Not a problem here in Northern Ireland, where tourism is gradually increasing but hasn't yet reached the tipping point of overwhelming those of us who live here. The number of visits by cruise ships is escalating, but so far the hordes of tourists descending on Belfast and its tourist attractions are easily absorbed.
Personally I don't understand why people want to visit places that are already jam-packed with so many tourists that you can only move around at a snail's pace, trying to get through thick crowds of visitors. What pleasure is there in that?
I still remember when Jenny and I were in Venice many years ago, taking about 20 minutes to get across Piazza San Marco, such was the dense thicket of tourists. Venice is about to introduce a tourist fee of five euros a day to enter the island, but I doubt if such a puny charge will put anyone off.
People can be surprisingly sheep-like. They flock in droves to the Piazza San Marco, while the very quiet and pretty district of Cannaregio in the north of the island is forgotten about and pleasantly free of the camera-waving multitudes.
Tourism can all too easily become a victim of its own success.
Pic: Cannaregio
Anonymous Fly. Part of the problem is organised tourism...dock a cruise ship and you have a horde of people at once, all on the same arranged visits to the same places.
ReplyDeleteFly: Very true, the number of people pouring out of cruise ships is astonishing. And yes, they all tend to go to the same places - like the Giant's Causeway and Titanic Belfast.
DeleteHoards of people in a small space does nothing for me. When I go on vacation, I want to relax and see nature. To each his own I guess.
ReplyDeleteDebby: Good for you. We don't head for nature but we go to art galleries and museums that are normally not crowded.
DeleteWe certainly don’t have that issue here!🤣
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Not in my neighbourhood either. Stormont is quite near, but even that doesn't get many visitors.
DeleteYou make a very good point, Nick, and we were in the same category last Oct when on a bus trip through parts of Ireland and made stops at many tourist locations. Thankfully, we did manage to find a few that were pleasantly devoid of crowds, perhaps because of the downpours that day. We had a wonderful time exploring Kilkenny Castle, much more so then the highly overrated and over visited Blarney Stone Castle.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: Travelling has become so fashionable nowadays that it's hard to find places that aren't jammed with visitors. I've never been to Kilkenny Castle so you're one up on me there!
DeleteWhen the Mall of America was new people would actually fly in in the morning to the nearby airport, shop all day, then fly out in the evening. I never understood that.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: That's crazy. But I think it's quite common for people to go to shopping centres/malls as an "outing", especially if the centre is warmer than their own home.
DeleteI live in Las Vegas, it's tourists here all the time. But thankfully most of them stay on the strip, downtown or up in the mountains. We don't really see the tourists in our neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteMary: Thankfully tourists seldom go to residential districts so we can still enjoy some peace and quiet!
DeleteIt can be essential though for economic survival in many place. I know that here in Newfoundland it's our major industry apart from oil but the island is so enormous, we only feel it at the more popular spots. I dread "them" finding the off the beaten places which are breathtaking and solace for us locals.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
Absolutely. One of the things we enjoy in Northern Ireland is all those lovely quiet little places non-residents don't know about - and we hope they never find out!
DeleteNick, we always travel hors season, we visited Venice during winter , acqua alta weather and we loved it. Today the huge sized cruise ships spitting out thousands of tourists makes me shiver. Horrible. We would never go when there are crowds of people , not allowing to admire a sight or monuments etc.Now that we are both "older" ,we organise 3 or 4 days to visit smaller cities and regions around, which can be a nice way to be not stuck at home even when older.
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Those giant cruise ships are awful, we would never set foot on one. Taking 3 or 4 days to visit smaller cities and regions is a great idea. As you say, how can anyone properly appreciate a sight or monument when you're being jostled by dozens of jabbering visitors?
DeleteThe cruises we took were mostly movie events with Gene Siskal and Roger Ebert. We watched several movies each day and ate at tables reserved for our group. Never got off the ship.
DeleteWe also went river cruising in Europe where we sometimes toured on our own when every one else went off as a group.
For land trips we went just the two of us using Rick Steves' guides. He teaches how to see the good stuff instead of the popular stuff. For those trips we loved PopOut maps. Pocket size so you didn't look so much like a tourist.
Linda
Linda: I wouldn't fancy a movie cruise but the land trips sound good. I always enjoy being off the beaten track, wandering around somewhere well away from the tourist masses.
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