Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism
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- Опубліковано 15 лип 2018
- A powerful short documentary exploring Overtourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts.
Overtourism occurs when there are too many visitors to a particular destination. When rent prices push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals, when narrow roads become jammed with tourist vehicles, when tourists cannot view landmarks because of the crowds - these are all signs of overtourism.
And it is the backlash from local residents that has made overtourism news. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik, and places once thought of as remote such as Iceland and Skye have suffered firsthand, and the protests by local residents have spread.
There has been decades of virtually uncontrolled growth, and it has crossed a threshold: in many destinations, tourism now demonstrably creates more problems than benefits. Learn more on Responsible Travel at:
responsibletravel.com/copy/overtourism
I’m from Portugal, I am getting a degree in tourism management and we talk about this issue very often. In the beginning it was cute and helpful for the economy but then people started to move here, justifying it with the country being cheap…which it might be if you earn the same salary as someone from the Nordic countries or something like that. Needless to say that our minimum salary doesn’t even compare, we are one of the EU countries that has the lowest salary. This phenomenon has raised prices in every single thing, including the housing market. Sadly, the country is not ours anymore. It’s basically for the rich people
yes thats happens all in the EU poor countries..in my homeland,germans,and holland buying houses,boosting the prices up,so the local ppl cant afford
Tell me about it, Spain belongs to rich people who have been buying the big cities piece by piece.
Não é só isso, o centro histórico no Porto agora é puramente para lojas e restaurantes e alojamento local empurrando o povo para uma periferia de cimento feia. A rua da Almada antes era onde tu ias se quisesses as coisas mais específicas de construção/bricolage e decoração, agora são restaurantes e alojamentos. Um português passa o ano a lutar pela a sua vida, pagar a casa num empréstimo com prestações até tu morreres, impostos despesas, não pode ir a esses restaurantes regularmente. É como um amigo meu disse uma vez, Portugal é o melhor lugar do mundo para viver exceto para os portugueses. Claro que o turismo deve ser a única coisa que funciona neste país vale o que vale e antes do turismo o Porto era um lugar lúgubre.
OURS??!!!dera we live in the same PLANET and WE cannot get out of here ...theres no such rhing as OUR!
Madonna went to Portugal, now so many closets queens want to live in Lisbon.
Airbnb is a huge, global problem.
When the company went public on wall street,
Responsibly was omitted from the prospect.
I disagree. Most people on Airbnb do not make money. There are some specific location where Airbnb creates a problem, but not everywhere. If the owner does not make any money they have to rent the property out long term at a fair local price.
@@Originalman144 Total rubbish. It is a well know fact that AirBNB landlords can make 6 to 10 times the amount renting whole homes on short lets. Unlike other landlords there is no regulations for safety in AirBnB properties - nor do they have to register with a local authority or get planning permission, which is why so many AirBNBs are not private houses but investment properties managed by companies employing poorly paid workers,
@@flower-ss2jt Can you read English? I said “most people on Airbnb” this means only a small amount of listings generate significant revenue. Many many properties go vacant. I have friends who work for the company. I know exactly what I am talking about.
@@ildar5184 Exactly right. These people are just looking for someone to blame and have no clue about how a property market works.
The local councils could start in Cornwall, for example, by banning access for cars, particularly these status seeking SUVs, in the tiny towns and villages. That would immediately reduce the amount of people even interested in visiting.
I visited Venice in 2009. It was so sad. We arrived and it was understandably busy. That poor city had no soul left at all. It felt flogged. Then after two days of being able to walk amongst the busy streets of tourist shops and restaurants, an ENORMOUS cruise ship arrived. Nothing could had prepared us for that level of overcrowding on the streets. It was overwhelming, frightening, and heartbreaking. We were all part of the problem. RIP Venice.
The vast amount of people visiting Venice are on cruise ships. They dont even stay a night. Just come in, trash the city and leave.
Nobody even live in venice except the ultra rich, they all live across the water
@@pandaangry1267 I was fortunate that I visited Venice on an overnight train from Germany. I stayed at a fairly cheap B&B near the train station and it was fine, but that was not during the time of the cruise ships. I think it was in the spring or the autumn around six years ago.
@@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 thats the best way to see venice especially during spring or fall. During the summer it gets so crowded you can barely walk. I stayed 3 nights in a small hostel on a canal in the fall and had a blast. The city is largely empty but lively enough to be entertaining.
I visited Venice this June, the cruise ships are banned and the city comes alive in the evening after the day trippers have left. We listened to Vivaldi in the church built for his musical performances, and walked the canals in the twilight.
The spirit is alive but tourism has always been a part of Venice for over 100 years.
I’m so glad you mentioned the Isle of Skye in this video - I’m Scottish and my father works as a driver for luxury tours. Every. Single. Tour group. That he has. Goes to Skye. It doesn’t matter their age, their background, their interest in Scotland as a whole (and a lot of them ARENT even interested in the country, they just want to check it off some imaginary list) everybody who comes to Scotland now goes to Skye. This is an island with one road on and off to the mainland, and the majority of the roads are single track with passing places. Tourists barely know how to drive on our side of the road, let alone what to do when meeting oncoming traffic. They park in the passing places (which is illegal), they litter human waste out of their motorhomes, every single accommodation is fully booked, the locals can hardly get food in the one big supermarket on the island, and a fish supper costs £18. What does our genius government do? Propose building an airport on the island! Against local wishes! The place is supposed to be a remote and rural Scottish island, and it has turned into a theme park.
That's a damn shame, I visited Skye around 25 years ago now and it was a lovely, picturesque place for a nice quiet walk, I even remember finding a first issue of the then new simpsons comic in a local newsagents, something that's clearly stuck with me for some reason 😅.
Yep, as an ex-tour driver I can only agree. The difference from 10yrs ago is remarkable. The island has been destroyed in my eyes and, as a resident of Edinburgh, my home town is a nightmare for 9 months of the year.
Bloody stupid wanting to ruin sly by building an sit port there its I
Only a small place
@@_9426if the economic interests collide and hurt those living there then they aren’t worth it.
I live in Miami, and I perfectly understand the government making adverse without a care of what the locals think or how negatively their decisions impacts them.
Too many places where people actually live have been Airbnb’d to death. It is happening to my own hometown.
My town only allows 2 Airbnb’s per entity - I.e. a business, a core family, etc. no limit on days
this is happening here in Colombia, it is being filled with airbnbs and gentrification
totally agree. Happening in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city is being strangled to death by them.
I heard about how much joy and peace some areas of Japan experienced during covid due to the lack of crowding and tourism, it is sincerely depressing
It definitely is 😢. But they also are now in deep financial trouble because of how long ban on tourism lasted in Japan. Their government is negligent in trying to help local population growth and instead relies on tourism to supplement low birth rates in Japan. I definitely don’t think there shouldn’t be any tourists ever. (I meet groups of them in my town and for the most part they are ok) but there should be some limits on this.
Edit to add: basically it’s very complicated issue that definitely needs some good solutions to balance things out more, but complete bans aren’t an answer either.
It felt better in non-crowded places too. It’s just nicer to have the resources without the crowds, but unrealistic.
You could do a repeat of this documentary today. The industry has worsened now that Covid & the restrictions are over. I live in a beautiful little town with exceptional natural beauty. However, it is so overrun with tourists that you don’t want to go out of your yard. Shopping for groceries is a trial, driving is insane, parking is impossible, the hiking trails are littered, lakes are ‘wall to wall’ with visitors. What used to be a welcomed industry has become one we dread, grit our teeth and put up with. 🇨🇦
You must be in Banff!
Add mass invasion migration into European countries on top of the tourism!
Totally agree. It would be interesting to see how COVID and also the Ukrainian-Russian war affected the economy which also affected trousim.
@heavensmountains323 I hear you. I live on a small island that used to be virtually unknown but for the past ten or so years has been aggressively marketed to tourists and is now completely overrun in the summers. On top of all the issues you mention, the influx of tourists threatens our already tenuous fresh water supply.
In the country I am originally from the authorities pushing more and more the tourism as they claim that it is 17% of the economy bringing billions in the budget and same time a lot of jobs and helping local suppliers.
I’m Italian and I have lived in Pisa for 12 years. It pains me a lot to see how people treat my town. There is even a series of Chinese couples organizing fake weddings in front of the cathedral every year. With no permission from the municipality.
Same thing in Lucca, Airbnb pushing out locals.
I would ruin their fake wedding if i knew when it would happen, just need riped tomatoes
I assume they are taking wedding pictures, what do you mean fake weddings?
If You do that they will slap your face@@sotch2271
@@gringopapi6985Airbnb should be got rid of
You can see this on a smaller scale in America too. My hometown is (was) a quaint Pennsylvania Dutch community with a small but thriving tourism market. Then after inflation started getting worse, all the retirees and others from nearby NYC decided they all wanted to move to my hometown to enjoy its cheaper cost of living. Well guess what. It’s not cheap anymore and fewer and fewer people are actually locals each year. I can barely afford my rent anymore.
American here. I live in Idaho, which has been at the top of "best places to live" lists for the last 6 years. Our infrastructure cannot keep up. People moving here bought up the homes (median price was at $650,000) and rentals became scarce and the prices are eye-watering. My rent doubled during the past year. Many locals can no longer afford to live here.
same in washington, I'm being priced out of my home. @@catbriggs8362
That's gentrification. Hardly the same.
My fave quote on tourism from David Foster Wallace:
“It is to spoil, by way of sheer ontology, the very unspoiledness you are there to experience, It is to impose yourself on places that in all non-economic ways would be better, realer, without you.”
That's a bit of a harsh quote. Mass tourism isn't always an issue. Let's take the Valle dei Templi for example in Sicily. If archeologists didn't take an interest it wouldn't have gotten excavated, if tourists didn't care it wouldn't have gotten protected and funded. You might argue that it's better unspoiled, but who would be there to make that statement and appreciate its unspoildness when it's covered under layers of sand. Mass tourism is only an issue if it's at the wrong place and the wrong time and not managed.
This is happening here in the states as well. I live near a national park and MILLIONS of people come through our town every year. It's such a massive strain that locals are becoming very verbal about not wanting any more tourists. Residents are leaving every day.
Sadly, the fact that these locals are leaving is also part of the problem. It is up to the locals to come together and fight back, not pack up and leave. To say to those running the town that they need to do something to protect their own residents - that it's about more than the almighty dollar, it's also about a quality of life. To tell them that for every dollar these tourists bring to the local economy, there is also something they take away from the community of the town, and that maybe that balance is being skewed too far away from what the residents' own desires are for the place they call home.
I believe there is one country called Bhutan where they limit tourism
Actually the National parks are limiting how many passes are allowed per day. So that’s helping. This also isn’t even comparable to a lot of places around the globe. Americans are among the worst, we have more disposable income and travel more than any other country. Plus Americans are obnoxious when travelling, they are infamous for their rude behaviour. It will take a lot of education to help fix this.
@@greensorrel6860 Others do also like Venice, Italy has taken some measures at least about the giant cruise ships. Netherlands has pretty strict controls on Airbnb's to limit the negative effects of absentee owners and destruction of real neighbors into mini hotel ( aka short term rentals ) zones.
@@jonathanhaye2953
I understand that Montana has been invaded! I’m sure the TV series Yellowstone has also added additional invasion of people! So sorry to hear this pristine land is being taken over by wannabes!
The most crowded tourist spots I’ve ever been to were the Trevi fountain in Rome, The David in Florence and The Vatican Museum. I’ve traveled all over the world and Italy was definitely the most overcrowded feeling.
I was in Rome and Florence 2 months ago. It might be weary hard for locals to live in such chaos. At the same time being a tourist is also a hard experience. Robbers, unfair Airbnb owners, high prices for literally everything, scammers, crowds, overcrowded airports. World just have to slow down.
Trevi fountain is just beautiful and at the same time a sad experience. Extremely awesome fountain and one big pile of people and rubbish around. There have to be limits, I have no problem waiting 3-4 years to see that place in peace
I live in Florence, and one of the cities where I work more often is Venice: let me say that it is becoming unbearable... Overtourism boomed again in 2022 and 2023: a literal flood. I can't even walk or bike to my workplaces in the city centre: it's too crowded... It takes me more time to cross a couple of squares in the historical centre than what it takes me to arrive there from the periphery.
At least the people that are staying in the rentals are eating in the city where they are visiting. I think cruise ships are the absolute worst because the people are truly there to go off and gawk and then go back to chow down on on the ship. The ports should charge a hefty fee for these monstrosities!
Not only that, but these massive cruise shits sit in the harbor and absolutely destroy any nice views or charm the port town has.
Thing is, they DO spend a lot on shore excursions and shopping. Not all ports appreciate them, but they are a big part of the local economy at smaller ports.
Yes that's a good start
I worked in Barcelona last summer and that is definitely a city with an Overtourism problem. It was saturated with people and combined with the heat it was intolerable. And the prices were a joke, for local people I really sympathise with being priced out of their own neighbourhoods.
Indeed I spent two weeks in Croatia this summer and the locals said prices may seem cheap to tourist from western countries but for them they went up at least 30%. These are agendas courtesy of the NWO tyrants running the show.
Agreed. Hated Barcelona and hated the fact my presence was contributing to this problem. Would never go back
backpacked through europe and hated barcelona the most. idk what it is about barca but the tourists are particularly annoying and vicious there, i saw americans fight over chairs in the food market for their toddlers to sit on them, crazy imo. not saying toddlers don't deserve chairs at all but coming all the way to barcelona with 2 year olds and trying to have a "culinary experience" with them only to fight over seating with another crazy bastard... just always stayed with me lol
@@sdrawkcabUK What was so wrong about the city itself? "Hate" is a strong word.You're not trying to get clicks on a thumbnail here.
@@martinc.720 It was fine, just very overrated. A few semi-interesting Gaudi building - ok, great. Rest of the town is really dull and meh.
I come from Lisbon, Portugal. There's so many tourists, sometimes I feel like a figurine in a postcard. An unnamed character in a tableau vivant for tourists to enjoy.
Totally. In Alfama it seems like a zoo
Lisbon has become a sh*thole. God's wrath comes under the form of G7 and G8 visas as well as zoomers vacationing.
I used to live in Lisbon in 2010-2011. The town I remember doesn't exist anymore 😢
Do you. Come across a lot of Israelis? I know a lot are moving there ( I live in Israel)
@@tanyajacobs9974 One or two, yes. Nice people
Overtourism also makes a place more dangerous. Lots of people crammed into a place with the mentality that they can switch off, have fun, be self indulgent, get drunk, get hyper and excitable and that everything around them exists merely for them and their entertainment...I'm sure this lethal concoction has already lead to many tragic events and horrible accidents. From personal experience of living in an overhyped tourist area, the sound of emergency sirens are heard constantly all day and all night! 'paradise'!
That's a really good point. Reading your comment, I thought this must be a dream come true for pickpockets.
My sister and I did all our traveling 20 to 30 years ago. Tourist venues were not crowded; on a rainy day there might only be a handful to see a castle in the UK. We did several European river cruises on small boats, and tour groups were less than 20 and could visit local establishments that served local residents. Our trips were affordable by schoolteachers and retirees on a budget. Now Viking has taken over the European rivers with their floating resorts, and prices are double and triple what they were. I cannot imagine how anyplace worth visiting can accommodate thousands of cruise ship passengers all at once! These places lose their authenticity and become artificial entertainment for the hordes of visitors.
I agree with everything you say. The last time we went on holiday was 2019, on a cruise ship with over 3,000 passengers, stopping at ports with other massive cruise ships too. You literally couldn’t move for crowds of people, and then on sea days, there was fights for deck space and sun beds, with some people resorting to fist fights. Absolutely horrendous.
How ironic that an organisation that sails up the rivers & coasts, disgorging hordes of foreigners and affect the local residents... is called Viking.
You enjoyed your time when only westerners were rich, now other countries are catching up hence living middle class lifestyle
@@Nastasiati I enjoyed my cruises, not because I was rich, but when they were affordable. The boats were small and basic, comfortable but not elegant. Their purpose was for transportation to each port, not floating resorts. Those are hard to find now!
Cruise ship for me is nothing else but sailing shopping malls and party dismay land. I can't understand how anyone can enjoy this.
Some tourists are really rude and don't want locals telling them how to behave: in a picturesque Scottish village one resident couldn't stop people peering in her window - she tried and they disregarded her. The same when tourists ignore signs to keep off the grounds near an ancient monument: "no, I'm having my holiday and you're not going to tell me what to do".
I live near a holiday destination that gets horribly crowded- I avoid it at times and sometimes can avoid the crowds by walking a parallel street from the main thoroughfare, or go to a different beach or natural park nearby.
Funny they're probably American, but if it was America and somebody peered into their window, they would've blown their head off with a shotgun in .2 seconds.
Agreed, i think it's a minority but they are verry noticeble .I live near Paris have to take the train to work and the number of time when a tourist rudely ask direction( like, not a Hello or excuse me) is , to much...Ufortunatly when you are tired or respond fast because you dont want to miss a train , they usuly (i guess) remember you as a disrespectfull personne even if they where the rude ones...
@melo.art._ I think if I lived in France, I would just pretend I didn't speak English!
I live in Sydney Australia and have gotten tired of rude tourists. Some are nice, but I no longer offer to help.
@@elipotter369probably best but they are even ruder to the one that don’t speak English, my friend doesn’t for exemple and when she encounters rude tourist she always have a hard time to make them understand she does not speak English…I guess I am not patient enough to tried to make them go away
@@melo.art._ Oh no! Generally, if I see them, I just try to keep a distance away from them, but that can be hard to do sometimes.
I work at a small North American golf course, and people act equally badly: drunkenness, obnoxiousness, litter of all sorts including disgusting personal hygiene items, failure to use proper restrooms! The disrespect for staff and the work they do is unconscionable. I can't even imagine having tourists trampling through my front gardens, photographing my house, or me living my daily life. I stopped cruising several years ago because I couldn't enjoy my holidays in the company of gluttonous, wasteful, slobs. Thank heavens I can enjoy stay-cations in obscurity.
Gluttonous, wasteful slobs. I couldn’t have said it better. I love to travel, but I hate tourists. I stay far off the beaten tourist path, respect the local culture and try to be a good ambassador.
The bathroom thing is a worldwide problem, like littering. Kids and adults using nature as their toilet and leaving the paper and wipes on the ground. Truly disgusting and it almost ruined my trip to New Zealand. You can’t un see it.
Such disrespect.
Yeah, they're called New Yorkers and they're doing the same thing to South Florida and Nantucket Island.
@@garneauweld1100try most of Florida now and they have moved and run for political office in my home state of Vermont and it has sad consequences. I find they see a beautiful place and immediately set about ruining it
@@garneauweld1100 Have you traveled much because not just "New Yorkers" lived in the LA area and the litter along the I-10 is horrible. Now in London and certain areas also have way too much litter. There is a better way just check out Dutch cities.
“Losing people, losing inhabitants, means losing the character of the city...” :(
true. you go to a public sqaure in a European city and not a single native in sight
What like London!
Yeah i was going to say like London, or Bradford are no longer British. These are the benefits of multiculturalism we are told.
...or a country
And culutral enrichment destroys the last bits of uniqueness.
I've lived by the Great Smoky Mountains national park my whole life. 43 years. It's changed so much and now we have millions and millions of visitors. It's destroying the park, the roads and pricing local residents out of rental homes.
Same here in Wales, U.K near a National Park. I still live at home in my mid 30s because residential rentals might as well as be non-existent, and I can't afford to buy a decent place. I have to compete with people who want a holiday home, or who want to buy a 2 bedroom cottage to run as a business.
Rentals are sky high everywhere now.
Well said. I know especially when travel restrictions were in place in the U.K., the national parks in Wales, the Lake District etc. were absolutely trashed with litter and ruined with tens of thousands of people descending upon them. There are just too many people in this massively overcrowded country.@@CeridwenHafMorys
Yes this is happening to many American towns when people from other countries are saying Americans are annoying they are only seeing a selective sunset of our population
@@CeridwenHafMorystry Florida not only have air bnbs ruined local residential communities but they are massive building cookie cutter home’s developments where hedge funds are buying to charge large rents so less opportunity for locals to buy homes
Personally it’s the lack of culture awareness and the internet specifically social media. You see pretty pictures and articles backing it up, then you just go not understanding the culture and not caring. The more places you go the more wealthy and cool you look, and all you have in mind is how cool it is I’m at this place and i can show off. But we don’t care about the locals and the care of others, i traveled for the first time ever outside the US to Amsterdam, and I was overwhelmed with how many souvenirs shops, tourists, and just lack of caring was all around me. There was trash everywhere, people taking sooooo many photos, almost getting hit by bikes, it made me mad, I was just not prepared. I’m glad i learned but am so burdened
My town is Salem, Massachusetts. The whole month of October is becoming more and more crowded every year. When you’re a local you cannot eat in a restaurant during the autumn. Bumper to bumper traffic especially weekends. We all breathe a sigh of relief on November first.
You're so right about salem. I lived a bit north of there and even then the amount of tourists made it so that the commute home was always noticeably longer in october
im surprised salem is that popular in tourism. do they visit salem for the witch hunts it's know for?
Not to mention the sheer amount of leaf peepers from nyc who flood NE in the autumn
Tbh I plan to check out Salem one day but no way in hell will I do it in October.
I would love a follow up video about supposed solutions to this problem. It's easy to see what overtourism and the consequences of it. I live in Amsterdam and the local government has been trying for at least 5 years now to fight overtourism. Suddenly the municipality voted to remove the huge "I Amsterdam" letters; the campaign to promote tourism was deemed too successful. So far, they have tried limiting AirBnB, refusing permission for new tourism shops in certain areas, closing down windows in the red light district, introducing alcohol bans and drug use bans in certain areas, trying to promote other areas in Amsterdam and the Netherlands to tourists to spread out the crowds and even a campaign specifically targeted at British stag and hen parties to please stay away. They are even proposing to move the red light district completely out of the city center. It's very interesting to see in the coming years if any of this has any effect.
This video should go viral! Look at what is happening to Himalaya. It used to be so pristine and now it's getting destroyed by overtourism.
Pari if you can’t rent a kayak on Everest yet, it’s not too late #keephopealive
ikr
Mt Everest looks like a landfill.
Its not just rubbish, human carcases are everywhere after the death point. Google rainbow valley if you’re interested, its really morbid.
Himalays except Everest and Indian part is mostly untouched
I could not afford foreign travel until I retired, which, unfortunately, coincides with this era of overtourism. I make a point of going in the early spring or mid- to late fall to avoid the crowds and the hot weather. I also visit the less touristy places, so I can avoid the souvenir shops and see what the country is really like. It means I don't see the most popular tourist attractions, but I don't mind. I'm not there for those. I also studied two other languages and know enough to get around, and I make it a point to learn as much as I can about the customs before I go. I am saddened by this surge of tourism and I'm glad to avoid it.
Very wise!! That’s my plan too….👍
You are a decent tourist!
I left international tourism because I could not stand to see the negative impact tourism creates on local communities. I have tried to discuss these issue with friends who still work in the industry,but all I got was intense backlash. I still get newsletters and posts from within the industry and there are no breaks on any of it
I don't think it's a simple yes or no question though. I'm not gonna stop traveling, and it would be pretty insane for me to tell other people to do so. People are made to be explorers, so I get that people want to travel. The problem imo is in locations regulating the industry. Large cruise ships should be banned from certain areas, for example. Personally, I try to travel outside of the high seasons, and to less visited places. There are also places that would die without tourism, when it's the main income of the population. The point is to find balance. So travel agencies should be mindful of the issues, inform the tourists what they should & shouldn't do etc. People are going to travel regardless, so leaving the tourism industry won't be the solution. Changing it could be.
While I didn't live in as extreme of situations, a lot of what the interviewed people said hit close to home for me. I grew up in a very popular ski resort town. One with so little space to build, yet too many people buying up the property. So many people who work there have to like 30 to 60 minutes outside the town. Grocery store shelves are empty, prices are high, and the closes cities are at least 2 hours away. It is isolating and after a while you feel like some kind of jester or prop when you find yourself working at a tourist trap. Local traditions become some novelty for visitors and have lost meaning to lots of locals. After 23 years of growing up there I finally left and I hope I never move back. It feels so hostile when you are on the poor end of town that is a food desert with no sidewalks and unreliable transportation. You feel like you aren't there to live as a person
I know it is sad and an experience of many small unique American areas as well
Well said. So may tourists seem oblivious to the fact that they're visiting someone's home. If people want novelty and jesters they should go to places like Disneyland.
Its because you were never accounted for in the design of the city, by the officials, by the businesses, money was followed instead
@@sotch2271 I know, and that's the problem, how the fuck do they expect to make money when no one is able to work for them anymore
I went to Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan and got so fed up with how many people there were I left within like an hour. I then ended up by a river with hardly any people and a lovely peaceful beautiful shrine just from walking around a little and since then I'm trying to travel to more hidden gems, rather than well known places filled with people. Searching for these places is so much fun as well.
Same here
Hi Owlabi! I'm a producer at AJ Stream, a live discussion show, and next week we are covering the issue of over-tourism around the world. We'd really appreciate it if you could contribute your experience and perspective in the show. Let me know what you think! Thank you
You have gone since the liberalization of visas to East and Southeast Asian nations. If you went to the Fushimi Inari 5 years ago, you would have been the only one.
Exact same thing happened to me
Owlabi Mexico has A LOT of virgin hidden paradises:
-Huasteca(waterfalls and a palace in the middle of the jungle)
-Real de Catorce (ghost town where indigenous Mexicans have Peyote rituals in the middle of the desert)
-Cabañas Monterreal: skying resort with Aspen like hotels but very cheap.
-Xcaret:... etc
I love camping, every summer I would take my kids camping. We could show up at a park and get a site easily. Ever since Covid, people who never camped before have taken up camping. To get a site you have to go online the moment booking for the next year opens and within minutes all the sites are booked. When you do get out camping, people aren't following camp etiquette. Leaving trash behind, playing loud music late into the night and overcrowding the amenities.
The online thing has been really hard to watch. Because online lets you plan things out in advance, places started filling up in advance, and now you HAVE to plan things out in advance in order to go. For those of us who struggle with advance planning for one reason or another, this is very exclusionary. I'm glad to just stay close to home, but it's hard for my kids, especially my daughter, who would love to do camps or activities in the summer, but I don't feel comfortable signing up for things six months in advance.
@sudo3870 to get to those it requires traveling over 4hrs drive North and that increases costs and is more difficult.
I feel the same way, my family used to go camping all the time but after covid, it seems like everyone is camping like it’s some new fad. I’m all for people trying new things and having fun but like you said, most people doing it now are disrespectful and have no regard for “leaving it better than you found it”
Speaking someone who barely travel international or even nationally, even local spots have become incredibly crowded with no regards to etiquette and left a mess. It really more of a etiquette, population, and corporate or government problem.
Exactly it's the dumbing down of the majority of people but it's part of the plan. Indoctrination in slave school( aka public and most private schools) to make sure people stay in their "track".Follow orders and don't ask questions. Rude behavior is seen in the MSM even from so called leaders in the political theatre on the "news". Add to that celebrity CULTure and the rise of social media for a truly self centered, self absorbed culture with the MSM messages pushed on these "smart" phones in most peoples hands in most countries everyday it seems it will get worse since it's part of ongoing agendas.
Ok so it's a problem on all fronts?
Back in 2000 and 2008, before cell phones and Google maps was ubiquitous as today, I had positive experiences in Venice and London, where I'd pull out a giant map to find my way and a local would actually approach me and guide me part of the way. In Venice it was an old lady, very strong because everyone walks there, no cars. But even in 2008 I felt she was one of the few locals in a sea of tourists.
2019 and years prior: STOP VISITING PLACES AND TRAVELLING!!!
2020: Let me help with that...
2021, 2022: Nah we back homie, with greater masses than ever
@@tetee6789 Exactly, now people are more eager to travel because they were locked up.
I'm currently working summer season in a camp. I frequently hear guests complain how there are too many people and they want privacy when they go on holiday. To which I always think (but never say) that they probably left their brains on standby when they were booking their holiday because you can not miss the fact that they were going to a camp that can hold up to 5000 people at the peak of summer.
Unfortunately, with COVID restrictions being lifted now, everybody is going on extended holidays, but they somehow forgot their manners and dealing with people is getting more difficult. From littering, to wasteful behaviour (leaving windows open while AC is running) and daytime drinking.
I'm all for people traveling and democratisation of travel and holidays, but this has gotten very out of control. I fully support Venice and Barcelona imposing tourist restrictions. Cities need locals, and if those locals have nowhere to live, the city becomes a museum.
I went to Rome with my brother and it was my first "over-tourism' experience. Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum were almost unbearable due to the amount of people. The small streets were so crowded it was tough to enjoy any kind of natural, Roma, Italian ambiance.
But don't you think you were part of the problem? Or was it everyone else who was causing the crowding?
Exactly, we didn’t even go into the Vatican or colosseum and we were there in the shoulder season
This video is so well done and feels even more relevant half a decade from its posting-perhaps even moreso after the “post”-pandemic boom of travel.
I live in the West of Scotland. We experience specific problems because of "viral tourism". There is actually enough space, enough lochs, enough castles etc to accommodate everyone, but they all want to go to that one specific place they saw on Pinterest. So there are plenty of lovely places that they could go without having much impact, but instead they all go to that one specific place and crowd it out, park all over the road and cause a massive problem.
We live near a gorge location called the Devil's Pulpit, which has been used as a film location for e.g Outlander, Detective Pikachu and others. Everyone wants to go there. But there's no parking, and it's quite a dangerous climb. It has caused any amount of trouble. Meanwhile other places nearby, equally lovely and with better access, are empty.
This causes a lot of trouble in Skye, where everyone wants to go to the Fairy Pools. But Skye is huge and there are so many other places to go.
We were mindful of this when we visited Japan, and tried to go to places that were just slightly less well-trodden. You don't have to go to the #1 temple in Kyoto - go to the #2 or #3 or #15. They are all wonderful. And be respectful. In your behaviour, your attitude, your movements, your parking! Respect is the most important thing of all.
Unfortunately some places are just beyond a reasonable level of tourism. My parents visited Venice once and will not go back because "we had our turn". I would like to see it but will probably not go, because I would only do harm. It is not necessary for everybody to go everywhere.
For all these stated reasons I stopped traveling abroad well over a decade ago. Now I do "staycations" which I find less stressful/more enjoyable - and I love it. Also feel good about giving destination places and the locals their existence back.
I'm live in a tourist city, on the outskirts. During the pandemic, I do many staycation.
I'm still traveling abroad but whenever possible, I travel in April, and September. I visited Dead Valley in December, we saw 3 cars😅
I visited Egypt Sinai peninsula during end of September,2021, no big crowds or just no big crowds at all the temples because of all the extra COVID tests
@@gabriel7120Eh?...you have a crow problem?🤔
Beautiful response. Thank you. I do the same.
That only works if you don't live in a place that is either densely populated or struggles with mass tourism. If I stay in my own country and visit certain places, it is just too busy. If I go abroad I can escape the people.
You can still travel without bothering people, and instead of feeding tourism and resorts and planned vacations you can just, go to a place. There’s a lot of places in the world that you can visit that’s not bothering people, i mean there’s some places where it really is a huge part of income.
The irony is this issue sort of fixed itself in 2020.
Correct. BUT, things will eventually get back to whatever "normal" looks like once the pandemic is no longer. The internet has shrunken the planet like no other and plane travel won't disappear. What needs to change are people's habits. But on the other hand, you have countries like China and India with new "middle class" people who have money to spend and they want to travel. In a way, they are the new "Americans, " meaning they are leading the global travel industry in terms of growth and size that once was led by the U.S. No matter. The results are the same. A planet plundered in the name of self-gratification and with little care for its ecosystems.
The irony is this issue got worse because of 2020, with 2021 travels skyrocketing.
@@jameslatief1 That hasn't happened in Australia due to covid travel restrictions only just lifting this month
And now it’s back
Now its even worse.
The music in this video is very loud and distracting. You're trying to hear what the experts are saying but you can't hear them because of the background music.
In Italy we are fed up. This week in Florence, 11 German tourists vandalized the columns of the Vasariano Corridor near the Uffizi gallery with spray. 😠
I’ve lived in fuerteventura for 6 years, since I’ve been there I’ve seen the locals being priced out of accommodation, especially since the pandemic, locals are living in squats and breaking into holiday homes to live. There is also a desperate labour shortage now with many bars and restaurants unable to find staff, although most are unwilling to pay even the minimum wage or offer a legal contract. It’s reaching meltdown, it can’t continue
Where is Fuerteventura ?
Everything at this point needs to melted down, crushed, and broken, so tourists see how idiotic they were and we can rebuild. Tourists need to have the sense drop kicked into them. They need to have the shit scared out of them. They need to see what their stupid behaviour can lead to. I wish a country could say "no you can't come and we're taking your money to rebuild our economy, no refunds, sucks to suck."
@@Acteaoncanary islands
Is it the same all over the Canary Islands, what do you think?
Well sometimes a whole economic system need to collapse for change to happen
I was so fortunate to tour Europe before the crowds descended. I loved the local people we met. My best memories are of the people, not the places. Hard to believe now, but we didn't stand in lines. There were no guards around the Mona Lisa (well, one elderly guy), no barrier in front of the Eiffel Tower, and we visited every major attraction in 5 countries one summer. I cringe when I see my friends' vacation photos from Europe. It's so sad. The worst was Venice, with an enormous cruise ship towering over the harbor. Oh, and they waited 2 hours in line to spend less than one minute in front of the Mona Lisa--from 15 feet back behind a barricade--while being rushed through by guards. To me, scrambling through masses of tourists, invading the living space of local people...that's not nice. It's not a vacation. Just as they said here, it's trashing someone's home.
Yeah this is why i travel in off season or shoulder season to top destinations
I traveled all through Europe in the early 1970s and it was marvelous. My friend and I had all of these countries to ourselves. I remember seeing a back portion of a cathedral being rebuilt. It was still recovering from the bombardments during World War II. Isn’t that unbelievable?!
17:39 No.
It will never get better. What is destroyed is destroyed.
People who have been displaced, are not returning. Small shops, artists cannot afford flat. Once you destroy a district, it never comes bsck. It is gone, forever. You are dreamers.
It is the same in Kyoto as well where tourists are becoming an eyesore to the local culture in what is once considered as the flower capital of Japan. Less than 1 percent of tourist are respectful and understanding of their motives in many cases. Tourism is more than just mere sightseeing and photographing, but it should be an educational experience. Sadly this is not always the case.
Most of the English-speaking countries that have little to no local culture feed this over tourism. Millions of Americans, Canadians, Brits and others flock to other countries that have a unique local culture. You just have to look at Québec here. It is the one unique and interesting place in Canada and most of North America. Québec City is now overrun with tourists from the U.S. and the rest of Canada. Nobody goes to Toronto or most other big Canadian cities. There is nothing culturally unique about them.
I agree, there is a big difference between ‘tourists’ and ‘travelers’. Tourists often have no respect for the culture or for the people, nor do they care to do any research before flying off to a country. As a traveler for much of my life, I made a point of learning basic language skills before heading off. How grateful and supportive the natives were as I struggled through asking for something in their native language. And I was often invited into their homes to really get a feel for their lives. I also made a point of knowing basic cultural no-nos, which greatly helped me in Muslim countries. Tourists, especially in large groups seem so disrespectful of local culture, talking loudly in churches & mosques, cameras flashing away, even though signs forbid flashes, just total disrespect. I think it is a sign of the times, a sign of how much humanity has been lost, a sign of how ignorant some ppl are when they travel. Very sad indeed.
@@lzrd8460 True tourism is an educational experience rather than just mere sightseeing and photographing. It is about broadening one's own horizons by appreciating and respecting new cultures.
@@minombre5555 In Kyoto and Tokyo, it's 80% Chinese or SE Asian. They are loud, aggressive, push people around, and they spit in the streets.
@@jeremykwanhongkok4221Dont think you can NTS your way out of this, especially out of tourism. Other than obviously immoral reasons or intentions, its fine to visit where for whatever reason. Just have common decency.
From a purely selfish point of view, I’m happy that I went to Barcelona and Venice in the early 00s, when they were becoming more and more popular with tourists but were still nowhere near as ‘over-stuffed’ with them as they became pre-pandemic. I think both cities have been ‘old news’ for a while and I’d much rather go elsewhere.
Then again it’s a constant cycle. Cities like Sevilla, Porto, Cologne etc. which were previously described as ‘hidden gems’, have become more and more over-touristed as well.
My Aunt was there in the 1990s a lot. She said it was such a nice city to just walk around and relax, and in the winter it had a magical but creepy vibe. I have seen photos of the summers there, only a few people hanging out.
Now it's giant cruiseships which are a big Problem by themselves. And tourists who just want to check boxes on their list, mindlessly stumbling from one famous spot to another.
Which city?
hidden gem @byronbaybarrels
Good part of greece have a over tourism problem too, but they kinda need the moneu too
Intelligent, nuanced, informative, packed with interesting quotes from local residents and important conclusions. Thank you!
ŁUKASZ CIOCH & LCMedia.pl
You too thank you for your great comment.
This is heartbreaking because it is happening everywhere. So sad. I camp in the woods now because it is the only place to get away from the masses of irresponsible people.
This world has gone to shit!
Same. We prefer camping away from people. We live in a state with nice state parks and excellent weather. Overcrowded places make me anxious.
5 years later, Barcelona is even worse. It is hell. Tourists and AirBnb. Local residents moved to other areas.
Yes if you hike far enough that eliminates much of the tourist traffic
@@greensorrel6860 Agreed and that's because the masses are more and more sloth like every year. Out of shape, overweight and most out of touch with nature only want to take it in small dosed then back to the tour bus. Stay fit and healthy is the way forward cuz seems like the ride is going to get worse. My pet peeve is finding trash even miles out on trails in place like Kings Canyon national park in California.
Escapism is not a solution. That's why nothing changes
I go during off seasons or end of season when I go for travel. Summer is HOT, and humid, and too many people. I kind of blame schools for having summer breaks. But Since I go in May and October, I get to see the locals moreso and the lack of people makes it better
It’s heartbreaking to see many special places on earth are pushing locals away from their homes. I now travel only in shoulder season regardless of weather.
We have this exact same issue around Yallingup/Margaret River - Western Australia. It's beyond ridiculous. Every word in the Documentary is bang on.
The problem is the cruise ships spewing thousands and thousands of tourists into small ancient places like Venice. I had travelled there by train in 2017, and when the cruise ships unloaded, it was "Standing Room Only" on the island of Venice. The people serving were so over it. I dont blame them for their protests.
Apparently they've now limited ship size.
And they eat on the ship
Yes @@Lily4444 They ate on the ships and bought cheap, made in China "venetian glass".
Fortunately it's now banned to enter the main canal with a cruise ship. I have experienced it and it was cool but it was also absurd
I was in Amsterdam and asked a flower vendor for directions. He was extremely annoyed. I didn’t blame him.
Did you buy flowers?
Lots of beach towns and cities have Airbnb, however lots of homeless too. We live in a beach town and the growing alcoholism, pollution, locals being forced to move, expensive housing, and traffic jams. Hotels cant even hire enough help because of the capacity of all these people. We are beached out, starting to love vacation in the mountains, off season.
IMO - Years ago people took vacations to visit relatives or to eat at a scenic spot or to attend a reunion somewhere ordinary Toda, every vacation has to be worthy of a luxury travel magazine or professional media fashion layout.. Photos no longer represent what ordinary people look like during hours in the hot sun wearing wrinkled clothes, less than perfect makeup and holding tired, crying children . It's all about air brushed reality that screams, "Look at me. Look at what I did"
This is very helpful and much needed. I'm an anthropologist and teaching a university course on tourism. I really push the idea of ethical responsibility in tourism and everything else we do. Thank you for making this video!
Thank you so much for this eyesighting report. We all should start to travel with high respect for the environment and local culture. Regards from the Dolomiti mountains, Italy 🙏🏻
I just came back from a trip to Scotland and everything they say in this video is so true... Went to the isle of skye and there was barely place to walk in certain parts when their local population is 10000. Made the experience kind of feel fake...
It makes it feel so fake, it raises the question of why bother going to the destination instead of just looking at pictures of it.
Skye of all places??
I have never encountered worse weather in my life!
It’s not just tourism but mass migration in many of those European countries where the governments are deliberately dumping hoards and hoards of people from around the world to destroy the native cultures and people!
I hiked it 13 years ago in late September and loved it. Friendly locals, uncrowded, Scottish weather.
i feel like one of the main problems is that many people nowadays take traveling for granted. Vacations to other countries aren't "special" anymore, more so they've become something that people do regularly. For example, my father traveled to Morocco, then Senegal, and then Mali in his twenties and stayed there for almost a year, and to this day he still talks about that trip and remembers it fondly, because he made friends with locals, learned the language, and helped out in community projects when invited to do so. But with his more recent trips, which are becoming more and more frequent now that he's close to retiring, he talks about them for a week or so, and then never again. Recently I brought out a trip to south America he did with his best friend four years ago (they canoed on a river for three months) and he said "oh i completely forgot about that"
The Lake District in England is utterly under siege. Local people who created all the access, are being leached out and all of their traditional industry with them. It's a theme park. Tourists tend to be in " take" mode, simply because they have paid a fee. They don't always think what they can bring or how they can learn and/or not impose upon the people who live and work here. They seldom observe properly, they just take photos, act as though they are above reality and have raped the soul of this place. Then they panic buy second and third homes, which sit empty and inflate prices. This co opted by greedy and malignant councils, The national Trust and the park authority. Plus the pressure on farmers from skeevy government to forgo food production for campsites. This country is so tiny, and this beautiful place so tiny, it cannot survive this.
I don't blame the locals at all, and I am someone who loves to travel. There do need to be limits and I would be in favor of putting limits on the kind of tourists that don't enrich the local economies. Require an advance reservation to visit one of these "hot spot" tourist cities and a fee that can be used to mitigate the damage that tourists can do. Tax AirBnB reservations like hotels. Put strict limits on the "day trippers" who pop into a city for a few hours and then vanish, often without spending anything more than the price of lunch at a tourist restaurant. Encourage visitors who spend a few days because those are the ones who'll actually spend money that benefits the local economies. As a traveler, I tend to travel on off and shoulder seasons so I'm not just one of a mass of visitors and I tend to eat in local (non-tourist) restaurants and shop in local markets. I want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
I love to travel. As an American, I refuse to be labeled as an “Ugly American.” If I travel to a country where English is not primarily spoken, I try to learn as much of the language and customs as possible. I admit I don’t learn everything prior to arriving. Many of the local citizens have been more than willing to teach me. I thoroughly appreciate their help and thank them. I take public transportation as much as possible. You can learn so much about a country, city and/or the local people just from living life like a local. I love shopping at local markets, walking with my Husband in parks, etc.
I don’t think it’s tourism that’s the problem. It’s people no longer having respect for their fellow person. Likes on social media are more important than anything now. My Husband and I once witnessed a woman taking “sexy” selfies at The Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.
All of the human ingenuity that goes into getting us from one part of our world to another is incredible. Being able to travel is a privilege. Acknowledge the privilege and be respectful.
I come from a small town in the south of France (pop: 8,500) on the Med. During the summer, it jumps to 150,000! We can't find any accommodation to either rent or buy because a lot of properties are holiday let or summer home for the tourists.
Cheap air fares means that everybody now can travel at the click of a finger (or click if a button more like...). Great if you work in the travel industry but it is damaging the local infrastructure too. An other problem in my opinion, is the disproportionate volume of visitors in one given time: too many in the summer, near none in the winter...
I am from Sarajevo, which has had quite the tourist boom in the last 10 years or so. Some of my friends, who visit every year, where shocked when I told them I go to downtown once or twice a year.
So I had to explain to them that downtown has become one giant hostel and open air bar. Everything is twice as expansive compared to newer neighborhoods on the outskirts (rent, groceries, coffee, food, parking, drinks, entertainment...)
Plus everyone and everything has fled the downtown. And it doesn't even feel like my city anymore, all the charming old streets are filled with rows and rows of tables, tourists, trinket salesmen..
There is trash everywhere, signs for hostels all over the old buildings, to much noise. It just doesn't feel pleasant to be downtown anymore.
Hi Amir! I'm a producer at AJ Stream, a live discussion show, and next week we are covering the issue of over tourism around the world. It would be great if you could share your experience and thoughts with us. let me know what you think! Thanks!
Dear Amir,
A few years ago I visited Sarajevo with a good friend of mine, as a tourist of course or maybe unfortunately, and Sarajevo left a good impression on me. Having visited others cities that are more touristic like Bangkok, Madrid, Amsterdam, etc. I can say that Sarajevo still fares pretty well. There are no streets (yet) filled with only waffle stores and annoying and obnoxious tourists. I saw a few tourists and some international companies like Star Bucks, but to me it still looked like a hidden gem that was untouched by crazy and annoying tourism.
I hope I can find ways to become a better tourist after reading your comment. Personally I hate to visit a historic city, which Sarajevo is in all respects, and to be just part of a huge crowd that just sees some highlight in a snapshot while paying insane prices for coffee, food, accomodation, etc. while at the same time making the same place less livable.
@@pimziengs2900hi
Im a sarajevo native and this summer i only went a handful of times downtown especially il july and beginning of august
Thankfully sarajevo isnt as popular and touristy as barcelona paris and rome
I would say to any tourist the best time to visit is april,may mid september and october
Also i never understood traveling europe during the summer...sounds like a nightmare
Nakon toliko znoja, krvi i suza ulozeno da se taj grad obrani od okupatora, a sada ljudi nemogu ni posteno hodati okolo. Tuzno
I'm from València and I feel the same. I avoid going to the city centre as much as possible. It's just a theme park and an empty husk and makes me sad.
I lived in Vienna, Austria for a time.. and I get kinda upset with people assume I am a tourist.. But in fact, was living and studying
in the city. It's another high tourist area.. It was a love/hate relationship . Thank you for this video, It's very insightful. I agree 100%
and wish people were more respectful to the area they visit..
That's a good point - and the one I was going to make. For those who are choosing to relocate permanently and attempting to adapt local customs and blend in a normal citizen, tourists give *you* a bad reputation. In some places it might not be so hard to overcome (i.e. being a white American in Norway) whilst being a white American in Japan would automatically label you as a foreigner. But either way, tourism is a problem that is affecting those working abroad, ex-pats and even companies wishing to go international and wanting to be welcomed.
Blame the tourist agents who book so many
Leave you foreigner. Tourist or not if you weren’t born in Austria get out!!!!!!😡😡😡😡
This topic needs to be revisited. There was a lot of recovery environmentally during the pandemic but also many businesses suffered. And now a couple of years later businesses are hungry for the business, to make up for the pandemic years and not considering the damage it does to the the residents and environment. My little town in Spain, with a permanent residency of 45k during July and August swells up to 200k+. The residents hibernate, the crime rises, the historic sites get damaged. It becomes as annoying as the big cities we fled from. I think Venice now has put a limit to the visitors allowed at any given time. This needs to happen everywhere.
I used to live near Niagara Falls (Canada.) There were intersections where you just couldn't drive, as huge crowds of tourists wouldn't obey the traffic lights. Nevermind the overpricing everywhere and the drastic changes to the skyline. When my mother was a child in the area, all there was was a dirt road there. You just pulled over, parked, and had a look. Now it's completely insane.
Also, most of the homes along Lake Erie are owned by Americans, preventing beach access to native Canadians.
I'm doing this for a geography assignment and its upsetting that this is not a commonly known problem for the people not affected and thats the problem. (i didn't know about this until this assignment)
Same😂
@@noahbaker4317 wow this was awhile ago
Most people are supershallow and don't care. They live their lives mindless and just travel to check boxes on a "must see" list.
Glad I did my traveling 35 yrs ago…now my small town is overrun with tourists in summer
I experienced this first-hand on my last trip to Rome. I have been there 4 times, but the difference between my last trip there in 1993 and in 2023 was huge. I was looking forward to showing this beautiful city to my children but it was a disaster. There were tourists everywhere, everything was overpriced, tourist tat in all the shops, we couldn't walk anywhere without queueing. We couldn't even get near the Trevi fountain to pose.
Guess what? All the other tourists had the same thoughts as you had. And you know what? Some of them were on their first trip to italy, not fourth!
You are part of the problem here. It's funny, how you think you are different and need to complain about it.
I know what you mean, my English teacher was travelling Europe in July. She said that the weather in Rome was disgusting, that the crowds in the Forum plus the heat was unacceptable for her.
I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and lived in six different countries over that time. It was crowded then. I haven’t been back much to those places since - and it’s so much worse…… I’m glad I lived when I have.
Thank you for making this documentary. I live in New York (a city that has been experiencing a constant growth of overtourism), and it's getting overcrowded from the constant amount of tourists, especially Times Square, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building and ton of other places I haven't even mentioned. There's barley any locals around these days, many of them live out of town as it's too expensive to rent an apartment here. It's pretty sombering when you're the only longtime resident that goes to these areas among a sea of tourists.
Good comment, but I'm deducting ten points for "barley" and " sombering".
Well, it's the sad truth. I can go and on of these locations being filled with tourists and no locals (especially the Brooklyn Bridge, it was overcrowded to max capacity 3-4 times last year to the point where the police had to close the walkway off for safety reasons plus a cherry blossom festival on Roosevelt Island experiencing the same thing this year). I don't mind a tourist visiting the city, but they gotta have some manners and respect to locals in mind in the places they visit.
I feel bad for anyone who has to work in that times square area or interact with there on a daily basis, imagine dealing with all that just to get a pastrami sub and 99cent iced tea. At least here in the west coast we have enough space to hide from the idiots
I stayed in Edinburgh with my aunt in 1980 and when I walked amongst the crowds on the main street, I didn't hear a single Scottish accent. It was mostly people from mainland Europe.
even worse now. the Scottish have been edged out.@@elipotter369
Wow, this video is 5 years old but it’s only gotten more relevant
I’ve travelled and lived in many countries. I travelled German-speaking Europe in 1976. One major difference between then and now is the surplus 5 billion+ people. The world population has nearly tripled since then. Couple that with the development of the travel industry, and you get nightmare after nightmare.
I live near a Northwest National Park. In winter it is calm and quiet. In summer it is madness, cars, helicopters, boaters, loud noises , people. All services require advance appointments, all stores crowded.
I feel over-tourism could quickly be reduced through policy change. The ban of cruise ships and short term private rentals could reduce the tourists who view travelling to these cities as visiting “theme parks”…
In ROME in 2012 I was shocked at the amount of Chinese there !....last thing I expected to see was a regiment of chinese tourists at the Colosseum!
God forbid, not only white people want to explore the world! How dare they! 🙄
Crusty gen x folks like me who did our travelling in the '80s and now can't stand to be in our favorite travel spots (Florence and Venice come immediately to mind) need to remember that the population of the world is now 60% higher and made up largely of cash rich retirees and emerging middle class families in highly populated countries that didn't have access to holdiays at home, let alone abroad, forty years ago. This isn't greed, malice or stupidly, it's simple demographics. We were indeed blessed to have access to the world pre globalization but we shouldn't begrudge later generations or emerging nations their chance to see what we saw; we should sympathize that the are herded through the Sistene Chapel in under two minutes, unable to see or appreciate what they've paid good money to visit.
thank you for saying that!
Me and many others who have just entered the workforce are fairly new to travelling abroad because the money just wasn't there yet...
Touristing still makes me uncomfortable but I'm grateful and excited to have the chance to experience something that my richer friends already did as kids and what some of my older relatives did and still reminice about to this day. But we all need to be very mindful about travelling and carefully consider the damage we almost inevitably do, and hopefully some level of tourism can be sustainable and accessable for almost everyone.
Couldn't have said it better myself mate! All these older hipsters who talk down about the younger generations who want to experience what their parents and older friends got to experience need to pipe down
And it's extremely elitist to begrudge other nations middle classes the opportunity to travel. It always smacks of racism to me, especially when complaining about Asian tourists.
Ex pats moaning about tourism is priceless.
I came across this video because I am researching for a module that I am doing at university. This is a great video as not only it explains it in detail but also shows you the reality behind it all. I work in a hotel and I live on an island that yes, we suffer severely from over-tourism especially in Summer where you can not go out as everywhere is infested with people. This is a sad thing but we cannot move back from it, it is happening and the only thing we can do is explore new places and educate people to be sensible of locals and nature when they travel.
We stayed in Barcelona for a year in 1976. Today it is destroyed. A tragedy.
My favorite vacations are to very small, mostly unknown towns in America - mostly Midwestern. I typically look up places with historical or cultural significance - such as where famous authors, inventors, or military figures lived. Most of these small towns have a lot of museums and sites to visit and are dependant on tourists, but are little known. I have yet to visit national parks, "wonders" such as the grand canyon, Mount Rushmore, etc, because I don't want to visit a place overcrowded with tourists. I learned that lesson when I visited Niagara falls as a child.
Thank you for not giving the names of your favorite small places away.
I live in a very touristy city - Oxford UK. Fortunately it also has a robust population and of course students, so it's not as bad as some highlighted here, still, the city centre is now mainly tourist shops and cafes. Also it always amazes me how some tourists just peer in windows and try to yank doors open! I would never even think of just trying random doors.
The problem isnt too many tourists its the fact that they all go to the same place. There are some seriously undertouristed parts of the world that would benefit greatly from some attention.
Maybe it should stay like that so those who do the work to find those “hidden gems” can savor it
@@ricovelas No. The one thing stopping a population from plundering its history is the ability to profit from it. Without tourists there is no incentive for private and public entities to protect monuments.
It is China and India with their growing middle classes. See Siem Reap in Cambodia over the last few decades.
I am glad to have known Barcelona before it was "discovered".
Never understood why people like crowded places and forming crowds so much. It's so uncomfortable - you can't enjoy the scenery and the architecture, you have to watch your step in order not to bump into someone, you have to be extra vigilant for your things not to get stolen in the crowd, you have to wait long lines at services and cafes. It's not a vacation, it's a nightmare for me. When I go to trips, I always plan them so that there would be as few tourists as possible. E.g. traveling during low season allows you not only escape big crowds, but also trips are much cheaper.
People “don’t like it”. Everyone wants to see the same thing. They’re not intentionally calling 40 people around them to move in a big group
Presumably the Venetian local authority and port authority are making lots of money granting trade and operating licences and cruise ship docking fees. Overcrowding stemmed from there. That’s where it started and that’s where it should be cut back to a manageable non greedy level.
They've put a limit on ship sizes now apparently.
Good video. Well produced. Very important content. The focus was on Europe but this is a huge problem in the U.S. also. Even in my small city of 50,000+ ( Palm Desert, CA) locals are struggling with this issue. Most of the small cities in the Coachella valley are dealing with problems associated with the onslaught of tourist. The biggest problem in our neighborhood is out of town investors buying homes for the sole purpose of renting out on Airbnb and like platforms for big profits. The neighborhood started changing( for the worse, parking trash noise transients ) and the party houses proliferated. People in the neighborhood formed a group to bring attention to the growing problem, started going to town hall meetings. The meetings were often contentious between the locals and the investors/ property management companies/ multiple home owners. In the end our group got the vote to change the STR ordinance back to the 30 day minimum stay. It was changed in 2012 to a 2 night minimum without public input! It's still not over as the city allowed a sunset clause and some of the absentee owners have found creative ways to game the system.
It is a huge problem all over the world. But Europe will face a total overrun in the next years if nothing will change if nothing will get regulated...
In Mexico it is a Huge problem 😢
Same massive developments being put up here in Florida crowding once quiet and peaceful areas bought up by investors for high rents
@@guennieknight1576yes I expected that especially with all the UA-cam videos exploiting the country
@greensorrel6860 one thing to add is UA-cam celebrities (channels) are also adding to this because they help fuel the online attraction. So they ate essentially advertisement.
IMO - This is happening all over the world. And it drives up prices.
yep @byronbaybarrels
Thanks Captain Obvious.
We kill the thing we love the most. Oscar Wilde
I vacationed in Cancun several years back. The debauchery and drunkenness that I saw by foreigners, mainly people from the US, was appalling. As someone from the USA, it was also embarrassing.
lol you should see the aussies in Bali.
Tourism is destroying my culture and country, im happy, im not the only one who thinks that.
We are the ones who make the country, not tourists, the houses are so expensive, that no indigenous people have the money to buy them, and they end up being empty for most of the year.
Love this documentary! Glad the people are speaking up
As a teen ( in the late 60s) I worked summers in Yellowstone Park. And I can still remember the hoards of Japanese tour buses invading, yapping, incessantly taking photos or asking us to. It was horrible back then. I also remember as a young woman in the early 80s, backpacking around Europe in the summer. Venice, Rome, Paris, Madrid (to some extent), were so exhausting to be in because of all the tourists. I cannot even imagine traveling during peak tourist seasons now. I am retired in Greece now and I am living through what this doc talks about- the culture corrupted by serving tourists before residents, the growing cost of housing due to foreign money coming in & buying up properties, not being able to rent a decent flat because either the owners have upped the prices so much or, the owners only rent air bibs now. I’m in my early seventies and wonder how long I can afford to live here. I moved here 36 years ago to experience life in Europe and I have never regretted it. Even now, I would much rather be living in Europe than in my home country, where my pension could never allow me to live comfortably! And I do not live in a major city but in a village half hour out of a major city. It’s truly heartbreaking what mega-tourism has done to the world. Like climate change, over-tourism is killing our cultures, our countries, it’s citizens and our way of life. I am not certain anything will or can be done to curb tourism. 😢😢😢😢
Climate change 😪
Well, if the world economy melts down you won’t see so many tourists. Another worldwide depression is possible.
The Chinese now do that in Yellowstone.
I was born and live in a tourist town on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I can say, every winter the snowbirds pour in, jamming up the highways and streets, restaurants, beaches, and whatnot. The ramifications of the influx are far reaching.
You are a hypocrite.
So many people travel now for social media kudos. 'Look at meeee!"
Top 10 destinations you must visit this year: none.
Welp, fear your wishes.
This aged well
this comment pains me
It all circles back to the fact that the world is full of people.
I was on Gili Trawangan in 1988. We were about 15 Tourist throughout the week. We lived in palmhuts with oil lamps, no electricity and fresh caught fish every day. A week with full pension was 36 Swiss Francs. We had fires on the beach every night and snorkled during the day. I'll never forget the bucket showers with coconut shells and squatting over the toilet at night with scorpios, cockroaches and geckos on the wall, hahaha. It WAS paradise and changed my life and my relationship with people and different cultures until today. I'm now 56, emigrated to South Africa and work as a High School teacher in a public school. Terima kasih Gili Trawangan.
Holy crap. I wonder how you would react to seeing GiIli T today.
Very important and well made documentary. Thank you for making this film. I will share on my website and social media too! Keep up the great work.