A look at the chaos of ‘overtourism’ in the summer of 2024

[aurora]

Aug 21, 2024 8:49:00 GMT -5 wildrice said:

...
And also eliminate cruise ships. I know in a place like Alaska is difficult to visit without them, but most places you're going to get a better experience by visiting on your own anyway. Being somewhere for only a few hours while it is jam packed with other cruise passengers sounds like the worst way to travel IMO.

You're definitely going to have a better experience in Alaska without being on a cruise ship, too. There are roads and places to visit without the insane overcrowding of the tourist ports, and if you want to go to one of the locations that is not accessible by road there is an excellent state ferry system. Bonus: more of your money benefits Alaska and Alaskans and less the major your boat operators!

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2024 9:05:44 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

This is on my mind often. Is there such thing as responsible travel/tourism? Considering the environmental and economic & cultural implications of traveling…is it possible to do it truly responsibly? Or is it all self-serving at a cost to the earth and others?

Seeing new places and experiencing other cultures has definite benefits…but that always comes at a cost. Where’s the balance?

I think about this a lot. Ultimately it’s a balance between learning and appreciating other cultures and natural environments, and the damage we do when we travel. When my family travels we try to be mindful of this balance, but we don’t always hit the mark. So yeah, it’s really easy to cross over into self-serving even when you mean well. The discussions we’ve had in this board have definitely changed the way I think about travel and the way I want to travel going forward (and how much I’ll travel) but there are so many people who don’t give a damn, it’s hard to feel like it will make a difference.

[aurora]

Aug 21, 2024 9:05:44 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

This is on my mind often. Is there such thing as responsible travel/tourism? Considering the environmental and economic & cultural implications of traveling…is it possible to do it truly responsibly? Or is it all self-serving at a cost to the earth and others?

Seeing new places and experiencing other cultures has definite benefits…but that always comes at a cost. Where’s the balance?

I also think about this a lot. We love to travel and experiencing new cultures has shaped our worldview, but I know there are also plenty of negative impacts.

[wildrice]

Aug 21, 2024 9:11:09 GMT -5 aurora said:

Aug 21, 2024 8:49:00 GMT -5 wildrice said:

...
And also eliminate cruise ships. I know in a place like Alaska is difficult to visit without them, but most places you're going to get a better experience by visiting on your own anyway. Being somewhere for only a few hours while it is jam packed with other cruise passengers sounds like the worst way to travel IMO.

You're definitely going to have a better experience in Alaska without being on a cruise ship, too. There are roads and places to visit without the insane overcrowding of the tourist ports, and if you want to go to one of the locations that is not accessible by road there is an excellent state ferry system. Bonus: more of your money benefits Alaska and Alaskans and less the major your boat operators!

That's good to know - it's definitely somewhere on my someday list but we are not cruise people.  I only ever really hear about people doing cruises there though! 

[pixy0stix]

Honestly I don't have an inkling on how to fix this. Part of the problem isn't even a problem, it's a good thing for the world. More people from more countries have the ability to travel. Which means that globally more people have expendable wealth and aren't locked down to just their localities. (Although most of the tourists are from the same old culprits - US/UK/China [old source from 2019 - www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jul/01/global-tourism-hits-record-highs-but-who-goes-where-on-holiday ].)

I also don't know how to limit travel to places that doesn't favor the people that have wealth, which has always been an issue of inequality regarding traveling.

BUT there's just so much damage being done and people don't give a shit. I used to go to the Rocky Mountain National Park several times a year with my family. It's in my backyard and easy to access. We stopped going many years ago because there were too many people. I realized that I, personally, needed to stop going when I was up above timberline and saw many family groups having picnics on the protected tundra. Complete with dogs shitting and no one picking it up. I about lost my damn mind. (And this is where I pause to ask, are we sure the Brits are the worst? LOL!)

I also feel like it's a problem when people are traveling to find hidden gems away from the other tourists. Because for damn sure those people in those places don't have the infrastructure to deal with an influx of tourists.

So in conclusion, I don't know.

[wise_rita]

Aug 21, 2024 3:49:51 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Aug 21, 2024 3:11:08 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I will say that British tourists can be some of the worst - especially in Spain. They come in and expect to have everything like in England but with sun and sand - and because there are so many of them coming, it's killed the local vibe/restaurants. You can get your £1.50 pint of shit beer and £5 English Breakfast...but hard to find really good Spanish food. Ugh.

I just have to laugh because at a beach hotel this summer there was this big group of British tourists and they had a screaming match at the breakfast buffet area. It is funny to hear people scream and curse but in a posh English accent.

I bet infinity dollars those accents were anything but posh, LOL.

[lolalolalola]

Aug 19, 2024 16:42:19 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

apnews.com/article/anti-tourism-barcelona-summer-travel-airbnb-df764ed1c7009fdbbf5a32eaedc6ffd5

I think it’s so interesting how short sighted we are as a species. The IMO made ships use scrubbers to reduce air pollution but the scrubbers increase water pollution. Was there an informed decision made for the trade off or was this an unintended consequence

[aurora]

Aug 21, 2024 9:37:17 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Aug 21, 2024 9:11:09 GMT -5 aurora said:

You're definitely going to have a better experience in Alaska without being on a cruise ship, too. There are roads and places to visit without the insane overcrowding of the tourist ports, and if you want to go to one of the locations that is not accessible by road there is an excellent state ferry system. Bonus: more of your money benefits Alaska and Alaskans and less the major your boat operators!

That's good to know - it's definitely somewhere on my someday list but we are not cruise people.  I only ever really hear about people doing cruises there though! 

I have family in Alaska and have been all over. The places that I've been that have cruise ship ports I never want to visit when a ship is in port, even if it means going elsewhere if I can't avoid the timing. If you're not a cruise person you'll probably feel the same!

[Velar Fricative]

Aug 21, 2024 9:05:44 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

This is on my mind often. Is there such thing as responsible travel/tourism? Considering the environmental and economic & cultural implications of traveling…is it possible to do it truly responsibly? Or is it all self-serving at a cost to the earth and others?

Seeing new places and experiencing other cultures has definite benefits…but that always comes at a cost. Where’s the balance?

I think about this a lot now. With the pandemic emergency over and my general desire to see the world in this short life I have, it’s tough to think about that while also knowing the world is falling apart too and we are all responsible for that in some way. I don’t have any good answers to this.

[sonrisa]

I feel like the extreme MAGA fear of SF has been good for us. Stay away or the liberals might sell you to a migrant groomer!

The main time I feel the increase are times like Pride. We mostly just do the Trans March because everything else is so crazy crowded, but that is such a positive affirming space that I want anyone who needs it to come.

[mrsukyankee]

I have gone a few times to Lisbon and we knew that the times to avoid most of the big sites are between 10am and 2pm, which is when the cruise people would go on tours or walk off the boat to wander on their own. We'd go to the places most tourists didn't know about - the smaller sites or areas outside of typical tours. I can see how people living in Lisbon would hate it as it does get insane around those hours. I'm happy that London can't be reached by big cruise ships.

[EvieEthelGarland]

Aug 21, 2024 9:37:17 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Aug 21, 2024 9:11:09 GMT -5 aurora said:

You're definitely going to have a better experience in Alaska without being on a cruise ship, too. There are roads and places to visit without the insane overcrowding of the tourist ports, and if you want to go to one of the locations that is not accessible by road there is an excellent state ferry system. Bonus: more of your money benefits Alaska and Alaskans and less the major your boat operators!

That's good to know - it's definitely somewhere on my someday list but we are not cruise people.  I only ever really hear about people doing cruises there though! 

I went in May with my teen and we had the best time roadtripping to Denali and Seward.  The cruise companies run a  lot of hotels and restaurants so I had to be mindful when planning to avoid them. In one town, a Princess resort was the only option to eat breakfast and the food was ok but the vibe was awful, and that was in the preseason. I couldn't imagine it even two weeks later. 

[pixy0stix]

Tap water in Spanish tourist hot spot is now too salty to drink - www.cnn.com/2024/08/27/climate/spain-costa-blanca-salty-water-drought?Date=20240827&Profile=cnn&utm_content=1724778624&utm_medium=social&utm_source=threads