Some of the best places on Earth struggling with the number of people discovering them
The doorbell to Martinho de Almada Pimentel’s house is hard to find, and he likes it that way. It’s a long rope that, when pulled, rings a literal bell on the roof that lets him know someone is outside the mountainside mansion that his great-grandfather built in 1914 as a monument to privacy.Travelers idling in standstill traffic outside the sunwashed walls of Casa do Cipreste sometimes spot the bell and pull the string “because it’s funny,” he says.
The demonstrations are an example of locals using the power of their numbers and social media to issue destination leaders an ultimatum: Manage this issue better or we’ll scare away the tourists — who could spend their $11.1 trillion a year elsewhere. Housing prices, traffic and water management are on all of the checklists.
“Overtourism is arguably a social phenomenon, too,” according to an analysis for the World Trade Organization written by Joseph Martin Cheer of Western Sydney University and Marina Novelli of the University of Nottingham. In China and India, for example, they wrote, crowded places are more socially accepted. “This suggests that cultural expectations of personal space and expectations of exclusivity differ.
Protests erupted across the country as early as March, when graffiti in Malaga reportedly urged tourists to “go f——— home.” Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Spain’s Canary Islands against visitors and construction that was overwhelming water services and jacking up housing prices. In Barcelona, protesters shamed and squirted water at people presumed to be visitors as they dined al fresco in touristy Las Ramblas.
Tourism is surging and shifting so quickly, in fact, that some experts say the very term “overtourism” is outdated. “There’s a pillar in the middle of the road that goes up and down and you can’t go forward because you ruin your car. So you have to somehow come down but you can’t turn around, so you have to back down the road,” says Makela, a resident of Portugal for 36 years. “And then people get so frustrated they come to our road, which also has a sign that says `authorized vehicles only.’ And they block everything.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Notable quotes from the 2024 Paris OlympicsHere are some notable quotes from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Aug. 10, 2024:
Read more »
Notable quotes from the 2024 Paris OlympicsHere are some notable quotes from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Aug. 4, 2024:
Read more »
Notable quotes from the 2024 Paris OlympicsHere are some notable quotes from the 2024 Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024:
Read more »
Notable quotes from the 2024 Paris OlympicsHere are some notable quotes from the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 28, 2024:
Read more »
Notable quotes from the 2024 Paris OlympicsHere are some notable quotes from the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 27, 2024:
Read more »
Watching the Games: Olympic TV/streaming guideCBC's Paris 2024 Streaming and TV Schedule for Monday, Aug. 5, 2024
Read more »