Five years ago, in the summer of 2018, I traveled to Venice, Dubrovnik and the Isle of Skye to present a series of videos about a buzzword that was buzzing around relentlessly, like one of those spinning toys that European street vendors toss high. weather that will entertain our children. “Overtourism.”
The issues in these three destinations were diverse, but there were common themes. Environmental damage. Pricing from locals. Pollution. Overcrowding in bottleneck areas. Apparently tourism wasn’t working properly.
However, there was a general respect for tourists in all of these destinations. I remember talking to a man named Tommaso on the Venetian island of Sacca Fisola. His mission was to save Venice from overtourism, but he still didn’t have a bad thing to say about tourists.
“If a young person doesn’t have much money and eats a sandwich on the stairs, it’s not a respect issue. “This,” he said, pointing to a giant arriving cruise ship, “is a lack of respect for the city.” The problem to be solved was theirs, not the tourists’.
But in 2023, in some destinations, the finger of blame has shifted from tourism to tourists. And he’s not pointing at just any elderly tourist, he’s pointing at the freckled nose of a British holidaymaker.
The “Stay Away” campaign, launched in Amsterdam earlier this year, has peppered British lads’ screens with videos as they wander into the city on lewd excursions. They showed young, drunk men being arrested and fined. It was a clear and transparent message from an outspoken, transparent nation. Stay away. It’s a two-word instruction that feels like a slightly less polite two-word instruction. Latest figures show it’s not working as planned.
Meanwhile, Lanzarote’s president, María Dolores Corujo, said in March that the island should reduce its dependence on the British market and look for “higher quality holidaymakers who spend more here”. For example, the Germans. The New Right-wing Balearic Islands government has also announced plans to fine holidaymakers €36,000 (£31,000) if they are found guilty of balcony diving (jumping from balcony into pool), an extremely dangerous act. If British tourists behave badly next summer.
Are these targeted messages justified? I think if a guest came to my house and looked out the window before peeing on my front door, I’d probably tell them to “stay away” too. Or if my dinner guests are systematically ruining the atmosphere of my home with their football chants, demands for full English, and fondness for blue cocktails, I might consider inviting some mint tea-sipping continental minds around instead.
But the thing is, I don’t have a sex worker dancing on my front window (Lewes wouldn’t approve), and I don’t have a big sign outside my front door offering a free shot of absinthe with every serving. the beans you ordered.
I know the British tourist is not always the most stylish or well-behaved person, but I feel the review should fall on the product as much as the customer. Amsterdam is one of the only places in Europe where you can buy sex or cannabis comfortably and easily. If you wish, you can pay someone €300 to “arrest” your friend at his/her bachelorette party. Despite dilution efforts, the party industry continues to thrive in the Red Light District.
And while Lanzarote may be focusing its attention on a superior form of holidaymaker, it seems there are still strips (Avenida de las Playas, for example) that cater to the British holidaymakers they are now trying to keep away. I just went on Street View and within five seconds found a bar serving beer buckets and Sunday roasts.
British tourists aren’t the only ones getting into mischief on their holidays. According to our panel of experts, the Germans infuriate the Dutch by insisting on speaking German, the French find Americans extremely stubborn, and the Portuguese have few kind words to say about their Spanish neighbors. Antisocial behavior manifests itself in all kinds of ways.
And any conversation about Brits abroad would be incomplete without a single mention of the staggering economic impact of our outgoing holidaymakers. Last year UK residents made 71 million trips abroad (about one per person) and spent more than £58bn on entertainment. We travel, spend money, especially to the Mediterranean, and a small but very loud minority of us causes trouble while we are away.
There have been many examples of sensible, non-provocative tourism control measures in recent years. Last month, San Sebastian announced it would limit the number of new hotels that can open in the city to ensure it remains livable for locals. In Thailand’s Maya Bay, authorities closed the beach for three years between 2019 and 2022 (admittedly made easier by the pandemic) to allow coral reefs to recover. Florence nearly banned Airbnb in a bid to reverse the city’s housing crisis. Seville has made it mandatory for holiday rentals to install noise meters to prevent late-night disturbances. None of them raised a finger at the tourist.
I have seen first-hand the impact of mass tourism on destinations and understand why some tourism boards are tempted to adopt a “stay away” attitude. But doing so misses the heart of the problem. It’s like planting a few cheap flowers in your garden and getting so angry at the bees that come to pollinate them every year that you spray “buzz” on your own fence and spend days trying to drive them away. If you want hummingbirds and butterflies, I’m afraid you’ll have to overhaul the entire flower bed and plant the corresponding seeds.