Over tourism article in the Guardian today

[Tina]

Interesting article in the Guardian today

Wish you weren’t here! How tourists are ruining the world’s greatest destinations

Overtourism has long been a problem – and besieged cities are fighting back. But can angry locals stop the tide of stag parties, ‘anus burners’, noise and graffiti?

www.theguardian.com

 

[Pauline]

Thanks for posting that. I read it too. Everywhere is too crowded now - or so it feels. Even where I live on the Dorset coast is overrun in the summer. But this area has always been popular and accommodates the visitors well I think.

I hate reading about “bad” British tourists who go abroad for cheap drinks.

I think the solution for Slow Travelers is to spend shorter times in the crowded popular places and more time is the less well traveled places. Even going off season isn’t as good as it used to be.

 

[phirhon]

I read an article a month or so ago that some highly popular places in France eg Mont St Michel are considering daily limits on visitors to prevent them being loved to death. The government would like people to consider travelling more out of season and to visit some of the less well known and less visited areas.
We always go to France and our recent trip was to several areas that are under the radar of overseas travellers, so we are doing our bit!!! I will be posting my report shortly. We are away at the moment.

 

[joe]

For certain destinations (a famous museum?), there might be simple solutions like just restricting the number of visitors and managing their flow more efficiently. For cities, there are no easy answers. This is just another outcome of the huge increase in human population. You might be able to expand highways (up to a point) to accommodate more cars, but you can't expand downtown Paris to accommodate more people, without damaging its character. I think we should not be too judgmental of those who suffer crowds to visit popular sites - in the end it's just a question of personal preferences in the search for a meaningful experience. Some can find it despite, or perhaps because of the crowds, while others will find it necessary to stay away from these. I suppose that most here on this forum belong to the second group.

What's more important is to remember, as a tourist, to respect local ways, be friendly and humble, try to learn some basic words of the language, and keep your voice down to reasonable levels.