I was in the city centre last weekend and I noticed it was a lot more crowded than it used to be - too crowded. Many of those wandering around were clearly tourists and there were plenty of tourist coaches and sightseeing buses.
Belfast city centre isn't that big, unlike other cities. It soon fills up with people. Suddenly I'm having to negotiate large numbers of people rather than just walking along the street.
And it's only May, when you would expect the city centre still to be quite quiet. At this rate the peak tourist period of July and August is going to be even more crowded. How many more visitors can we comfortably accommodate?
This year we're due to receive 150 cruise ships, and a brand new cruise ship terminal is being built.
Naturally the tourist authority and the NI government want to see as many tourists as possible because it's good for the economy, and they don't really care if the city is being over-run.
But at least it's good to know that the outdated media image of Belfast (paramiltaries, bombs, guns etc) is no longer putting people off because they know Belfast has become a normal, thriving city with its trendy restaurants and coffee shops. Life moves on.
Pic: a walking tour outside (an unusually quiet) Belfast City Hall
It could be worse, Nick. You could live in a shit hole no-one takes any interest in.
ReplyDeleteYou mention revenue. Indeed. All over the world there are communities which largely depend on those who are curious enough to travel far.
And remember, without tourism we'd never had Agatha Christie's "Cruise on the Nile" and Peter Ustinov's Hercule Poirot. Neither of course would the likes of Vikings, Columbus, Magellan et al have discovered new shores. Let's not so much put a veil over the wider implication of that as leave it for another day.
So, where are you off to next?
U
Ursula: You're confusing several different issues there. Tourism, unusual settings for novels and films, and the discovery of new countries. I'm only talking about the first, people visiting overcrowded tourist destinations.
DeleteNick, one solution to avoid the crowds is moving to an isolated island ! Are you no more travelling to other cities or countries where the "autochtones" may react like you in Belfast ? Venice is an example .
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Venice is an excellent example. Most of the long-term residents have left the city because they don't enjoy living there any more. The population has sunk from around 175,000 in 1951 to around 50,000 last year.
DeleteThat's terrible. It sounds like the city is becoming just a museum, not a real city any more.
DeleteInfidel: Absolutely. It's just an overcrowded theme park.
DeleteWe only travel domestically (Canada being the exception). The only places that seem overrun with tourists are some of our national parks, but I think it’s great that people are enjoying nature.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: We're more or less just domestic travellers these days, except when Jenny visits her cousin in Toronto. We're going to Manchester in the summer to visit the museums and galleries.
DeleteI'm not opposed to tourism. We've done plenty of tourism ourselves, all over the world. I'm only opposing tourism that's reached unwieldy levels.
ReplyDeleteI can understand not liking more crowds and such. Living in Las Vegas I try to stay away from The Strip and Downtown but the tourists seem to be pretty much everywhere here these days.
ReplyDeleteMary: I imagine Las Vegas must be swarming with tourists all the year round. And yes, we could easily reach a point here where we're trying to avoid the overcrowded city centre.
DeleteI'm surprised that opinion of Belfast has just recently changed. It's been quite awhile. Yes, I thought of Venice when you wrote this. Too much is too much. It's ruining Venice.
ReplyDeleteSandra: I guess you're right, the general perception of Belfast has been shifting for quite a while now. But when we moved from London to Belfast a lot of people thought we were mad given the image of Belfast at that time (the year 2000).
DeleteTourism has gotten worse in Devon since I've lived here. I don't visit the coast in summer anymore. There isn't enough parking and narrow lanes get so blocked up that there isn't room for emergency vehicles to pass if there's an emergency.
ReplyDeleteLifestock gets run over on Dartmoor and Exmoor. And locals can't buy homes or rent because housing stock is bought up for Airbnbs. It's an out of control mess.
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Ms Scarlet: Sounds like the same sort of overtourism that's causing major problems everywhere. One of the joys of living in Northern Ireland is all the places that tourists don't know about, so they're quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately that may be changing. Airbnb has got a lot to answer for.
DeleteIf you start getting more Americans, I hope they're at least respectful. Some of our people don't have such a good reputation overseas.
ReplyDeleteYour local government needs to prioritize the needs of the people who live there (and presumably elect them). There's not much point in having good economic numbers if the crowding and prices ruin the quality of life.
Infidel: Indeed, a healthy economy that ruins people's quality of life is hardly something to boast about.
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