Anti-tourist sentiments

My wife and I were just in Florence for a few days. No problem whatsoever. The media is blowing it out of proportion.

Come to Budapest. Not too crowded, and they appreciate the business. Actually true across Eastern Europe.

I will disagree somewhat with the PPs estimation of the news coverage. There has been demonstrable anti tourism sentiment in SOME European cities, and to varying degrees. However current conditions, in high season, are less likely to be relevant to what you might encounter in shoulder season.

Please don't call them natives. People who live in those cities may or may not be born there. Call them locals.

Those native to a location really are who is being discussed so it's perfect. Its not about the British transplants in Spain or the well meaning travel website editors in NYC, ir tge tourists from Hoboken, it's about the native population and their roots and culture.

Speaking of Florence there was a bit of outcry last year but the mayor put his foot down and is reducing tourism by outlawing short term rental lock boxes, golf carts and megaphones. Yup, won't change a thing and I suspect the same group will be back to protesting again this year.

But the odds of being victimized by it are pretty low, so if you haven't been, it's worth the time.

I really appreciate CJean's point above. Cities all over Europe, especially major cities, are full of people who call those cities home but weren't born there. People immigrate from all over the world to Europe and call those cities home. Those people are locals as much as people who were born there and also have a right to affordable housing, etc. I don't think making a distinction between people born in a city vs people who have immigrated there (or indeed migrated internally) is very useful in this case.

To return to the original question, the last time I was in Italy was last July, and we did not face any anti tourist sentiments, so I think you should be fine.

Overtourism is a real problem, but only rarely the anti-tourism sentiment (against the system) overflows into anti-tourist sentiment (against the persons).

You have to be positively obnoxious to trigger such a reaction. For example, in a famous incident, tourists eating street food in a Florence road sat over the front door of a home; when the owner came, they were not willing to get up and let him pass, a brawl ensued and the municipality forbade eating in that road.

Or some tourists may arrive very late in the night, be confused by the lack of personal check-in and try to enter the wrong apartment. Having a stranger trying to open your door in the middle of the night may be annoying. Another recurring source of anti-tourist sentiment are foreign students (well, most come from a single country) getting drunk and noisy in pubs, again disturbing at late night.

If you manage to avoid being obnoxious, the antitourism sentiment will likely be directed against municipal administrations, often more sensible to tourist money than to citizens' welfare.

Folks--I meant no offense. I have no problem whatsover with people of other countries protesting about anything especially if they think the volume of tourists is trampling their quality of life and driving up the cost of living. I just don't want to add to their heartburn.

It’s not anti-tourism or anti-tourists, it’s anti touristication of their cities, such as has happened in Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Florence, Lisbon, Paris, etc all caused by foreigners buying properties and turning them into hotels and airbnbs, thereby driving up the market prices exponentially and driving out the locals who can’t afford them and have to live far away from cities they’ve called home for decades or even their entire lives. Also, in these cities, mom and shop shops and basics like the local bakery, where locals have purchased their breads etc for decades have been purchased and in places like Florence, for example, you’ll see 4 panini shops on one block. Who needs four panini shops right next to each other? Contrary to what one poster here said they’re locals and natives and to be so insulting to them and condescending as well isn’t so nice. I agree with them too. I live in a major tourist destination in the USA, but luckily we own our modestly small home, but, without that we’d have to move every year or even less, what locals here call “the shuffle” and it makes one feel shame at having to do so. I know of people, here and in Europe who have lost their housing because the landlords either sold the homes or decided a seasonal rental would be better, for their wallets, of course, instead of renting to locals that help hold up the economy. The media in Europe IS NOT blowing it out of proportion. It’s a real epidemic globally.

October is a good choice but you may get sick of the crowdedness yourself especially in Florence walking with a tour group. I don't think you need a tour group to visit specifically mega year round tourist destinations like Rome and Florence. Just get the Rick Steves guide book and read it or a personal guide for the stuff you want to know about more in-depth. There is no language barrier.

Best way to not add to the "heartburn" of the residents - don't book Airbnb and VRBO etal. The apartments take away housing from the local populace by reducing inventory and raising rental rates.

And if you visit Europe by cruise ship, please spend your money IN Europe through local dining, shopping and touring. Tromping all over Venice carrying a water bottle from your ship and not spending a cent does not support the economy.

Anti-over tourism is not anti-tourist.

I’ve taken the Venice-Florence-Rome tour in March. I’m pretty sure I recall that when in Venice and Florence, the locally guided walks were split so that part of the RS group went with guide X and half of us went with guide Y before we all met back up again. This avoids 24 people all trying to walk together. Also, yes, Florence is busy/crowded, but the only place I felt “ugh” crowded was in the Uffizi. That museum is going to be busy whether you’re visiting as part of a group or on your own.

Just bringing this up because we can all travel independently if we wish, but if you want to take an RS tour, then take the tour. IMO, you’re not “adding to the footprint” much more than you would if just two of you went.

Couple of remarks after observing the venues of Florence, Rome, Salerno, Vietri sul Mare, Ravello, Minori and Taormina in April.

First, April is not shoulder season anymore. It's very busy exactly in the spots you'd think would be busy in high season--central Florence, Rome near the attractions. I've only been in February, March & October before (2015, 2017, 2010) and this was by far the busiest.

We did stay in AirBnB's almost throughout because we were 4-5 people and that made the most sense financially. I don't buy into the theory of our staying there increasing the 'heartburn' of the locals. I guarantee that the folks carousing loudly down via Tornabuoni in Florence at 2AM were NOT of our sedentary ilk. We were buttoned up by 10PM every night. They were most likely students staying in cheaper digs.

But...anywhere over 17 days, from Florence to Sicily...I did not experience any anti-American sentiment at all. The one thing that the Italians have over the rest of Europe is that they appreciate that tourism has & does drive their economy, regardless of what might be going on politically on this side of the pond.

I don't think making a distinction between people born in a city vs
people who have immigrated there (or indeed migrated internally) is
very useful in this case.

Europe is a big place with pretty diversified ideas. I suspect in some places in Spain, right or wrong, the British who immigrated are getting blamed for a fair share of the housing problem and probably aren't being seen the same as native Spanish by their native Spanish neighbors ... maybe?

I live in a fairly unique native culture and a significant segment of the population is fighting tooth and nail to maintain their native culture from outside influence. Over tourism is one issue, but it is still a very localized issue; block by block. Fortunately the city is administrated by 20-something district governments so neighborhoods can address the issues and fine tune to a large degree and it seems to be working. No riots on the subject so far. Seems to be getting addressed through legitimate processes. But we watch and hope that continues.

Interestingly, the diversity here is one of the things I love, but the current trend is to cap immigration, reverse the trend through attrition to save the native culture. Again, their world, not mine, so really matters little how i think the world should be; "no coment."

I presume my city and my country isn't unique in Europe in these things. We watch and see what happens.

We just came back from The Netherlands and Belgium, where we were welcomed with open arms. Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

This subject has come up in a few travel forums I follow. I support residents protesting as this may be the only way to get the attention of their local government officials. Many tourism officials and government leaders have been greedy – wanting more, more, more. AirBnB turned already busy tourist locations into a gold mine for investors buying properties and turning them into short-term rentals. Thus, removing housing from the market for residents in those communities. In the last ten years, we have only used AirBnB once and stayed in an apartment owned by a local of the city we were visiting. We always stay in locally owned hotels and never eat in a chain restaurant when traveling. We can be better tourists by spending our money in places where it will benefit the local economy and not some investor who lives thousands of miles away.

Suppose one could always be the "wrong place at the wrong time" but historically there have been protests in many European Cities about different things. Just be aware and avoid. We just returned 3 weeks ago from 13 days in France, no one asked or cared where we were from. We found all our contacts to be polite and helpful at hotels, restaurants and sites of interest.

Meanwhile, a bunch of Venetians are preparing to “welcome” Bezos with protests, fleets of rubber boats, kayaks and street demonstrations.
The Riva Schiavoni, where a fleet of super yachts will berth, ought be avoided.

I wish the Venetians every success in causing embarrassment to the bloated Bezos.

It is the last of my concerns. Most natives don’t give a hoot and go on with their own lives’ preoccupations of which over tourism does not even rank in the top 50. Most Italians are more preoccupied, among other things, about the increased cost of groceries (and pretty much everything) while their salaries or pensions have pretty much stagnated. So book your trip with no worry. The only advice I can give you, since I’m in Italy now, is to avoid to book your trip between June and September, if you can, because the weather is muggy hot and miserable. If you must come in summer because you have kids in school, then come as early as possible in June, as soon as schools close. Early June is generally more bearable.

Roberto da Firenze ⚜ I have been waiting for you to chime in.

Aussie, the Venetian attitude towards Bezos is nothing short of inappropriate. The mayor has apologized and promised to rope it in. It will be interesting to see.

Interesting question. Would Venice exist in 5 years if not for tourism, and tourism at the current levels? I suspect the income from tourism justified spending $6 Billion to protect the city: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/mose-venice-flood-barriers

The protest for Bezos’ wedding is just another opportunity for local idiots to post themselves on TikTok or Instagram. It has nothing to do with over tourism and everything to do with craving social media attention. They’ll all be gone next week to some other place where they hope to become famous influencers. That’s the era we live in. It will all be forgotten by the time you visit.

The idiot looking for posts on instagram is the tourist that yesterday at Uffizi fell on a picture and broke through it while taking a selfie....

They are all affected by the same disease, called SMECD: Social Media Exposure Craving Disorder.

It’s a fairly new disease but already a worldwide epidemic, a pandemic indeed.

In any case I don’t think the OP needs to fear being a target of anti tourism sentiment. If one behaves civilly and respectfully, nobody will even notice your presence. Some places, like the historical centers of Rome and Florence, have always been crowded with tourists, and locals have learned to live with it. Besides I don’t know Florentines who live in the historical center anymore. There aren’t many locals left there.

I would print some Tourist Go Home T-shirts in Italian and wear those on the trip.

As far as how Americans are seen in any country other than our own, it might be reflected in how we act. We are an American Gay couple who have never had one negative experience in the past 15 years of travel. That includes our way off the beaten path explorations as well. Act like a guest, respect the customs of where you are, be friendly, kind and respectful, and you will open yourself up to incredible experiences.

*Remember the rest of the world may not share your self-entitledness.
David and Bob
Seattle, WA USA