a sort of disneyland, not a place in which people actually live...
On one hand travel expands experiences and understanding of different cultures but on the other hand travel can be destructive of the very experience one seeks.
Unfortunately that's not even that true.
Most of the tourists that comes into Venice vie Cruise ships for example, see the place as a sort of disneyland, not a place in which people actually live and works.
I agree with you and it is true for many destinations. Overall, travel broadens ones experiences if done with thoughtfulness and with a genuine desire to actually discover and experience a culture...
I agree with you and it is true for many destinations. Overall, travel broadens ones experiences if done with thoughtfulness and with a genuine desire to actually discover and experience a culture or area. That unfortunately isn't what many do as travel has been made as easy as possible for the 'tourist' that is spending money to have a good time.
I think tourists litter a lot partly because they purchase a lot of food in disposable containers; plastic water bottles and junk food wraps that are thrown away after use. In the article they...
I think tourists litter a lot partly because they purchase a lot of food in disposable containers; plastic water bottles and junk food wraps that are thrown away after use. In the article they talked about banning short term rentals like airbnb to reduce tourist flow, but I think access to kitchens might encourage people to bring homemade food in reusable containers instead of buying food to-go, which will reduce the amount of litter.
This is a topic I struggle with. I work so I can travel, it's my passion, and I do it every chance I can. I love seeing new countries, exploring new cultures, and wandering around strange cities...
This is a topic I struggle with. I work so I can travel, it's my passion, and I do it every chance I can. I love seeing new countries, exploring new cultures, and wandering around strange cities and towns. Generally speaking I don't do the "normal" tourist things, go during off season, and act respectfully of my surroundings and the people around me, but even that has an impact.
Add in the assholes who intentionally go out of their way to wreck shit and well...
I don't have any easy answers here, but I do wish that all tourists could be respectful of the places they visit and realize that their presence does have an impact that they should try and minimize. We're never going to end tourism, nor should we since visiting other places is such a wonderful experience, but educating people on how to behave when in strange lands should be a priority.
I'd also be in favour of just nixing giant tour ships in tiny ports, and massive caravans of tour buses. I've yet to have a good experience in any location that involved hoards of tourists being herded by a guide.
I'm conflicted on this too. I love that people are checking new places and exposing themselves to new things, but for me it's starting to be overwhelming and ...fake. Some places that I visited...
I'm conflicted on this too. I love that people are checking new places and exposing themselves to new things, but for me it's starting to be overwhelming and ...fake. Some places that I visited when I was young are completely different now. In a way it's great, trails are now paved, toilets are flushing, safety railings and such have been added, so it's far more accessible now. However, the experience is quite different, and how I hate souvenir shops.
GOD YES. Souvenir shops have never held any appeal. I live in a city that gets a lot of tourists in the summer months so I see what passes as "souvenirs" for my area, and it's ALL CRAP....
GOD YES. Souvenir shops have never held any appeal. I live in a city that gets a lot of tourists in the summer months so I see what passes as "souvenirs" for my area, and it's ALL CRAP. Overpriced, cheap, plastic crap. I can't imagine the souvenirs from other countries are any better.
They're definitely not. I live in the mountains (far from any ocean), and our souvenir shops have those little Mexican seashells with little letters spelling out the town.
I can't imagine the souvenirs from other countries are any better.
They're definitely not. I live in the mountains (far from any ocean), and our souvenir shops have those little Mexican seashells with little letters spelling out the town.
What would you recommend as a real souvenir from Mexico? For Canada, I'd suggest handmade items from the native community - slippers, mitts, maybe a hat. But the real, usable stuff, not the shitty...
What would you recommend as a real souvenir from Mexico?
For Canada, I'd suggest handmade items from the native community - slippers, mitts, maybe a hat. But the real, usable stuff, not the shitty tourist made ones. Something made with sealskin maybe.
I'm guessing there's just a set catalogue of tourist crap most of them shop from that can then be customized with a name? I'll occasionally peek into the tourist shops here just to see what's on...
I'm guessing there's just a set catalogue of tourist crap most of them shop from that can then be customized with a name?
I'll occasionally peek into the tourist shops here just to see what's on offer, especially if they say they sell native art. Most of it just makes me shake my head.
That's what I'm guessing. My aunt pointed them out to me and mentioned that she found (and bought) the same bracelets in Thailand. I do love the native art!
I'm guessing there's just a set catalogue of tourist crap most of them shop from that can then be customized with a name?
That's what I'm guessing. My aunt pointed them out to me and mentioned that she found (and bought) the same bracelets in Thailand.
Pretty much all of the art I own is by Inuit and Innu artists. I have some caribou tuftings, and various prints and paintings. I also have a caribou antler dream catcher my brother made me which...
Pretty much all of the art I own is by Inuit and Innu artists. I have some caribou tuftings, and various prints and paintings. I also have a caribou antler dream catcher my brother made me which is pretty unusual, but that's a weird one - the native artists where I grew up embraced the dream catchers, but they're not a traditional Inuit thing. I'm not quite sure how that came about, but it's been a thing since before I was born.
I really like a lot of the sculptures, especially of wolves and seals. Also love the totems in BC. That dream catcher sounds really neat. I've always love those too. Have you checked out any of...
I really like a lot of the sculptures, especially of wolves and seals. Also love the totems in BC.
That dream catcher sounds really neat. I've always love those too.
Have you checked out any of the billboards this summer: Resilience
Edit: fixed link
Edit: also adding one of my favourite artists - V Rae
That's really neat! I didn't even know about that project. I like V Rae's stuff, it's super colourful and a very different style from what I buy. I grew up in the very far north east, so the style...
That's really neat! I didn't even know about that project.
I like V Rae's stuff, it's super colourful and a very different style from what I buy. I grew up in the very far north east, so the style is VERY different from BC artists.
This is more of the style I am familiar with, though I don't have any of his artwork personally.
I'm almost certain there is a global company that makes at least 50% of the crap that is found in souvenir shops around the world. No matter where I go, I seem to find the same crap with the only...
I'm almost certain there is a global company that makes at least 50% of the crap that is found in souvenir shops around the world. No matter where I go, I seem to find the same crap with the only difference being a local variation be it the name or an image of a plant or animal. My son used to ask for wooden slingshots that have an animal face glued to it until I pointed out that the same bear in Yosemite was in Banff and the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile my niece still collects wooden pocket knives with the name of the place she visited etched in the case. Not to mention that most souvenir shops in a particular area all have the same "hand-crafted" items regardless of which store you enter.
It's just one very specific thing, but an image and example that really sticks in my mind about how insane this has gotten is the bridge in Paris with the "love locks". The city had to take them...
It's just one very specific thing, but an image and example that really sticks in my mind about how insane this has gotten is the bridge in Paris with the "love locks". The city had to take them all down a few years ago because the sheer weight from all of them was destroying the bridge and was potentially dangerous with almost 50 tons of locks. I've seen estimates of over a million keys having been thrown into the river as part of it as well.
I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica. The little town of Quepos has a population of under 25,000 people but sees close to half a million tourists come through to see Manuel Antonio National...
I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica. The little town of Quepos has a population of under 25,000 people but sees close to half a million tourists come through to see Manuel Antonio National Park. It was truly an awesome place to see the plants and animals, but it was also very sad to see how much the tourism has overtaken the place. Almost every building on the main road is a hotel, gift shop, bar/restaurant or a combo of all 3. Although Spanish is the natural language, most locals know English in order to make a living. One of the locals that I was talking with was telling me he grew up in what was a fishing village, but the tourism completely changed everything. Now his town is filled with hotels, and beachside condos for foreigners who want to surf, party or just retire in paradise.
Anthony Bourdain was acutely aware of this problem and sought to protect some of the places he visited.
My personal experience in the USA was watching where I was raised turn into a 'tourism' destination that completely ruined the area. From seas of shops, water parks and 'attractions' etc. to the emissions from vehicles affecting the national park's flora and fauna that was the initial reason to visit (but in reality became secondary) in profound ways. People made/make money, lots and lots of money. Locals find employment. I found the trade off lopsided and eventually moved when the opportunity presented itself.
Eventually, with the 'Americanization' of destinations that include the same hotels, the same shops, the same restaurants and faux attempts at integrating them into a culture; everywhere starts to look the same, becomes a shell of itself and its horrible.
One of the issues, particularly with cruise ship destinations like Barcelona or Venice, is that very little money goes into the local economy. Most people are in a rush to "see the sights" on limited time. Just one angle is food. Most people won't go off the beaten track and eat in a local restaurant, for example. And why would you when you've paid for meals on board. Spending is concentrated in small "catchment areas" on specific things. If there are five cruise ships in Barcelona on any one day, that's thousands of people who never see much more than The Familia Sagrada, take a stroll down the ramblas and grab some fast food.
This is very true. I live in the Bahamas and you see exactly this in downtown Nassau. There are three blocks around the cruise ship terminal and in there you find Senor Frog's, Sharkeez, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. Of course, the whole economy of the country is dependent on tourism (45% of GDP) and then off-shore finance (17%) so it is difficult to see how they could change anything.
As italians, I can assure you that the Venice problems is quite felt but there isn't much to be done apparently.
As you said, the main problem with these cruise holidays is that the tourist only travel across a location, often leaving it worse than how they found it and don't actually help the place economically by eating or sleeping there at all.
A good cut on how Venice could be enjoyed in an healthy way is offered, surprisingly (because I didn't know the show, by "Somebody feed Phil" on Netflix. The very first episode of the 2nd season.
Venice is a nightmare. I went for 2 days a couple of years ago during the off season and it was STILL insanely busy with tourists.
I was in Prague about a month and a half ago. Even in May (well before peak season), it was totally crazy. Prague Castle was the worst, with lines an hour long just to get into the castle (let alone any of the popular sites in the castle, like the cathedral), depending on the time of day. Old Town was a zoo, too, not just with the packs of people, but the litter, and passed out bodies in early morning, that are left behind. It's just not for locals any more.
It made me rethink if and how I'm going to visit Europe in the future. That was my first time in Prague, and everyone there said it's a relatively recent thing, that Prague has really only exploded in popularity in the past 5 or 10 years or so. But I think it's problematic outside of Prague. We travelled to a lot of cities around Central Europe and, while none were quite as bad as Prague (yet), all of them had seen a huge increase in tourists in the past few years. I suspect it's only a matter of time before there aren't any calm places to visit in Europe any more.
I don't know how to feel about it. I know I can't complain about it without being hypocritical, because I love travelling myself. Just flat-out not travelling any more seems like an unsatisfactory answer, though, since travelling can have so many benefits. Understanding one another better and all that.
It is a conundrum. On one hand travel expands experiences and understanding of different cultures but on the other hand travel can be destructive of the very experience one seeks.
Not really discussed very much are the environmental impacts of traveling not just to a destination that is extremely popular but all that swirls around getting to that destination.
Economically, the impacts are also a mixed bag with displacement of people who live in these areas and ill suited to service industries as employment to gains in property valuations and those who were challenged to make a living, finding steady employment as well as entrepreneurship opportunities.
There are other issues not discussed such as the spread of infections and communicable diseases even when people get vaccines for travel. Anytime you cram hoards of animals together, and we are animals after all, the opportunity for illness rises sometimes in unexpected and profound ways.
Its an interesting subject.
Unfortunately that's not even that true.
Most of the tourists that comes into Venice vie Cruise ships for example, see the place as a sort of disneyland, not a place in which people actually live and works.
I agree with you and it is true for many destinations. Overall, travel broadens ones experiences if done with thoughtfulness and with a genuine desire to actually discover and experience a culture or area. That unfortunately isn't what many do as travel has been made as easy as possible for the 'tourist' that is spending money to have a good time.
oh yeah, sure, I was referring to the kind of tourism this topic is talking about :)
I think tourists litter a lot partly because they purchase a lot of food in disposable containers; plastic water bottles and junk food wraps that are thrown away after use. In the article they talked about banning short term rentals like airbnb to reduce tourist flow, but I think access to kitchens might encourage people to bring homemade food in reusable containers instead of buying food to-go, which will reduce the amount of litter.
This is a topic I struggle with. I work so I can travel, it's my passion, and I do it every chance I can. I love seeing new countries, exploring new cultures, and wandering around strange cities and towns. Generally speaking I don't do the "normal" tourist things, go during off season, and act respectfully of my surroundings and the people around me, but even that has an impact.
Add in the assholes who intentionally go out of their way to wreck shit and well...
I don't have any easy answers here, but I do wish that all tourists could be respectful of the places they visit and realize that their presence does have an impact that they should try and minimize. We're never going to end tourism, nor should we since visiting other places is such a wonderful experience, but educating people on how to behave when in strange lands should be a priority.
I'd also be in favour of just nixing giant tour ships in tiny ports, and massive caravans of tour buses. I've yet to have a good experience in any location that involved hoards of tourists being herded by a guide.
I'm conflicted on this too. I love that people are checking new places and exposing themselves to new things, but for me it's starting to be overwhelming and ...fake. Some places that I visited when I was young are completely different now. In a way it's great, trails are now paved, toilets are flushing, safety railings and such have been added, so it's far more accessible now. However, the experience is quite different, and how I hate souvenir shops.
GOD YES. Souvenir shops have never held any appeal. I live in a city that gets a lot of tourists in the summer months so I see what passes as "souvenirs" for my area, and it's ALL CRAP. Overpriced, cheap, plastic crap. I can't imagine the souvenirs from other countries are any better.
They're definitely not. I live in the mountains (far from any ocean), and our souvenir shops have those little Mexican seashells with little letters spelling out the town.
What would you recommend as a real souvenir from Mexico?
For Canada, I'd suggest handmade items from the native community - slippers, mitts, maybe a hat. But the real, usable stuff, not the shitty tourist made ones. Something made with sealskin maybe.
That's the funny thing - I live in Canada!
... wat? That's bizarre. Are you in the Banff area?
yeah. To be fair, I saw them a few years ago when I had family in town. I usually don't wonder into the shops otherwise.
I'm guessing there's just a set catalogue of tourist crap most of them shop from that can then be customized with a name?
I'll occasionally peek into the tourist shops here just to see what's on offer, especially if they say they sell native art. Most of it just makes me shake my head.
That's what I'm guessing. My aunt pointed them out to me and mentioned that she found (and bought) the same bracelets in Thailand.
I do love the native art!
Pretty much all of the art I own is by Inuit and Innu artists. I have some caribou tuftings, and various prints and paintings. I also have a caribou antler dream catcher my brother made me which is pretty unusual, but that's a weird one - the native artists where I grew up embraced the dream catchers, but they're not a traditional Inuit thing. I'm not quite sure how that came about, but it's been a thing since before I was born.
I really like a lot of the sculptures, especially of wolves and seals. Also love the totems in BC.
That dream catcher sounds really neat. I've always love those too.
Have you checked out any of the billboards this summer:
Resilience
Edit: fixed link
Edit: also adding one of my favourite artists - V Rae
That's really neat! I didn't even know about that project.
I like V Rae's stuff, it's super colourful and a very different style from what I buy. I grew up in the very far north east, so the style is VERY different from BC artists.
This is more of the style I am familiar with, though I don't have any of his artwork personally.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=billy+gauthier+artwork&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwickPaS2brcAhUD0oMKHab2B98Q_AUICigB&biw=1532&bih=764
And this for paintings:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=mary+ann+penashue&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjypta52brcAhVHxoMKHRRCDMoQ_AUICigB&biw=1532&bih=764
I'm almost certain there is a global company that makes at least 50% of the crap that is found in souvenir shops around the world. No matter where I go, I seem to find the same crap with the only difference being a local variation be it the name or an image of a plant or animal. My son used to ask for wooden slingshots that have an animal face glued to it until I pointed out that the same bear in Yosemite was in Banff and the Grand Canyon. Meanwhile my niece still collects wooden pocket knives with the name of the place she visited etched in the case. Not to mention that most souvenir shops in a particular area all have the same "hand-crafted" items regardless of which store you enter.
It's just one very specific thing, but an image and example that really sticks in my mind about how insane this has gotten is the bridge in Paris with the "love locks". The city had to take them all down a few years ago because the sheer weight from all of them was destroying the bridge and was potentially dangerous with almost 50 tons of locks. I've seen estimates of over a million keys having been thrown into the river as part of it as well.
Over the course of about 4 years, the bridge went from this (2010): https://myparttimeparislife.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/locks-images2.jpg
To this (2014): https://myparttimeparislife.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/locks3.jpg
I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica. The little town of Quepos has a population of under 25,000 people but sees close to half a million tourists come through to see Manuel Antonio National Park. It was truly an awesome place to see the plants and animals, but it was also very sad to see how much the tourism has overtaken the place. Almost every building on the main road is a hotel, gift shop, bar/restaurant or a combo of all 3. Although Spanish is the natural language, most locals know English in order to make a living. One of the locals that I was talking with was telling me he grew up in what was a fishing village, but the tourism completely changed everything. Now his town is filled with hotels, and beachside condos for foreigners who want to surf, party or just retire in paradise.