Harvey
Administrator
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2020
A chuckle for James calling out sources of overtourism in Europe, while traveling there several times year and publicly advocating the advantages of skiing there vs the US. (To be fair Utah has a huge overtourism problem as well).
This was my first visit in 20 years, and I stayed with family, adding zero demand/pressure to the hotel or vacation rental market.
Regarding overtourism, one of the biggest issues in Barcelona are the cruise ship excursions, that dump tens of thousands of day trippers into the city. This activity has specifically been encouraged by the government, by expanding the Mediteranean's largest port, to accommodate more ships. La Rambla, specifically mentioned by Jason as a favorite, is a specific location impacted by cruise ship excursions.
If Barcelona locals want to reduce the impact of tourism on their economy (it's 15% of it now) they should vote with that in mind. There are all kinds of ways the government can curtail visitation. The revenue is hard to give up, and they will only take steps if they think it will have consequences at the ballot box.
I also get a chuckle reading the phrase "tourist go home." By definition, that's what tourists do. If they don't leave, they aren't tourists.
This was my first visit in 20 years, and I stayed with family, adding zero demand/pressure to the hotel or vacation rental market.
Regarding overtourism, one of the biggest issues in Barcelona are the cruise ship excursions, that dump tens of thousands of day trippers into the city. This activity has specifically been encouraged by the government, by expanding the Mediteranean's largest port, to accommodate more ships. La Rambla, specifically mentioned by Jason as a favorite, is a specific location impacted by cruise ship excursions.
If Barcelona locals want to reduce the impact of tourism on their economy (it's 15% of it now) they should vote with that in mind. There are all kinds of ways the government can curtail visitation. The revenue is hard to give up, and they will only take steps if they think it will have consequences at the ballot box.
I also get a chuckle reading the phrase "tourist go home." By definition, that's what tourists do. If they don't leave, they aren't tourists.
