Popular destinations fighting back against abusive tourists

At least it's not just "ugly Americans".

Ironic, the only place in Europe where I've been kept awake by a loud bar was Copenhagen.

Go to Amazon and search "Pig on the Loose: Chinese Tour Groups". Its a free kindle download. Bad Behavior to the nth degree.

I think the idyllic description of the Eiffel tower is a bit of romanticism. I have sat and watched, as did the armed french police, as mobs of gypsies have robbed the tourists under the tower.

I think that most countries and cities have a love/hate relationship with tourists. There have been several articles in the Scotsman about tourism in Scotland. Evidently, foreign tourism is down, but domestic is up. This prompted a range of comments from, "[the independence referendum] has scared away the tourists as we look like Zimbabwe," to a complaint from someone that there were now too many tourists and Scotland and that was the problem! In NYC we know that tourism contributes vast amounts of money to the city, but oh how we hate the way they clog the sidewalks and don't understand how the subway works. We really hate it when they walk four abreast on the sidewalk and all come to a screeching halt to photograph the Chrysler Building! But, if anyone asks for directions or even just appears to be looking at a map, someone always stops and offers help. New Yorkers want protection from illegal AirBnB hosts almost as much as tourist lanes on the sidewalks. :)

Pig on the loose? How about that American lady who took her Potbellied Pig "therapy animal" on American Airlines a few years ago?

@ Pamela...
We are just wrapping up our six nights in nyc. I've seen both sides of what you said. Lots of helpful friendly people, and lots of grumps. I had four people apologize for bumping me or nudging my foot in a two minute span on the subway (one girl twice! I said I felt like I was back in Canada with all the I'm sorrys flying about...lol). Had a few people ask if we needed help finding something.

Also have seen the tourists walking three/four abreast. Had one hipster on a stupid a$$ bike swear at people crossing a bike path (even tho it was a crosswalk with a sign stating bikes had to yield to peds...there was no crosswalk light...this was over by the intrepid) and one guy unleash a torrent of swearing at a tour group that was (unfortunately) sprawled across a sidewalk (not my tour group tho). But then again, have seen...and experienced... what must be locals (they aren't carrying day packs or cameras) standing in the middle of crosswalks (at the corners) looking at their cell phones while people try to get around them onto the sidewalks, so obliviousness works both ways.

That being said, I make a conscious effort to stay to the side while on walking tours, keep off to the side when the tour stopped, and to move aside or stand by a pole when looking at a map or taking pics. But watching other people in our walking tour groups...families walking three and four abreast, not moving to the side or keeping a path open on the sidewalk - even after the tour guide would remind us...and these were all nationalities in the groups...not just Americans...the Europeans in the group were also doing this behaviour so Americans aren't the only ones who have a monopoly on the 'ugly' moniker. I do understand why locals get mad tho...I was getting irritated myself at the other tourists :)

Loved our trip. Still missed so much stuff. And I will never ever travel again in July. I almost melted yesterday. (And I would never ever travel in July but we were coming for a concert. Ok, one exception...lavender time in France is on the bucket list, so will have to travel there in July some year).

Pig on the loose...who is going to do anything about it?

Wondering how people are protecting themselves against the worst abuse of Donald Trump.

Ignoring him in hopes that he'll just go away.

I think certain people that live in heavily visited cities would hate to see the economic effects of tourism drying up, but they don't like tourists, so if they had their way tourists would send their money as donations instead of actually visiting the place.

(I've actually came across such outrageous suggestions once reading some pesky-snob blog of someone (Italian) who lives in Taormina, can only have that upper-middle class lifestyle as he can because of tourism, but wrote he'd rather have people donate money to restore buildings, ruins and sites instead of going there and making life hell for locals in summer).

Did I miss something? Was trump a bad tourist some place?

@ James E. Perhaps Texas or Iowa?

I don't think Donald would be a very welcome tourist in Mexico these days.

My mistake. I haven't seen much of the news. I only saw him giving speeches. Must of missed the vandalism and all night partying like was in the article the OP linked to . I'll watch the news tonight.

Another "Apprentice" season must be coming up.

I saw a show once a few years ago, Trump proudly proclaimed he never took vacations, never saw the point of visiting other countries etc. So not only is Trump an inferior human in most ways, he also dislikes travel, and should therefore never have his name mentioned again on this illustrious forum! Lol