Big cities are one thing. Little towns like the five villages of the Cinque Terra are another.
7
A good piece but I don't know if NYC and other places really can do much about it in the long term. The ability to fly anywhere in the country or world for pretty cheap fares (despite the constant carping about "greedy airlines" and "sky-high fares" somehow the planes and destinations are crammed - hmmm) together with the ease of getting a walking, bus, or whatever tour once there, is a combination hard to defeat.
While it has always been the case, no doubt, we are also faced with how badly tourists behave. The stupid "visit" which consists of taking a selfie in front of some noted place or monument (even sometimes in wretchedly bad taste or lack of sensitivity) is about as deep as many scratch the surface. Go to the Met and see the race through the galleries, or visit the Louvre and see people 20 deep trying to take a quick pic of the Mona Lisa before zipping off to the next thing (all without actually LOOKING at the picture) is pathetic. Add to it people who insist on dragging young children along who have such limited attention spans and interests (ok, applies to many adults as well, honestly!) only makes it worse - and no, a three year old won't "remember" their visit, a common theme.
Can much be done? Short of raising the cost of air fares, hotels, etc., to limit tourism, probably not. People are likely not going to become better mannered or informed, either, judging by recent trends. A sad prospect.
While it has always been the case, no doubt, we are also faced with how badly tourists behave. The stupid "visit" which consists of taking a selfie in front of some noted place or monument (even sometimes in wretchedly bad taste or lack of sensitivity) is about as deep as many scratch the surface. Go to the Met and see the race through the galleries, or visit the Louvre and see people 20 deep trying to take a quick pic of the Mona Lisa before zipping off to the next thing (all without actually LOOKING at the picture) is pathetic. Add to it people who insist on dragging young children along who have such limited attention spans and interests (ok, applies to many adults as well, honestly!) only makes it worse - and no, a three year old won't "remember" their visit, a common theme.
Can much be done? Short of raising the cost of air fares, hotels, etc., to limit tourism, probably not. People are likely not going to become better mannered or informed, either, judging by recent trends. A sad prospect.
24
As a tour guide for four+ years specializing in the Hasidic world I come from, I've been surprised by how few New Yorkers tour with us. We get many, many international tourists, especially from Germany (because of the holocaust) but few locals. On our tour yesterday we had an eclectic mix from all over the world, even a yarmulk'd Chinese woman who just discovered she is a Jew and a man from India who had just arrived to the US that morning - but maybe one person from NYC! Why are there so few New Yorkers learning about their neighbors? Hasidic Williamsburg is such an oft misunderstood world, I wish more New Yorkers would learn!
I know some tours can be terrible, but there are niche fantastic ones. I have had my fair share of frustrating experiences of trying to lead bus tours - gave up on it. Sixty people to one group is too much! When in a large herd, people feel entitled to be obnoxious and ignorant, and embarrassments ensure. Once a woman got lost and went back onto the wrong bus: she embarked the Hasidic, segregated bus to Monroe and we had a crazy panic while she sat on the men's side like no Rosa Parks. On small tours no one gets lost and find themselves en route to Kiryas Joel!
The solution to bad tourism should be to fight it with good tourism, but we small guides are up against the big money operations. I've seen quiet a few talented individuals give up. This is an opportunity for New Yorkers to step in and raise the bar for what tourism can be - no?
I know some tours can be terrible, but there are niche fantastic ones. I have had my fair share of frustrating experiences of trying to lead bus tours - gave up on it. Sixty people to one group is too much! When in a large herd, people feel entitled to be obnoxious and ignorant, and embarrassments ensure. Once a woman got lost and went back onto the wrong bus: she embarked the Hasidic, segregated bus to Monroe and we had a crazy panic while she sat on the men's side like no Rosa Parks. On small tours no one gets lost and find themselves en route to Kiryas Joel!
The solution to bad tourism should be to fight it with good tourism, but we small guides are up against the big money operations. I've seen quiet a few talented individuals give up. This is an opportunity for New Yorkers to step in and raise the bar for what tourism can be - no?
11
There are plenty of places that would love to see more tourists. There are places where tourists are extremely rare. I understand going to an over touristed place for specific reasons, to see works of art, or to eat at certain restaurants. But why not do a little research and go somewhere where the locals will be pleasantly surprised by your visit?
And if you live in a large city, you knew from the get go that it would involve plenty of tourists milling around. You should have thought of that beforehand. You sound like people who move to the country near farmland and then complain that farmer's tractors are too loud when they harvest their crops at night.
And if you live in a large city, you knew from the get go that it would involve plenty of tourists milling around. You should have thought of that beforehand. You sound like people who move to the country near farmland and then complain that farmer's tractors are too loud when they harvest their crops at night.
10
We will try to send some to Indiana.
32
I was bemused to click on this article's first hyperlink and be taken to a page listing a neighborhood tour I offer, among 25+ intricate walking tours--almost all in Brooklyn--I've devised in 18 years as a tour guide.
Not only is that tour a rarely chosen offering, the most recent clients I had for it were a typical "group": four people, two local residents, plus two visiting relatives. No microphone, no crowd, no selfie sticks.
We didn't block the sidewalk. We didn't just talk literary and architectural history, or expensive real estate, but also discussed the neighborhood's social history and gestalt. The route was customized, not presented as a "branded product."
I recognize that large group tourism can be disruptive to residential neighborhoods, so I sympathize with Brooklyn Heights residents faced with daily amplified sound. (On the relatively few tours I lead that require microphones, I try not to use them on residential blocks.) And I was appalled to see a large tour bus unloading people in the middle of that historic district.
That said, I think Ms. Bellafante's seeming discomfort with the city's outer borough tourism push is misplaced. I'm not part of NYC&Company's marketing effort, but the belated effort by Queens--2.3 million people!--to encourage tourism should be applauded. Heck, not enough New Yorkers visit Queens.
This weekend I led 13 *New Yorkers* on a tour of Red Hook, parts of which--unlike Venice--were desolate. There's much to learn about our city.
Not only is that tour a rarely chosen offering, the most recent clients I had for it were a typical "group": four people, two local residents, plus two visiting relatives. No microphone, no crowd, no selfie sticks.
We didn't block the sidewalk. We didn't just talk literary and architectural history, or expensive real estate, but also discussed the neighborhood's social history and gestalt. The route was customized, not presented as a "branded product."
I recognize that large group tourism can be disruptive to residential neighborhoods, so I sympathize with Brooklyn Heights residents faced with daily amplified sound. (On the relatively few tours I lead that require microphones, I try not to use them on residential blocks.) And I was appalled to see a large tour bus unloading people in the middle of that historic district.
That said, I think Ms. Bellafante's seeming discomfort with the city's outer borough tourism push is misplaced. I'm not part of NYC&Company's marketing effort, but the belated effort by Queens--2.3 million people!--to encourage tourism should be applauded. Heck, not enough New Yorkers visit Queens.
This weekend I led 13 *New Yorkers* on a tour of Red Hook, parts of which--unlike Venice--were desolate. There's much to learn about our city.
20
I understand the need for revenue that comes from tourism. What I don't like is the sometimes rude or naive behavior exhibited by tourists.
First - walking en masse (4 to 5 wide) on the sidewalk. When I worked on Broadway and Dey Street, I was stunned at how many tourists were already out on the street at 8 am - 5 wide at that. I always tried to be polite as I worked my way through them, but there were a few times when I had to almost yell "Some of us live here and have to get to work!"
Second - blocking sidewalks while taking pictures (selfies or not). Yes, I travel and take pictures in other cities as well, but perhaps because I live in NYC I'm more aware to "taking up space" on the sidewalk, unlike those who travel via car all day. There's a way to take pictures and not get in the way or daily life.
Third, the congestion art the subways and having no idea how to get through the turnstile. I get it - I was once a visitor here too, but blocking multiple turnstiles is not being a good tourist.
I love wandering a new city and enjoying its sights and attractions. But there's a way, especially in a congested tight place like NYC, to be aware of day-to-day life and it seems so many are unaware and then seemed surprised when it takes a firm voice to get past their blockage of the street/doors/subway car/etc.
First - walking en masse (4 to 5 wide) on the sidewalk. When I worked on Broadway and Dey Street, I was stunned at how many tourists were already out on the street at 8 am - 5 wide at that. I always tried to be polite as I worked my way through them, but there were a few times when I had to almost yell "Some of us live here and have to get to work!"
Second - blocking sidewalks while taking pictures (selfies or not). Yes, I travel and take pictures in other cities as well, but perhaps because I live in NYC I'm more aware to "taking up space" on the sidewalk, unlike those who travel via car all day. There's a way to take pictures and not get in the way or daily life.
Third, the congestion art the subways and having no idea how to get through the turnstile. I get it - I was once a visitor here too, but blocking multiple turnstiles is not being a good tourist.
I love wandering a new city and enjoying its sights and attractions. But there's a way, especially in a congested tight place like NYC, to be aware of day-to-day life and it seems so many are unaware and then seemed surprised when it takes a firm voice to get past their blockage of the street/doors/subway car/etc.
27
We were in Barcelona a couple of months back. We saw signs saying "TOURISTS GO HOME" but we did not take them as hostile to us in particular, just a statement that too many represents too much crowded, higher prices and an atmosphere on the streets in some places where local life is supplanted by people taking selfies...taking selfies...taking selfies.
In regard to which, I have concluded that the current purpose of buying an airline ticket, spending a lot of money and traveling half way around the world is so you can take a selifie in front of monuments and other well known sights. That's the purpose. Post it on Facebook, get on the plane and go home.
Tourists are the ultimate consumers. The idea is go some place and consume as much of it as you can, put it in your memory bank and let it stew. Then you can say, "When I was in Barcelona..."
Don't be a tourist. Be a visitor and/or a traveler, someone who goes and becomes, for a short while, part of the life of the city. Don't take photos everywhere you go. What's the point? Put down the damn camera and look around you. Also, stop looking things up constantly on your phone. Wha'd ya do in New York? We looked up things on the smartphone, the same way we could have from home. Instead, enjoy the experience of truly being somewhere unfamiliar. The more you travel, the more you can learn not to be just another tourist.
In regard to which, I have concluded that the current purpose of buying an airline ticket, spending a lot of money and traveling half way around the world is so you can take a selifie in front of monuments and other well known sights. That's the purpose. Post it on Facebook, get on the plane and go home.
Tourists are the ultimate consumers. The idea is go some place and consume as much of it as you can, put it in your memory bank and let it stew. Then you can say, "When I was in Barcelona..."
Don't be a tourist. Be a visitor and/or a traveler, someone who goes and becomes, for a short while, part of the life of the city. Don't take photos everywhere you go. What's the point? Put down the damn camera and look around you. Also, stop looking things up constantly on your phone. Wha'd ya do in New York? We looked up things on the smartphone, the same way we could have from home. Instead, enjoy the experience of truly being somewhere unfamiliar. The more you travel, the more you can learn not to be just another tourist.
42
Agree with this so much - seems like no-one wants to be present to the experience any more (whether traveling or not), hence the constant stream of selfies. No wonder so many are fixated on the next 'hit' since constantly checking a social media feed gives your brain just that...no different than drugs.
I recently left my phone at home when I headed to another part of town (I live in Manhattan), one I somewhat knew but not that well. Rather than being able to look up the address online, I did something that we all "used to do" - I asked a stranger for directions! Turned out to be a lovely moment in a busy day in a busy city. I was glad I left my phone at home!
I recently left my phone at home when I headed to another part of town (I live in Manhattan), one I somewhat knew but not that well. Rather than being able to look up the address online, I did something that we all "used to do" - I asked a stranger for directions! Turned out to be a lovely moment in a busy day in a busy city. I was glad I left my phone at home!
5
We were in Barcelona last month and saw similar on stickers and some walls. But, to reassure US readers, Barcelona natives were kind and friendly and we did not encounter any hostility at all.
I agree about the selfies - we personally do not take many pics as I like to store memories in my mind -- and it was especially peaceful at places where cameras were prohibited. What I would suggest to tourists is to go visit the lesser known neighborhoods, take a cooking or other class, walk the parks, talk to the natives as possible.....this gets you out of "tourist" mode to some degree.
I have nothing against looking stuff up though. It's easy to get lost in a foreign city and Americans especially are at the mercy of the short time we have due to short vacations we are lucky to have (2 weeks usually a year) compared to the rest of the world, where governments mandate 4+ weeks of vacation a year.
I agree about the selfies - we personally do not take many pics as I like to store memories in my mind -- and it was especially peaceful at places where cameras were prohibited. What I would suggest to tourists is to go visit the lesser known neighborhoods, take a cooking or other class, walk the parks, talk to the natives as possible.....this gets you out of "tourist" mode to some degree.
I have nothing against looking stuff up though. It's easy to get lost in a foreign city and Americans especially are at the mercy of the short time we have due to short vacations we are lucky to have (2 weeks usually a year) compared to the rest of the world, where governments mandate 4+ weeks of vacation a year.
2
Thanks for your suggestions. They seem valuable to me.
As to the last paragraph, why do people have to look things up constantly? Constantly. Its like they must, absolutely must, look down all the time. In my own elitist (?) way, I like discovering things as I go. I am not always looking for the "best" experience of Barcelona or Mallorca. I am looking for my experience.
As to the last paragraph, why do people have to look things up constantly? Constantly. Its like they must, absolutely must, look down all the time. In my own elitist (?) way, I like discovering things as I go. I am not always looking for the "best" experience of Barcelona or Mallorca. I am looking for my experience.
12
Popular cities the world over should copy the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Park Service, both of which employ a permit system to limit visitors, especially in wilderness areas. One must apply for such permits in advance and cannot enter without them. The first city on my list to use this system would be Florence, Italy. I will never visit there again. The crowds on the most popular avenue were so dense that one hardly needed to move one's feet to be carried along, and this was late Sept. It was positively scary. Also, how can one experience the essence of a city when surrounded by no one but other tourists, most of whom are taking their frustrations with the crowds out by being horribly rude? Did we want to shop and dine, contributing to the local economy? Hardly. We just wanted out ASAP!
7
Having lived in mid-town NYC for forty years I am always happy to see tourists. In the first place, they are routinely cheerful, better dressed, and better behaved. Tourists have taken the time to learn the words "please" and "thank you" from their tour books, and if I am asked by them for directions I am happy to take a moment to help.
This year tourists will spend $47 billion in Manhattan. That is billion with a B. That is more than the entire state revenues of Wyoming, Vermont, Nebraska, Deleware, Alabama, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Kansas, Hawaii, combined, with another $5 billion to spare. And I am supposed to complain about that kind of cash flow?
The only place that is impossibly congested at all times is Times Square, but it was congested 40 years ago and 80 years ago as well (just check historic photographs) - it was always packed and always will be. No problem, just take another street.
This year tourists will spend $47 billion in Manhattan. That is billion with a B. That is more than the entire state revenues of Wyoming, Vermont, Nebraska, Deleware, Alabama, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Kansas, Hawaii, combined, with another $5 billion to spare. And I am supposed to complain about that kind of cash flow?
The only place that is impossibly congested at all times is Times Square, but it was congested 40 years ago and 80 years ago as well (just check historic photographs) - it was always packed and always will be. No problem, just take another street.
42
I have seen comments saying Nyers are rude and why come here. This is not true, most tourists are in areas trafficked heavily by...other tourists, all jostling for a space to take selfies. this is worth remembering before trashing the local populace.
16
Tourism is clearly a coin of two sides: income to the cities that are tourists' destinations, and overcrowding of historical and cultural important sites. In one of the most tourist countries, Switzerland, the natives serve the tourists well and courteously, but they do not love them. As far as New York City is concerned, I cannot understand why out-of-townees come and put up with the general rudeness of an average New Yorker and its/his/her ear-grating accent.
1
Apropos to nothing, I was once on a tour bus in San Francisco .As we went by the curvy Lombard Street the guide said "folks this is the second most crooked street in America. The first is Wall Street in New York".
Back to the article-We are the world center for: Culture, finance, theater, food publishing , media ,diversity and world politics. We are the crossroads of the world. And I like the tourists.
Back to the article-We are the world center for: Culture, finance, theater, food publishing , media ,diversity and world politics. We are the crossroads of the world. And I like the tourists.
9
I'm always puzzled by people living in cities who complain about tourism. Tourism is a large part of the economies of cities, and cities are all about economies. Further, they're transit points, not retirement communities. People who "live" there do so in various states of permanence, or more likely, impermanence. The people in a city on any given day, whether they are there for a day, a week, month, year, or a lifetime, ARE the city. (And yes, Brooklyn is part of NYC.)
10
Everything you said applies to everywhere. Which is part of the point. I live near a more rural area where people love to complain about tourists / "city folk" (that is the most g rated term) even though their economies are based on tourism for the most part. People are born in cities just as they are born in rural areas just as they are born in the suburbs, and oftentimes don't "choose" their home anymore than anyone else. From my understanding of the article (I have not been to NY personally) their concerns about tourists are mainly about areas that previously have not had tourists and are residential. Living in the Midwest, I know us suburban and rural folk like to think in terms of righteous victimization...(we have the only valid complaints, everything good about this country comes from the cities / suburbs and the elites on the coast are both at the same time horrible / dumb but also powerful enough to "keep us down". But I don't think it is fair to say that city folk can't complain about tourists but rural folk / suburban folk can.
3
I am a tour guide in Hasidic Williamsburg, an insular community of some 100,000 pious, Yiddish speaking Hasidim situated among the trendiest NYC 'hoods. We must be the least visited part of Brooklyn, because my tour gets only a thousand or two visitors a year and I am the only guide who currently provides these services. While my ambition ignites in me fantasies of reaching masses of these visitors, I have decided to keep our tours small and intimate - to ensure we do not feel too unwelcome or touristy. There are no selfie sticks! As a result, we have been able to increasingly experience tiny babysteps of more openess from Hasidic passerbiers. The sense of cross cultural connection is priceless. Unfortunately, the problem of learning about a culture without objectifying never has an easy answer.
9
The city is not really crowded compared to what it once was. Look at photos of Times Square and Fifth Avenue in the 1930's and 1940's and you'll be shocked. About 1.6 million live in Manhattan today - it was over 2.3 million in 1910. Brooklyn's population peaked in 1950 at 2.738 million, although it's close to that at about 2.6+ million today. Queens is at a peak at 2.33 million and traffic has become a nightmare, but the streets aren't. The Bronx is almost back to its 1970 peak of 1.47 million. Staten Island is at its peak, but it's only 476,000.
Tourism provides tremendous economic benefits to the City. Annoyed by tourists in your neighborhood? Suck it up. Would you rather see another few hundred thousand people out of work? Between 1950 and 1960, the City lost 100,000 people. It made that up in the following decade, but between 1970 and 1980, it lost over 800,000 people and it took 20 years to get those people back. The City might have been less crowded, but do you know what those population losses did to the tax base?
62 million visitors spend at least $62 billion.
And it's not "wax museums", it's "wax museum". There's only one. (The NY Times needs to keep its copywriters).
Tourism provides tremendous economic benefits to the City. Annoyed by tourists in your neighborhood? Suck it up. Would you rather see another few hundred thousand people out of work? Between 1950 and 1960, the City lost 100,000 people. It made that up in the following decade, but between 1970 and 1980, it lost over 800,000 people and it took 20 years to get those people back. The City might have been less crowded, but do you know what those population losses did to the tax base?
62 million visitors spend at least $62 billion.
And it's not "wax museums", it's "wax museum". There's only one. (The NY Times needs to keep its copywriters).
16
Great writing by Ginia Bellafante. If tourists spend there money, then what the heck? But right, if you are in NYC actually to, uh, live, all of those people make it seem like Provincetown, where you are the tourist when you go there. Okay, maybe not as quaint as Provincetown.
But *limiting* tourism seem like such a disaster. It's like President Ford's trying to limit inflation. Tourists just want to be here. We could undertake counteroffensive actions, such as increasing the number of homeless; institute begging in a massive way. How about bringing back the old 42nd Street?
More deeply aggressive actions could be to stage really bad plays on Broadway, plays like the one Mel Brooks envisions in his true classic, "The Producers". And we could get the same kind of funding from the tourists, hitting them up with inordinate numbers of shares of these productions as our visitors pass by on the sidewalk.
Of course if tourists want to feel like they are real New Yorkers, then, right, we could have a "ride" of sorts, a reality event in which they look for apartments.
We could insult these tourists, but who can be sure who these tourists are? A visiting couple might be your boss's parents.
If anyone is interested in any of these ideas, just email me hard currency only. I'm looking to go on vacation.
But *limiting* tourism seem like such a disaster. It's like President Ford's trying to limit inflation. Tourists just want to be here. We could undertake counteroffensive actions, such as increasing the number of homeless; institute begging in a massive way. How about bringing back the old 42nd Street?
More deeply aggressive actions could be to stage really bad plays on Broadway, plays like the one Mel Brooks envisions in his true classic, "The Producers". And we could get the same kind of funding from the tourists, hitting them up with inordinate numbers of shares of these productions as our visitors pass by on the sidewalk.
Of course if tourists want to feel like they are real New Yorkers, then, right, we could have a "ride" of sorts, a reality event in which they look for apartments.
We could insult these tourists, but who can be sure who these tourists are? A visiting couple might be your boss's parents.
If anyone is interested in any of these ideas, just email me hard currency only. I'm looking to go on vacation.
7
I lived in Paris. I lived on the French Riviera, where my 5 minutes drive to/from work often became an hour long, or even more, during the season. I lived in Victoria BC, with its hordes of tourists during summer. And a variety of less touristy places. I have also been a tourist/visitor in many, many places. Yes, tourists can be a pain; yes, there are some attitudes that could evolve. Still, be thankful for tourists. Besides the sizeable contribution they make to the local economy, they are a good sign. Of the "many, many places" I have visited, some were devoid of tourists, just had a few visitors (out of towners there for work-related reasons, as I most frequently am). Tourists come for a reason, you reason, while willing time to move faster in the latter type of place.
(I will concede one point, though: selfie-sticks should be banned. Two points, actually. Stop with the locks, fools. Or better still, come back for a service call when that everlasting love the lock was going to provide, crumbles. If the internet was full of pictures of guys crying while hacking away at locks with a crowbars, maybe the pont des arts would not look like a demented locksmith's shop.)
(I will concede one point, though: selfie-sticks should be banned. Two points, actually. Stop with the locks, fools. Or better still, come back for a service call when that everlasting love the lock was going to provide, crumbles. If the internet was full of pictures of guys crying while hacking away at locks with a crowbars, maybe the pont des arts would not look like a demented locksmith's shop.)
7
What is the lock habit? I've not seen them except on bicycles and (spelled with an "x") on bagels.
2
The writer seems to be Mad On The Internet for having endured the unspeakable indignity of having encountered a tourist group near to her home. For this unspeakable indignity, the writer attempts to ex post facto justify her revulsion at tourists by invoking our (very real) housing crisis and laying the totality of that problem at the feat of the existence and continued construction of hotels.
Tourism is an obvious good for New York City, both economically and culturally, no matter where the tourists choose to go. If they elect to be adventurous and stray from the obvious sites, then all the better for them. By visiting each other where we live can we as Americans (and world citizens) better understand and appreciate how each other lives.
I doubt very much that it is the construction of hotels that are preventing the city from building more housing. There should be more housing, yes, but hardly are the two (hotels & housing) mutually exclusive. Housing is an issue that must be solved by city and state government; not a problem to be laid conveniently at the feet of the continued existence of hotels when a writer finds herself in a huff for having the sidewalk perhaps obstructed by visitors from out of town.
Tourism is an obvious good for New York City, both economically and culturally, no matter where the tourists choose to go. If they elect to be adventurous and stray from the obvious sites, then all the better for them. By visiting each other where we live can we as Americans (and world citizens) better understand and appreciate how each other lives.
I doubt very much that it is the construction of hotels that are preventing the city from building more housing. There should be more housing, yes, but hardly are the two (hotels & housing) mutually exclusive. Housing is an issue that must be solved by city and state government; not a problem to be laid conveniently at the feet of the continued existence of hotels when a writer finds herself in a huff for having the sidewalk perhaps obstructed by visitors from out of town.
11
Like many things in our crowded, resource-straitened world, tourism benefits some while harming others. Hotels prosper; people in need of affordable housing must pay much more or leave their city when apartent buildings are coinverted into hotels, legal or illegally. I can point out three within two blocks of my small apartment.
3
I will be happy to never visit NYC again
11
I'm sure the author travels too. She could be one of the American travelers in Shibuya, the busiest place in Tokyo. I was already bummed out after reading about Trump's crazy behavior. This article is the last thing I want to have.
7
I found it especially amusing when some with supposed prescience predicted a shortfall of tourists on account of the Trump Presidency. I thought that this prediction to be a joke and it looks like I was right. I love having tourists here! They spend money and what could be better than that!
5
Once again, I find it unbelievable how ready people who don't live in NY, have never lived in NY, and have no intention of ever living here are to make comments about how the city is run, how we live, what are problems are and how we ought to fix them.
If you have ever tried to take a peaceful walk in Central Park -- even at the far northern end at Harlem -- and you literally are accosted by bicycles on woodland paths, large groups screaming and yelling in what are supposed to be quiet areas, smoking, biking and otherwise ignoring Park rules -- you will know what "too much" is.
If you have ever tried to take a peaceful walk in Central Park -- even at the far northern end at Harlem -- and you literally are accosted by bicycles on woodland paths, large groups screaming and yelling in what are supposed to be quiet areas, smoking, biking and otherwise ignoring Park rules -- you will know what "too much" is.
21
Central Park is only peaceful during bad weather or after sundown. This is a fairly recent phenomenon.
4
Bike are way too prevalent in many areas where they should be forbidden.
MOTORIZED BIKES--unlicensed, uninsured, without lights, are forbidden by law--but NYC COPS WILL DO NOTHING EVEN WHEN i POINT THEM OUT.
MOTORIZED BIKES--unlicensed, uninsured, without lights, are forbidden by law--but NYC COPS WILL DO NOTHING EVEN WHEN i POINT THEM OUT.
5
I suspect I live in the same neighborhood as the columnist. A few tourists is fine, but big clumps of them is too much. I've learned not to steer clear of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade on weekends, and no longer go to some attractions, like Brooklyn Bridge Park. The local subway stations are chocked with the tourist flow.
And, with the closure of the Carnegie Deli, the wait on the line to get into Katz's Deli on East Houston Street is several hours.
On the other hand, reactions to our wonderful President Trump threaten to shut down the flow of foreign visitors to our country and to NYC. Just wait a bit, and while thousands of miners go back to work, millions of people in the hospitality industry and related trades will go on the unemployment lines.
And, with the closure of the Carnegie Deli, the wait on the line to get into Katz's Deli on East Houston Street is several hours.
On the other hand, reactions to our wonderful President Trump threaten to shut down the flow of foreign visitors to our country and to NYC. Just wait a bit, and while thousands of miners go back to work, millions of people in the hospitality industry and related trades will go on the unemployment lines.
5
I believe, similar to London, New York wears crowds well and it is part of the life of the city. It is good that tourists are less interested in treading the cliche "wax museum in Times Square" path and want to experience a taste of living like a local. It will spread the tourist dollar to small businesses throughout the city and will lessen the pull of ugly tourist trap establishments which don't reflect or add to the cities culture.
Places like Paris and Venice use the intimacy and reflective nature of their cities as part of their brand. Paris is actively striving to overtake London as the most visited European city. Having visited Paris a couple of years ago I can say this strategy is not working, it is stifling the vibe of the city.
Places like Paris and Venice use the intimacy and reflective nature of their cities as part of their brand. Paris is actively striving to overtake London as the most visited European city. Having visited Paris a couple of years ago I can say this strategy is not working, it is stifling the vibe of the city.
8
Is NYC really spending millions of dollars on tourist attractions like 'an observation wheel' while at the same time it's life blood, it's main artery, the subway system, is falling apart? Seriously?
14
Please get your facts straight in Oregon. The subway is part of the MTA, which is a state agency. New York Wheel is funded by private investors. Got it?
16
When I stand on the steps of the NY Public Library, look to my left and see nothing but people from 42nd St. to 59th St. (as I have done several times on the day before Thanksgiving) . . . that's too many tourists for me. I know that it's time to take my work into less crowded residential spaces.
5
Tourists are welcome, but as a self-confessed grouch I cannot abide the hordes who pack museums out. I went to one to see a famous exhibit, yet the mob packed around it were 12 people deep all holding up iPads to take pictures. Also the massive gaggles blocking underground platforms around the entrance, yet if you push through you find half the platform empty. Argh!
9
I was at the Met Museum this afternoon. I fled the jam packed China show after about 15 minutes after I nearly tripped over one of what seemed like hundreds of empty baby buggies being pushed around (empty because their normal occupants were running around screaming).
I went to another show I wanted to see which also closes soon -- this one a small one on 19th C. Italian photography. While I was standing in the much more comfortable galery up close to a frame containing about a dozen Italian 19th C. "cartes de visite" a hand holding a camera descending in the space between me and the frame (no more than a foot) -- the hand of a jerk in shorts who couldn't wait for me to move on before getting his photo.
I went to another show I wanted to see which also closes soon -- this one a small one on 19th C. Italian photography. While I was standing in the much more comfortable galery up close to a frame containing about a dozen Italian 19th C. "cartes de visite" a hand holding a camera descending in the space between me and the frame (no more than a foot) -- the hand of a jerk in shorts who couldn't wait for me to move on before getting his photo.
5
If 62 million visitors were to spend at least $100 each, it's a 6.2 billion dollar injection into the economy. Not to mention the goodwill that tourists take back that affect businesses in ways that cannot be measured. You also don't see New Yorkers praying for coal jobs to come back. What does it tell you? It's a little inconvenient, yes. But your livelihood is tightly interconnected with tourism, believe it or not. And New York City is the greatest city in the world!!! Be thankful people want to visit it.
9
You don't live here. Nuff said. When tens of millions visit Phoenix, then I want to hear about your opinion of our "inconvenience."
12
Are you talking about coal jobs coming back to NY? What kind of coal jobs did we ever have, other than coal delivery jobs?
If you are talking about us delivering coals jobs backt o the parts of the country that had them and want them back, that wouldn't surprise me a bit. It's typical for peope out there to expect NYC to fund a large part of the rest of the country and its services!
If you are talking about us delivering coals jobs backt o the parts of the country that had them and want them back, that wouldn't surprise me a bit. It's typical for peope out there to expect NYC to fund a large part of the rest of the country and its services!
3
Check out the Toledo Zoo on a summer Sunday. There are too many people everywhere. Really, we humans are swarming parasites on this small blue ball.
16
Many tourists are wonderful. Others not so much. Same could be said for the locals.
17
The sheer arrogant elitism of this piece should have been accompanied by Saul Sternberg's famous New Yorker cover showing Manhattan as the center of the world (See Wiki: View of the World from 9th Avenue)
In the limited space available let me count SOME of the ways:
"wondrous gazes [sic] of the out of towners" Marie Antoinette lives
Addendum: Maybe they are like visitors to a zoo?
"not all neighbors have welcomed" Didn't we epass laws against discrimination
Also "neighbors" [sic] could: Erect a wall. Post armed guards.Dig a moat-with drawbridge.
"the blame [sic; sick] can be distributed widely" For the attraction of $$$ and jobs for all from tourism
"decline in manufacturing" Reopen the sweat shops!! Cf also note immediately above
"to tourists...who would emerge as a driving force [sic] of the economy" Oh the horror of it!
"the field they were given to play in [sic]" Obviously they are not intellectuals
"[the tourists] became more diverse [sic]" We don't want their kind in our neighborhood!!
"could hardly contain the masses [sic]
" affluent classes had rejected [sic]"
" success of tourism is is unambiguous" Oh the horror!
"the city's first [sic] outlet mall" There goes the neighborhood! And we know residents don't want name brands at discount!
"How many tourists are too many?" How many many arrogant exclusionary NYC natives are too many? Ans: One!
"construction hotels untrammeled" To heck with need! Aren't the subway grates available!
In the limited space available let me count SOME of the ways:
"wondrous gazes [sic] of the out of towners" Marie Antoinette lives
Addendum: Maybe they are like visitors to a zoo?
"not all neighbors have welcomed" Didn't we epass laws against discrimination
Also "neighbors" [sic] could: Erect a wall. Post armed guards.Dig a moat-with drawbridge.
"the blame [sic; sick] can be distributed widely" For the attraction of $$$ and jobs for all from tourism
"decline in manufacturing" Reopen the sweat shops!! Cf also note immediately above
"to tourists...who would emerge as a driving force [sic] of the economy" Oh the horror of it!
"the field they were given to play in [sic]" Obviously they are not intellectuals
"[the tourists] became more diverse [sic]" We don't want their kind in our neighborhood!!
"could hardly contain the masses [sic]
" affluent classes had rejected [sic]"
" success of tourism is is unambiguous" Oh the horror!
"the city's first [sic] outlet mall" There goes the neighborhood! And we know residents don't want name brands at discount!
"How many tourists are too many?" How many many arrogant exclusionary NYC natives are too many? Ans: One!
"construction hotels untrammeled" To heck with need! Aren't the subway grates available!
5
Certainly the herds of people in museums--led from a distance beyond the audilibity of normal speech and thus requiring loud volumes and a "flag" to follow--should be banned by our museums. Art is not appreciated in this way, by the tourists or the regular visitors.
This is just a way to say "I was there"--commemorated by a "selfie"--yet another horrible aspect of our debased civilization.
This is just a way to say "I was there"--commemorated by a "selfie"--yet another horrible aspect of our debased civilization.
15
When I left the Met Museum at 4.30 this afternoon, there was still a long line of people waiting to get in, even with only 45 mins. left before they started emptying the gallieries.
3
Dear New Yorkers!
The reason for this is simple: you live in the most thrilling, most amazing, most beautiful, most interesting and most lively city in the world. And one can't help but fall in love with NY! This is why we have to visit over and over again, we can not help it. It is my addiction, since I was lucky many years ago to study in NY. And the city changed since then, even for better. Take it as a compliment! This from someone, who is at home in Switzerland, in a town, that is a tourist hot spot as well. And yes, it can be difficult at times. But I keep thinking: " Wow, I live, where other people spend their vacation. Great!" See you all soon in NY!
The reason for this is simple: you live in the most thrilling, most amazing, most beautiful, most interesting and most lively city in the world. And one can't help but fall in love with NY! This is why we have to visit over and over again, we can not help it. It is my addiction, since I was lucky many years ago to study in NY. And the city changed since then, even for better. Take it as a compliment! This from someone, who is at home in Switzerland, in a town, that is a tourist hot spot as well. And yes, it can be difficult at times. But I keep thinking: " Wow, I live, where other people spend their vacation. Great!" See you all soon in NY!
26
@ Nicole
I don't like to bear bad news, but you are not visiting New York, nor are you experiencing a New York that is correlative to real life. You are experiencing a homogenized, digestible formulated idea of how outsiders wish NY to be, and on that model they have built the city to serve that financial need. of vendors and business owners. It's a fake experience. But, as with everything else, a few benefit at the expense of many. If I owned tour busses in NY and i live on a quiet street in NJ, I wouldn't want things to change either.
I don't like to bear bad news, but you are not visiting New York, nor are you experiencing a New York that is correlative to real life. You are experiencing a homogenized, digestible formulated idea of how outsiders wish NY to be, and on that model they have built the city to serve that financial need. of vendors and business owners. It's a fake experience. But, as with everything else, a few benefit at the expense of many. If I owned tour busses in NY and i live on a quiet street in NJ, I wouldn't want things to change either.
19
@Nicole
> you live in the most thrilling, most amazing, most beautiful, most interesting and most lively city in the world.
NO it's not.
> you live in the most thrilling, most amazing, most beautiful, most interesting and most lively city in the world.
NO it's not.
2
Let he who has never been a tourist himself cast the first stone.
31
Not all tourists behave the same, though.
7
Notice, they are not desiring to visit Mitch McConnell"s Kentucky, or Mike Pence's Indiana. Pretty soon it is just a matter of green.... hey the Statue of Liberty is green. So is the Dollar.
6
New York spends 1.6 billion dollars on homeless services. We need these tourists to help fund the most expensive social services in the country. What would happen to New York if these people stopped coming?
8
@ Steven
I'm sorry to say, you are incorrect. Homeless issues are out of control, worse than ever. Tourism has made the problem worse. Tourists in all their wisdom, give money to panhandlers. New Yorkers do not. The tax base in NY has exploded 10 fold in the past 20 years. There's plenty of money without tourism. It's greed. One guy making money on tourism at the expense of people who want to live in a real city, not a mall in NJ.
I'm sorry to say, you are incorrect. Homeless issues are out of control, worse than ever. Tourism has made the problem worse. Tourists in all their wisdom, give money to panhandlers. New Yorkers do not. The tax base in NY has exploded 10 fold in the past 20 years. There's plenty of money without tourism. It's greed. One guy making money on tourism at the expense of people who want to live in a real city, not a mall in NJ.
9
Even though I don't live in NYC anymore I will go there again and again and again - for food and for everythingelse.
10
Unsaid in this article is that when you artificially limit the number of tourists, all you've really done is make tourism unaffordable for people on the edge. The prices go up, and the people that can still go are the ones with more money.. which is just yet another step in the direction of stratifying everyone into the haves and have-nots.
25
Come to Sarasota from November to April and you'll see what is too much. I exclude from "too much" the thousands of Canadians who are a pleasure to have, talk to and interact with. As for the Red State ones, don't ask!
9
To that I say, come to New York ANYTIME and you'll see what "too much" is.
10
I live in Southern California with about 20 Million other people. To me, most of the world is not crowded compared to here. Even in Florence, Italy, I see huge numbers of tourists milling around, taking selfies. But, if you walk a few blocks away, you have another piazza to enjoy with less crowds. The world is crowded and getting more and more every day. I remember walking on a beautiful beach on the Central Coast of California that is not crowded (I won't say the name so I can save it for myself and a few other hardy souls) running into a woman from Billings, Montana who told me Billings is crowded too. You cannot get away from it.
17
I've lived in NYC virtually all my 80 years and Like tourists. Our interactions have almost always been very positive, perhaps because they usually start with me asking "Can I help you?"
Try it. Prepare to be charmed, or at least feeling good.
Try it. Prepare to be charmed, or at least feeling good.
41
As long as there's money in it, they'll flock to it so somebody can make a buck. What other industries does NYC have? Right, not much.
We moved during the drug crisis of the 70's. Maybe try that again?
Not much the average person (My wife and I are both natives) can do except move. And, it's going to get worse. Never better, worse.
We moved during the drug crisis of the 70's. Maybe try that again?
Not much the average person (My wife and I are both natives) can do except move. And, it's going to get worse. Never better, worse.
5
What other industries? Are you kidding?
1
Eric Garner was not killed in St. George but in Tomkinsville, an adjacent but entirely different neighborhood. If you think this is nitpicky, switch it with Yorkville/East Harlem or Red Hook/Carroll Gardens. The context completely changes.
3
How is this at all related to the article?
2
The article does say that St. George is NEAR where Garner was killed. Yes, it is definitely nit picky. Have a nice 4th.
3
how about we all just stay at home from now on.
10
Depressing.
4
Inevitably because human beings have bred in numbers far exceeding their natural bounds, as the deer have, we are encumbered everywhere by the idiocy called tourism. One can only suggest visiting a western state like Wyoming where so far few people live or venture onto its spectacular roads, with scenery so much more engaging than almost any other state. Oversubscribed like New York and Chicago, overpriced and overexposed, a city or region is overwhelmed and its attractions compromised, perhaps fatally. We won't visit places like Venice for this reason, preferring to discover areas of the USA we have not yet ventured. Hopefully without too much company.
8
"Equally important, tourist spending includes sales taxes, hotel taxes, and all kinds of other taxes. A tax dollar paid by a tourist is a tax dollar New Yorkers don't have to pay."
don't take it for granted. the politicians will find a way to spend every tax dollar PLUS some some on one social and redistribution scheme or other.
don't take it for granted. the politicians will find a way to spend every tax dollar PLUS some some on one social and redistribution scheme or other.
3
I love tourists. Tourists spend $50 billion a year in New York City. That spending sustains businesses, and jobs. Those jobs range from corporate executives to dishwashers.
Equally important, tourist spending includes sales taxes, hotel taxes, and all kinds of other taxes. A tax dollar paid by a tourist is a tax dollar New Yorkers don't have to pay.
Yes, tourists put demands on our infrastructure. But if New York draws 62 million tourists a year, and let's say the average tourist stay is about four days, that comes to fewer than 700,000 tourists per day. In a city with a resident population of 8.5 million, plus another 3.5 million who commute daily to NYC to work, tourists are the least of our infrastructure problems.
And while tourists use our infrastructure, they don't put a lot of strain on our public safety resources. Who ever got mugged by a tourist?
The solution to loud tour guides in residential neighborhoods lies not in limiting the number of tourists, but in revising the noise code.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
Equally important, tourist spending includes sales taxes, hotel taxes, and all kinds of other taxes. A tax dollar paid by a tourist is a tax dollar New Yorkers don't have to pay.
Yes, tourists put demands on our infrastructure. But if New York draws 62 million tourists a year, and let's say the average tourist stay is about four days, that comes to fewer than 700,000 tourists per day. In a city with a resident population of 8.5 million, plus another 3.5 million who commute daily to NYC to work, tourists are the least of our infrastructure problems.
And while tourists use our infrastructure, they don't put a lot of strain on our public safety resources. Who ever got mugged by a tourist?
The solution to loud tour guides in residential neighborhoods lies not in limiting the number of tourists, but in revising the noise code.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
22
Sorry to say it, but my last visits to Florence and Dubrovnik convinced me that too many tourists (of which I was one, of course) are degrading the experience for everyone. Dubrovnik was saved for me because I got up early one Sunday morning and walked around the quiet city, had breakfast on restaurant terrace and was able to enjoy the city's ambiance. Paris seems to be able to successfully absorb its many visitors. Perhaps because there are interesting and/or beautiful sights to see in every part of the city.
18
Thanks so much, Ms. Bellafante, for your excellent article. Your assessment and thoughtful perspective is now on our radar as we explore alternative sources of income, especially for folks living in the buffer areas of our municipality's watersheds.
4
NYC isn't a Venice, a Barcelona, or even a London: there aren't nearly the layers of history that need to be respected and protected, nor is there a genteel culture that European cities have. NYC, and the horrible president it thrust upon us in November, constantly tell the world it's "Number One", glitzy, tough, and resilient. So New Yorkers who whine about the hordes of tourists can shove it.
22
Dr. Max - Do you really believe that NYC "thrust upon us" President Trump? Do you think that the people of NYC voted for President Trump, a Republican? Have you ever visited NYC?
14
Don't blame NY for DJT. Check the voting records. We went solidly for Hillary and are marching, acting, writing and working in all sorts of way to resist him and his administration.
18
Hmm amd you are...a doctor?
1
The William Vale is a large idiot building. An absolute insult to both architecture and the thriving independent creative community that once existed in Williamsburg.
Contrary to what the critics have to say, the Highline's failure has nothing to do with its design and everything to do with the herds of tourists who gravitate there.
Contrary to what the critics have to say, the Highline's failure has nothing to do with its design and everything to do with the herds of tourists who gravitate there.
14
Agreed on the Highline...it's hard to even walk on it anymore it's so crammed with visitors.
10
So much emphasis rests nowadays onto accommodating the endless/profitable trickle of fast paced tourists.
And as a result, trapped withing those shrinking cityscapes locals get a ringside seat to endure the many downsides affecting their neighborhood, Doomed to grow a thick bark and cope with the flow at the expense of appearing somewhat out of tune with their ever feisty surroundings.
The global rise of a population is to blame. Cheap flights on par with the wealth of hotel alternatives for a few hundred dollars by now land every fold of the map within one's hand.
Tourist is the coolest hobby and as it goes the local must get used to the sudden encumbrance of bumping into some eye-popping character hopping from store to store while ballasted, R and L, with choked up full shopping bags.
I am often baffled at watching the insane amount of visitors clogging major museums. Most seem apathetic in regard to the artworks until, standing in line they finally slot a thin opportunity to get their beaming face next to one of the collection's darlings while, in the process indulging more into adjusting the camera settings than looking at the real thing. What's the point?
Sounds cool to be adrift someplace else but weird when the nutshell experience amounts to zipping from point(s) A to point(s) B in the spirit of I-am-here-for-3-days-binge-and-willing-to-make-most-of-it. Whatever the consequences.
And as a result, trapped withing those shrinking cityscapes locals get a ringside seat to endure the many downsides affecting their neighborhood, Doomed to grow a thick bark and cope with the flow at the expense of appearing somewhat out of tune with their ever feisty surroundings.
The global rise of a population is to blame. Cheap flights on par with the wealth of hotel alternatives for a few hundred dollars by now land every fold of the map within one's hand.
Tourist is the coolest hobby and as it goes the local must get used to the sudden encumbrance of bumping into some eye-popping character hopping from store to store while ballasted, R and L, with choked up full shopping bags.
I am often baffled at watching the insane amount of visitors clogging major museums. Most seem apathetic in regard to the artworks until, standing in line they finally slot a thin opportunity to get their beaming face next to one of the collection's darlings while, in the process indulging more into adjusting the camera settings than looking at the real thing. What's the point?
Sounds cool to be adrift someplace else but weird when the nutshell experience amounts to zipping from point(s) A to point(s) B in the spirit of I-am-here-for-3-days-binge-and-willing-to-make-most-of-it. Whatever the consequences.
11
The terminal superficiality of tourism is on display in the Louvre where the thousands flock daily, not to see the art, but to make their own personal digital photo catalogue of it, out of all context except being able to "own" an image.
10
A tourist who visited Venice
Was thrown out of town as a menace.
“You’re ruining our space!”
They said to his face --
“The San Pantalon ain’t for tennis!”
Was thrown out of town as a menace.
“You’re ruining our space!”
They said to his face --
“The San Pantalon ain’t for tennis!”
4
*Scratching head. Oy !, I am not sure what you expect lads and lasses.
The world population is growing exponentially, and along with it more people from the 3rd world who are coming into means ( a somewhat middle class ) Couple that with the who gives an eff about breaking the law companies, such as AIrBnB and the like, and trips are becoming more affordable.
Set up the big cities as a tourist attraction as the have nots wanting to come and see how the haves live, and you are bound to have more and more pressing their noses up to the glass .
SMH to all those that think otherwise.
The world population is growing exponentially, and along with it more people from the 3rd world who are coming into means ( a somewhat middle class ) Couple that with the who gives an eff about breaking the law companies, such as AIrBnB and the like, and trips are becoming more affordable.
Set up the big cities as a tourist attraction as the have nots wanting to come and see how the haves live, and you are bound to have more and more pressing their noses up to the glass .
SMH to all those that think otherwise.
16
It's always something, right?
I was mugged in 1971 in the middle of Astor Place. There was not a single person visible in any direction as the muggers sauntered off, ten dollars richer.
At 8:30 PM on a Friday. No one around. Imagine that.
I remember sitting in a subway car so filled with graffiti that I couldn't see out any windows, and couldn't tell the half dark station we were in after a few of the doors opened. Awful service (and the smell..)
In the quiet street in the Village that I lived in for 20 years, crack vials filled the street near the curb, and the old man who ran numbers from his first floor apartment was shot in the stomach by an angry customer in the middle of the day. He lived though. Just a warning.
Who wants to trade rolling suitcases for the good old days, huh? Who'd like to trade the horrible city we live in now for the charming clean perfect city that we occupied during the Summer of Sam?
Who thinks New York was so much better when Kitty Genovese was killed and no one did anything to help?
You'd have to learn how to keep your dollar bills inside your underpants, however, if you make that trade. No ATMs for you.
I was mugged in 1971 in the middle of Astor Place. There was not a single person visible in any direction as the muggers sauntered off, ten dollars richer.
At 8:30 PM on a Friday. No one around. Imagine that.
I remember sitting in a subway car so filled with graffiti that I couldn't see out any windows, and couldn't tell the half dark station we were in after a few of the doors opened. Awful service (and the smell..)
In the quiet street in the Village that I lived in for 20 years, crack vials filled the street near the curb, and the old man who ran numbers from his first floor apartment was shot in the stomach by an angry customer in the middle of the day. He lived though. Just a warning.
Who wants to trade rolling suitcases for the good old days, huh? Who'd like to trade the horrible city we live in now for the charming clean perfect city that we occupied during the Summer of Sam?
Who thinks New York was so much better when Kitty Genovese was killed and no one did anything to help?
You'd have to learn how to keep your dollar bills inside your underpants, however, if you make that trade. No ATMs for you.
47
I don't see how your comment is relevant to the article. No one is yearning to return to the days of opaque subway windows.
7
Actually, I was lured by the trashy, vile NYC of the 70s—when I was a high-school tourist. When I first came to the city in 1980, there were no ATMs—actually, I think Citibank was piloting the first ones, but at the time I banked with the now-defunct New York Bank For Savings, so no ATMs for me.
I'd trade the touristy, overpopulated NYC of today for the gritty NYC of the 70s in a heartbeat.
I'd trade the touristy, overpopulated NYC of today for the gritty NYC of the 70s in a heartbeat.
4
The part of this article that stood out for me was about the construction of hotel rooms and it's impact on our infrastructure, particularly the already overburdened subways. Yes, I'm sure it true, but really lets be honest, it's nothing compared the out of control sprouting of massive residential high rises, with bursting occupancy adding many more people than these hotels would, and the people filling them are more permanent.
Having said that, I sometimes feel like an outsider in my own city, having lived here most of my 60 plus years. As the article states, tourism is spreading beyond the typical tourist locations, that I and many NYers avoid, Times Square being the prime example. Seeing gaggles of tourists in residential neighborhoods would be horrifying as a resident but how do you 'limit' it? Even with a limit on hotel construction, Airbnb fills in and also is a first option for many tourists.
Barcelona, is rife with signs hanging out of apt. windows and graffitti demeaning tourists, something not seen yet in NYC, but as a smaller city the effect of tourism is more prevalent. Plus many tourists there are the 'drunken marauders' peeing on their streets late at night, hence the blatant and justified hostility by residents. Do this happen in NYC?
In the end it's hard to kill the baby with the bathwater, and NY like every other major world city is dealing with this issue, as they reap the financial benefits, which include service jobs to the tourism industry.
Having said that, I sometimes feel like an outsider in my own city, having lived here most of my 60 plus years. As the article states, tourism is spreading beyond the typical tourist locations, that I and many NYers avoid, Times Square being the prime example. Seeing gaggles of tourists in residential neighborhoods would be horrifying as a resident but how do you 'limit' it? Even with a limit on hotel construction, Airbnb fills in and also is a first option for many tourists.
Barcelona, is rife with signs hanging out of apt. windows and graffitti demeaning tourists, something not seen yet in NYC, but as a smaller city the effect of tourism is more prevalent. Plus many tourists there are the 'drunken marauders' peeing on their streets late at night, hence the blatant and justified hostility by residents. Do this happen in NYC?
In the end it's hard to kill the baby with the bathwater, and NY like every other major world city is dealing with this issue, as they reap the financial benefits, which include service jobs to the tourism industry.
10
I guess all those residents of New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc. who complain about tourists never travel... Otherwise, this whining and moaning about tourists seems very hypocritical to me. I find it quite ridiculous to read messages that start with "The last I was in that city..." You do realize that the last time you were in that overcrowded city, you were a tourist too? I expect the people who write comments like this to never travel again, if they want to act accordingly to their ideas. Personally, I find Ms. Bellafanta column typical of certain people who consider themselves superior to the masses and don't want to share. *They* have a right to go anywhere they want and are annoyed that *ordinary* people can now travel too...
31
Some of us choose not to travel en masse, visit during high season, make an ostentatious show of it. We tread lightly, making the effort to respect the territories we explore.
24
I find most of these comments disgusting. Can't stand tourists, you New Yorkers?
I live in rural Wisconsin and have been in New York many times. I was raised in a very urban area of Wisconsin, but moved to a rural place in the 1970's where my husband took a teaching job. As a nurse I have had many healthcare experiences, many commuting to larger cities.
Both rural and urban have advantages and disadvantages. But it seems many comments here seem to give the impressions New Yorkers think New York is just for them and we outsiders have no business there. Interesting, when your city was given and beholds the Statue of Liberty, one of the things I feel emotional about each time I come to New York and see her from the plane.
Calling tourists intruders and making them feel unwelcome seems so unNewYork. From an outsider, just being in a place where diversity is the usual, not the unusual, is heartwarming. To walk down the streets of New York and hear people speaking in so many languages makes us outsiders feel we are part of a greater world than perhaps what we feel at home. Going to the museums makes us feel we are maybe more a part of history than what we feel at home. Taking advantage of the theaters and music halls in New York makes us feel we too have been included and can enjoy the arts, such fine talent.
Yes, there are more tourists. Yes there are more selfies. It is the almost nude little girls parading on Times Square that I would complain about, not tourists.
I live in rural Wisconsin and have been in New York many times. I was raised in a very urban area of Wisconsin, but moved to a rural place in the 1970's where my husband took a teaching job. As a nurse I have had many healthcare experiences, many commuting to larger cities.
Both rural and urban have advantages and disadvantages. But it seems many comments here seem to give the impressions New Yorkers think New York is just for them and we outsiders have no business there. Interesting, when your city was given and beholds the Statue of Liberty, one of the things I feel emotional about each time I come to New York and see her from the plane.
Calling tourists intruders and making them feel unwelcome seems so unNewYork. From an outsider, just being in a place where diversity is the usual, not the unusual, is heartwarming. To walk down the streets of New York and hear people speaking in so many languages makes us outsiders feel we are part of a greater world than perhaps what we feel at home. Going to the museums makes us feel we are maybe more a part of history than what we feel at home. Taking advantage of the theaters and music halls in New York makes us feel we too have been included and can enjoy the arts, such fine talent.
Yes, there are more tourists. Yes there are more selfies. It is the almost nude little girls parading on Times Square that I would complain about, not tourists.
36
Most of these tourists are pigs that throw their trash everywhere while pathetically standing in the middle of Times Square mindlessly photographing each other in the most ridiculously contrived location on the planet.
10
"...the most ridiculously contrived location ..." Absolutely, all thanks to Rudy Giuliani, who needed to turn Times Square into Disney East. It wasn't enough to merely clean it up, and rid it of the XXX theaters and porn shops, he had to destroy it by adding all that horrible childish garbage. I agree with you.
If only the NYC tourism board (my husband was a licensed NYC tour guide and suggested this a decade ago) would hand out a pamphlet to all those arriving by bus, train, plane, crane, and ship -- Please do not walk 9 abreast; when disembarking an escalator step aside immediately; and stop staring UP when crossing streets.
If only the NYC tourism board (my husband was a licensed NYC tour guide and suggested this a decade ago) would hand out a pamphlet to all those arriving by bus, train, plane, crane, and ship -- Please do not walk 9 abreast; when disembarking an escalator step aside immediately; and stop staring UP when crossing streets.
4
Forget about traffic gridlock.
When you have to literally fight your way down 5th bet. 57 and 56, ducking ProGos, Selfies, shopping bags, and wide-bodied tourists in cargo shorts, you know something needs to be done.
but what? NYC wants their bucks. We residents are collateral damage.
When you have to literally fight your way down 5th bet. 57 and 56, ducking ProGos, Selfies, shopping bags, and wide-bodied tourists in cargo shorts, you know something needs to be done.
but what? NYC wants their bucks. We residents are collateral damage.
20
Something needs to be done? You can move.
12
Charge them all a $100 entry fee and make them sign an agreement to not stop in the middle of sidewalks or face a night in the city's nice barred hotel...that should curtail some of the aggravation. We could all just go back to being even more rude then they are...
The most dangerous part of visiting New York is the final approach towards Kennedy Airport - especially via Long Beach. Suddenly all tourists get out of their seats and move to the left windows to take a Selfy. Pilots are less than pleased.
4
You have never been on a plane, have you?
4
What about considering yourself lucky enough to live somewhere that other people from all over our planet wish to visit? Sure, "visitors" can seem oblivious & annoying to the "locals;" but unless you never leave your home, the roles are often reversed. And the irony is delicious - "XXX is ruined because the last time I was there, there were too many tourists..."
17
I recently had a Cancun Hyatt Ziva 'all inclusive resort' brochure fall into my lap. Mind you there are zero black people included in its stiff photos of 'inclusiveness'. The true tragedy however, is revealed in its cover photo... Only a clip of nature seems to have survived what looks to be nothing but parking garages and mowed grass. Why bother go there?
5
I have lived in New York City since 1978. I have lived for 10 years in Astoria, and now 23 years in Midtown (defined as "above 42nd, below 59th St.). The problem with tourists is that they don't adapt to the milieu easily—and why would they? Our city is a wonder and it requires wondering. My wife used to work in the smack center of Times Square and was 51 stories directly above the would-be bomber in Times Sq a few years back (the car bomb that did not go off due to the alertness of street vendors, a Vet.). Her gripe is that those who visit stand six across sometimes shoulder to shoulder as if this were a mega-mall from Minnesota. Just having finished the delIghtful Shiela McClear memoir LAST OF THE LIVE NUDE TIMES SQ GIRLS, it helps to realize all tourists act like "peepers" to some extent: rude, curious, unable to adapt to real rules and otherwise oblivious to humanity.
I've lived in Amsterdam too. Same problem, but with legal marijuana and prostitution the crowds are mellower and more relaxed.
The point is that we need to adapt to the situation with peace, and not anger. And that is hard for a New Yorker...it's too damn crowded! (but tourists keep Broadway alive—I just wish the mall mentality had not inhabited producers of drek lame-o musicals, but, that is a different topic.
I've lived in Amsterdam too. Same problem, but with legal marijuana and prostitution the crowds are mellower and more relaxed.
The point is that we need to adapt to the situation with peace, and not anger. And that is hard for a New Yorker...it's too damn crowded! (but tourists keep Broadway alive—I just wish the mall mentality had not inhabited producers of drek lame-o musicals, but, that is a different topic.
13
I'm on my way after 2 weeks in least expensive Airbnb's in baRoque Sicily - and it is the best way to be friends the beaten track ReAL life here...
4
How much is too much? When a sighting of a local is a major event, That's when it's too much. By my back of the envelope calculations, 62 mil visitors in NYC is 6.2 visitors for each resident. Considering your density, that's bordering too much. I live on Cape Cod; we who live here know not to travel -- EVER -- on/off Cape on a summer weekend, especially this one. My 'town', pop 30K, will host ca 150K for the fireworks on Friday. My hometown? 4K becomes 40K in summer. That's FAR too much, in each scenario. (I'm leaving the Cape for two weeks, tomorrow! Phew!)
I don't see how anyone can enjoy such throngs of invaders, although I must confess that I do love visiting large, cosmopolitan cities -- Rome, Paris, New York, Jakarta.... And my husband likes to say "we travel; we don't go on vacation"; we always try to blend into where ever we are. Perhaps we who live in highly touristed spots become innately aware of what damage "those tourists" do, so we make "better tourists"? Or maybe it's just fantasy. The world's population will exceed 10bil by mid/late century. We'd better get used to rubbing elbows with others....
Remember, folks, as the bumper sticker says: "I'm not on your vacation." Please don't check your brain at the bridge!
I don't see how anyone can enjoy such throngs of invaders, although I must confess that I do love visiting large, cosmopolitan cities -- Rome, Paris, New York, Jakarta.... And my husband likes to say "we travel; we don't go on vacation"; we always try to blend into where ever we are. Perhaps we who live in highly touristed spots become innately aware of what damage "those tourists" do, so we make "better tourists"? Or maybe it's just fantasy. The world's population will exceed 10bil by mid/late century. We'd better get used to rubbing elbows with others....
Remember, folks, as the bumper sticker says: "I'm not on your vacation." Please don't check your brain at the bridge!
5
I have a pin from the first I NYC campaign ('77 or '78) and have never broken faith!
3
I can just imagine the spellbinding tales these tourists must hear.: "This used to be a Duane Reade, now it's a Rite Aid".
11
From the article: "the affluent classes, whose anxieties made them ever more intent on distinguishing themselves from those on the lower rungs..."
There are not enough eyeroll emoji in the universe for that statement.
So according to author, if someone is more interested in art or architecture than wax figures, that's CONDESCENDING?!?! Or a symbol of "anxieties" ?!
Really, NYTimes, as a lifelong reader, a subscriber, and a New Yorker, this statement is offensive and ridiculous and makes you look really stupid.
There are not enough eyeroll emoji in the universe for that statement.
So according to author, if someone is more interested in art or architecture than wax figures, that's CONDESCENDING?!?! Or a symbol of "anxieties" ?!
Really, NYTimes, as a lifelong reader, a subscriber, and a New Yorker, this statement is offensive and ridiculous and makes you look really stupid.
9
I am a former NYer, but can no longer afford to live there. Last year I set off traveling, before relocating. I traveled to 27 countries (mostly in Europe). I have been before, but it was a totally different experience. In addition to the hordes who feel compelled to take a picture with a selfie stick everywhere they go, there are the groups of young men from the Middle East and Africa, shoving their trinkets (mainly selfie sticks) into your face and trying to engage you including interrupting conversations in sidewalk cafes and gathered around train stations, where camps have formed and garbage piles up. In Paris I watched as crowds gathered in front of the Mona Lisa and I became more fascinated with the people rushing in to take selfies without looking at the painting. Middle Eastern women lay splayed across the sidewalks in many cities, lying face down a cup in hand. There was no choice but to cross the street or step over them. I like to consider myself a traveler, not a tourist, I try to blend in, but as soon as I open my mouth, I am a target. Sadly, the tourists that behave the worst are Americans and Asians, they travel in massive groups and want everything included, so they don't have to think. This is epitomized by the cruise ship tourists (from the Galapos to Budapest), who damage the places they visit, add little to the local economies and descend on the most popular sites en masse for an hour, so they can say they've been there. They haven't been anywhere!
26
Going to France this summer to see my family and friends, don't even want to set foot in Paris in the summer.
Too many tourists make the experience unpleasant.
Too many tourists make the experience unpleasant.
5
sad to say but one terrorist incident in Paris will make Paris a ghost town.
2
No it hasn't
I was in Paris several months after the series of terrorist attacks. The city was crazy crowded. Life goes on.
I was in Paris several months after the series of terrorist attacks. The city was crazy crowded. Life goes on.
2
I think there are just too many people on the planet. Time to stop, guys! There is noting that great about us.
Even without tourists the "great cities" are crowded and ripping at the seams.
I bet a lot of this complaining about "crowds" in this comments sections have released 3-4-5 more humans to join the throngs!
Even without tourists the "great cities" are crowded and ripping at the seams.
I bet a lot of this complaining about "crowds" in this comments sections have released 3-4-5 more humans to join the throngs!
12
The tour guide with the microphone and speaker, who stands beneath my window in Brooklyn Heights, 6 days a week at 12 noon, is especially annoying.
When I confronted him about the microphone, one of his tourists asked me if I knew how much she had paid for the tour? I could only ask them if they might have a clue how much I had paid for my apartment?
When I confronted him about the microphone, one of his tourists asked me if I knew how much she had paid for the tour? I could only ask them if they might have a clue how much I had paid for my apartment?
125
the question really is how much profit you have on the apt.?
2
Instead of confronting the guide about the microphone,maybe you should have just opened your window and thrown a bucket of water on them, or maybe started shouting obscenities.
2
It will never be enough for NYC. We indulge ourselves... bathe in... salve ourselves in greed... no matter the cost to the quality of life.
2
Here's the dirty secret behind tourism: Tax revenue. Tourism is actually considered an export. People come to see you. They spend a lot of money when they do it. That's money going to your own local economy rather than your guest's home town. A portion ends up in the state government's bank account. That's why state governments let tourism run roughshod over local interests.
Locals don't seem to mind though. Yes they complain. They complain endlessly. However, when you explain how much money they save in taxes, they tend to quiet down. Last I checked, every household in Utah saves close to $1,000 dollars each year thanks to tourism. That's not counting all the economic multipliers generated through private business.
As a matter of fact, state governments are in something of a branding war right now. California and Florida are the big spenders but even places like Lancaster, PA are getting in the game. Average state spending in the inter-mountain West is around $20 million a year. The return on investment is estimated around $14 to $1. That's a dollar well spent.
The problem is really the tourism culture. Everyone hates a tour group. Don't be that person. Read a book before you go instead. Tourism is inherently seasonal as well. Boom and bust. If you build for max demand, expect a ghost town in the off-season. If you don't, things get crowded. That's the nature of the beast. Don't like it? Give the next tourist you meet directions to the U-train. That'll show 'em.
Locals don't seem to mind though. Yes they complain. They complain endlessly. However, when you explain how much money they save in taxes, they tend to quiet down. Last I checked, every household in Utah saves close to $1,000 dollars each year thanks to tourism. That's not counting all the economic multipliers generated through private business.
As a matter of fact, state governments are in something of a branding war right now. California and Florida are the big spenders but even places like Lancaster, PA are getting in the game. Average state spending in the inter-mountain West is around $20 million a year. The return on investment is estimated around $14 to $1. That's a dollar well spent.
The problem is really the tourism culture. Everyone hates a tour group. Don't be that person. Read a book before you go instead. Tourism is inherently seasonal as well. Boom and bust. If you build for max demand, expect a ghost town in the off-season. If you don't, things get crowded. That's the nature of the beast. Don't like it? Give the next tourist you meet directions to the U-train. That'll show 'em.
5
This is an obnoxious article with obnoxious comments for so many reasons. This is the USA and people can travel wherever they want. Does this means New Yorkers only stay in New York and never travel to other cities and countries? This is so elitist it is embarrassing to read.
16
between the food tourists clogging up the streets near Eataly or smoking illegally in Madison Park, I feel like a stranger in my own flatiron neighborhood particularly during the summer and simply leave for the north fork from mid-may to mid-october (because I can). I only leave the north fork then because we have too many day tripping tourists out here during peak pumpkin picking season and who doesn't love Autumn in New York with the holidays to look ahead to.
1
"At the same time, the affluent classes (whose anxieties made them ever more intent on distinguishing themselves from those in the lower rungs) had rejected the “tourist” designation altogether — tourists go to wax museums in Times Square — and chose instead to follow the path of what the industry calls immersive travel. This could ... take the shape of ... staying in an art director’s house in Boerum Hill for 10 days, reading Jonathan Lethem novels in a Hans Wegner lounge chair."
First, I can't blame someone who can afford it for wanting something other than the typical tourist experience. Who wants to tramp with the hordes if something different is available? That's not class anxiety.
Second, where did the incredibly specific image of the tourist artist-pretender in Boerum Hill come from?
First, I can't blame someone who can afford it for wanting something other than the typical tourist experience. Who wants to tramp with the hordes if something different is available? That's not class anxiety.
Second, where did the incredibly specific image of the tourist artist-pretender in Boerum Hill come from?
9
Yep. Tourists. We got the same problem in Santa Fe. Actually, a lot of them are New Yorkers. You've got the second home crowd (excuse me, global elite is how I believe they prefer to characterize themselves in New York) like Santa Fe, too. A lot of the second home owners here are New Yorkers, too. Just you wait until you get yourself a nice influx of retirees. We got that here, already, and guess where a lot of them come from.
But, hey, their money spends. And many of them are very nice people.
But, hey, their money spends. And many of them are very nice people.
14
...crab crab crab....grump grump grump...papyrus papyrus papyrus...gutenberg gutenberg gutenberg...alexander graham bell alexander graham bell alexander graham bell...internet internet internet...smart phone smart phone smart phone...national decline national decline national decline...the beat goes on...
3
Little Iceland, population around 300,000, has become such a popular tourist destination that they plan to limit the # of tourists to 3,000,000.
Most are interested in Iceland's natural wonders, but housing has now become so tight for its citizens that they need to place limits, so citizens can afford a place to live.
Most are interested in Iceland's natural wonders, but housing has now become so tight for its citizens that they need to place limits, so citizens can afford a place to live.
7
"Reading Jonathan Lethem novels in a Hans Wegner lounge chair."
Could you people be any more precious?
Could you people be any more precious?
9
I would rather have loads of tourists than these ghost apartment buyers looking to shelter their money but not really be part of the neighborhood or the city.
13
Do I detect an undercurrent of racism in many of these complaints? There seems to be an attitude that it's ok for Americans to visit quaint communities abroad, but when they put on modern clothes and come visit us back, this is shocking and horrible - especially when they have more money.
8
Some see racism everywhere even when it's not the issue.
9
doesn't the NY times publish a "Where to go this year" column every year describing all the "undiscovered" places to go that your friends haven't seen yet? I bet all the people in those remote places aren't thrilled that their town/country gets swamped with tourists. That same desire to no "be a tourist and go to basic places" is why tourists are now exploring further out city areas. Can't have it both ways.
14
From Banff and Glacier National Parks to Beijing and San Francisco, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Galapagos, from Vietnam to Vancouver, everywhere is overrun by tourists, decimating what's left of wildlife and submerging local cultures under a drowning tide of consumerism. Paris now looks and feels like Rome or London or Chicago; tour buses and cruise ships choke the world's surface and aircraft clog the skies. Tourism is a cancer that destroyed Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the coast of Spain years ago and has now chewed its way into the fabric of every place in the world. Commercialism plain and simple.
8
At first I was enthusiastic more people seemed to take interest in museum going. Upon greater reflection, it seems more of an Instagram moment for the herds, than cultural experience. These institutions once provided escape, from such shoving crowds.
55
We all know that tourism is destroying many cities around the world. I'm not opposed to efforts to limit tourism in some places, in order to preserve history for us all. New York? Not so much. Developers, like donald tRump, are destroying New York, and making it purely unlivable for most people. WHAT 42nd Street?
Read a Small Place, by Jamaica Kincaid.
2
Yes, all of you people MUST stop coming to Seattle, that's MY place.
Seriously, we learn by going to new places. Just be respectful and, especially, don't park your GROUP in the middle of the sidewalk, subway entrance, etc. Be polite, use common sense. You WILL be treated better.
Seriously, we learn by going to new places. Just be respectful and, especially, don't park your GROUP in the middle of the sidewalk, subway entrance, etc. Be polite, use common sense. You WILL be treated better.
8
It's very hard to get to work the past few years, and harder at night to get to your commuting place in Midtown. I say this as one who lived in Manhattan for 32 years and now resides in Hoboken but works in Midtown. It's brutal, getting around the endless waves of leisurely strolling gaggles of tourists. Every inch of Midtown sidewalk is clogged. I now walk in the roadways, no kidding, to get to and from my office. It was NEVER this bad.
Finally, I would note that the negative posts about other commenters expressing problems with mega-tourism seem to originate from persons not living or working in NYC.
Finally, I would note that the negative posts about other commenters expressing problems with mega-tourism seem to originate from persons not living or working in NYC.
6
We just spent a month in Spain driving through the southern half of the country. We visited important, historic places and visited family. Our trip also helped the economy and hopefully made spaniards think well of Americans.
We have tons of tourists here in Austin, Texas too!
We have tons of tourists here in Austin, Texas too!
3
Tourism in New York City has ruined the quality of life for most of us who live here. The short sighted idea of more more more equals better for the city is a disaster. Tourists are the reason so many homeless people come to Times Square. They foolishly give money, hence creating an incentive. They walk 5 deep across a sidewalk, one can not even get to where they need to go because of them. They take every taxi, creating an explosion of Lyft and Uber which only add to the giant tour busses that create gridlock everywhere. Tourists destroy neighborhoods, as once decent restaurants go out of business in favor of cheap food that fill people up. Commercial real estate operates on expenses that can only be paid through a constant influx of people, tourists. Lastly, they destroy the energy of New York with their baby strollers and kids and glee at everything that entertains them. The parks are no longer for city residents who work very hard to afford to live here. Forget the highline, baby stroller parade at a snail's pace. Also, why must every space be turned into a performance space? Why must every park have vendors? Annoying!
11
NYC has always been a stop on the way to someplace else. It's just that some of us got stuck here.
3
Most of the "real New Yorkers" I know live out in the far flung neighborhoods of South Brooklyn and central Queens. "Real New York" really does still exist; it's just not in the Lower East Side or Williamsburg.
5
If I didn't live here I would come just for the food.
35
I grew up in an area with very little tourism—few people visited because of the area's association with poverty, racism, and decaying industry. I've lived in New York City since college, and while I recognize that tourism is not always easy to live with, every day I wake up thrilled to live in a place that others find pleasant enough to visit.
12
Perhaps had you not abandoned ship, you might've made your place of origin a desirable destination for tourists. Instead, you contribute to the crowds.
1
I moved to a beautiful colonial town in Mexico that is also becoming overrun with tourists,especially the snowbirds (many of them from NYC) who flock here in the winter months. After perusing the comments here, I am thankful for at least one thing: no rolling suitcases -- they don't work on cobblestone.
13
A healthy carbon tax will help cut down on long distance tourism. Bring back local destinations. When I grew up we went (by car) someplace upstate, not half way around the world.
6
We need to re-regulate the airlines and get rid of rock-bottom airfares. A trip that you have to save money in order to afford -- like the trips to Europe I took as a starving student in the pre-deregulated 80s -- is a well-considered trip which, in the end, is a lot more satisfying than simply jetting off at the drop of the hat to the last destination you learned about in a friend's instagram feed.
Re-regulation and the end of airfare price wars would also have the benefit of making airline revenues more predictable, and would reverse the disturbing trend of packing more and more people into each flight. We all hate this miserable situation, yet somehow as long as the option is available, we don't seem to be able to keep ourselves from seeking out the lowest fare!
Re-regulation and the end of airfare price wars would also have the benefit of making airline revenues more predictable, and would reverse the disturbing trend of packing more and more people into each flight. We all hate this miserable situation, yet somehow as long as the option is available, we don't seem to be able to keep ourselves from seeking out the lowest fare!
4
Frank, that's an awful idea.
You want to pay more for flying? Just pay for first class - leg room and champagne.
You want to pay more for flying? Just pay for first class - leg room and champagne.
7
A five borough approach to tourism is the right direction to take in dealing with overcrowding of tourists in particular neighborhoods. Here in Queens, we know that more tourism will lead to stronger local businesses and more money for our parks and museums. The fountains around the Unisphere are always operational during the U.S. Tennis Open. They probably would be on if more tourists visited the Queens Museum and Corona Flushing Meadows Park.
2
At least large cities have a chance to absorb and ignore tourists. Smaller places such as Santa Fe cannot. As pedestrians, they walk in the streets, eyes glued to phones, and ignore Walk/Don't Walk lights at intersections. As drivers, they bring their enormous vehicles to drive them (badly) on streets originally laid down in the 17th century sometimes to follow ancient animal trails. As diners, they distinguish themselves by being the loudest customers in the rooms. For several months of the year, locals must hunker down and avoid the Plaza area.
But please, come early, come often, and spend vast sums of money. Most of it leaves the community to line the pockets of chain establishments. It's all good.
But please, come early, come often, and spend vast sums of money. Most of it leaves the community to line the pockets of chain establishments. It's all good.
5
To be honest, the city has colluded (surely The Word of the Year) in promoting our Disneyland culture for more than a century. As NM Territorial Governor Manuel Armijo said in 1841, "Poor New Mexico! So far from heaven, so close to Texas."
2
I do not think tourists would be as much of a problem if they used a little more common sense when traveling and if they were more mindful travelers. When people visit another country, they can't expect to act as if they're in the US (or wherever their home country might be). Tourists expects the convenience of being in their home country even when they visit somewhere foreign and when you expect a place to accommodate you, you're going to lose the culture and the thing that makes the place special to begin with. Places should be accommodating to tourists but only to a point. Don't visit a place where the culture doesn't emphasize vegetarian or vegan options and then complain that you couldn't find anything to eat. Don't visit a little tropical island that's close to the equator and then complain that there was no internet or AC in the middle of the Pacific.
13
But, but, wait...it's all about me, why shouldn't they accommodate me? Sigh, you're oh so right!
4
For a few months in 1966 I lived in Barcelona. At that time there were few tourists in the city itself (though many European tourists sought out the village of Sitges). It was a wonderful intriguing place...a place where one could actually meet ordinary (but impassioned) local people. One could really stroll down Las Ramblas, instead of being crushed in by the masses of tourists that my husband and I encounted when we spent a few days in 2010. I was so very disappointed going back. Tourism may bring in lots of money to these various popular destinations, but at least in Europe it seems to such the soul out of cities and towns from Barcelona to Paris to Bruges to Florence.
14
Weren't you one of the crush of tourists walking down the Ramblas wishing the rest would go away? I lived in Barcelona for two months in 1976 and had a great time. When I returned in 2005 not so great. You just have to shrug your shoulders. People and places change and grow, often not for the best. If you choose to travel in this way - as I do - you must accept the reality that you too are part of this unhappy process. PS: In the past when I found an amazing new place, I would rush to tell others. No more.
4
When the volume of tourism changes the dynamics of the city, it is too much.
15
You should be asking, how much world population is too much. The limits of sustainability will be tested in all fronts and the resolution will not be peaceful. It says something about the state of our civilization that it is not just immigration, now also tourism, that threatens "our way of life."
15
Among those throngs of visitors are Trump voters from states that matter. Where is our political imagination? This is an opportunity for engagement. Where do we start?
13
I hate to shock all you sophisticated Manhattanites but tons of visitors from what we now call 'red' states have been visiting NYC for years. The city has been at most 3 hours away from the deep south and most of the Midwest since the jet age began in the early 1960s.
7
I came to New York 25 years ago. Working and living here was a dream come true for me. It breaks my heart beyond belief to see the many varied and exciting cultures of the city disappearing. Soon the place will become an homogenized clump of aimlessly wandering tourists and chain stores. I guess America's openness and its free market that allowed such varied cultures and businesses to initially flourish will also be the source of the city's decent into a sterile wasteland. In a way its downfall was inevitable.
34
I wouldn't mind the tourist surge as of late if only they used some common sense. Not everyone walking the sidewalk is on vacation -- many of us are WORKING and need to get into our office buildings without you clogging the entrance or corners. Please be mindful, especially if you're traveling with a group of 10 or more.
28
Many new city residents are of the same inconsiderate mentality as the tourist you describe, both rich and poor. They don't really love NYC.
2
Unfortunately, without tourists you don't get tourist dollars. So many jobs now are in retail catering to tourists (at minimum wage) that reducing the numbers of tourists would severely impact the economies of these cities. We see it down in Myrtle Beach where many businesses close in the winter leaving their employees to fend for themselves or go on Medicaid if they can get it.
20
If NYC took a poll of residents asking "are there too many tourists in the city?" What percentage answer yes? 80, 90%?
14
After having visited and enjoyed NYC in the early '90S, I was back in October 2012 and I would say "yes" to that question as well. No desire to return anytime soon.
7
I don't believe the NYC & Co statement about an increase in tourism this summer. Last month we stayed at a 4 star hotel at 57th & Lex for $140 per night. It wasn't through a special deal but from the hotel's website. In fact, we had a choice of rooms throughout the theatre district under $200 which would have cost double in 2016. I asked the hotel why room rates were so low, her response was that foreign tourists were not coming to New York. Pure and simple.
15
So you choose to believe one anecdotal opinion from a worker in one hotel vs the statistics gathered by a reputable organization? Your hotel worker is incorrect - what has happened is that there is now a glut of hotels in Manhattan, and companies have added hotels in Queens and Brooklyn. And of course, AirBNB has also increased room options. your worker may be seeing fewer customers because of expanded options.
22
No... I also see fewer foreign tourists on the streets, on mass transit, in the restaurants and at the museums.
3
Supply and demand!
Convince me whatever revenue NYC is generating from all this tourism is worth the quality of life compromise for its residents, as the tourist masses balloon and housing and infrastructure crisis continue. It's like NYC does more for tourists than locals. City is becoming more and more like Dubai and the conversation has yet to enter the political area. Cheers to Barcelona for doing something about it.
25
As a former longtime resident of St George, Staten Island, I am dismayed, but not surprised, to see that Ms Bellafante brings up only negatives (a murder, a mall, a controversy) at the thought of St George as a tourist destination. After all, it is Staten Island.
If she were to take a ferry and walk up the hill, she would find an appealing 19th century garden suburb whose residents have a strong sense of community.
If she were to take a ferry and walk up the hill, she would find an appealing 19th century garden suburb whose residents have a strong sense of community.
12
As someone who knows St. George well because of family and friends, I agree.
And Eric Garner (such a tragic, unnecessary death) was not killed in St. George, but in Tompkinsville, which is adjacent.
Staten Island is economically depressed, especially the North Shore. Drive down Bay Street and take in all the empty storefronts and run-down signage. For years, the local government and merchants have been trying to entice visitors to stay and spend money in St. George after their free ferry ride. I hope it won't be too cheesy, but a mall and food court are good ideas. The residents will benefit as well.
And Eric Garner (such a tragic, unnecessary death) was not killed in St. George, but in Tompkinsville, which is adjacent.
Staten Island is economically depressed, especially the North Shore. Drive down Bay Street and take in all the empty storefronts and run-down signage. For years, the local government and merchants have been trying to entice visitors to stay and spend money in St. George after their free ferry ride. I hope it won't be too cheesy, but a mall and food court are good ideas. The residents will benefit as well.
7
Staten Island is not 'economically depressed'. 2nd highest median income after Manhattan. Much of the north shore is a mess but still better than similar neighborhoods in the other boroughs.
1
NYC Taxpayer:
Year after year, the articles appear on how to revitalize the North Shore. Every few years, the NYT does an article on how the North Shore of Staten Island will be the next hot place for creatives. It never happens, in part because of the transportation issue.
Year after year, the articles appear on how to revitalize the North Shore. Every few years, the NYT does an article on how the North Shore of Staten Island will be the next hot place for creatives. It never happens, in part because of the transportation issue.
2
So happy every time that I come across Gina Bellafante's byline, which is not nearly enough. This report illustrates why we could all use more of her take on things in NYT.
3
Sorry to break your bubble. But there is NO tourist restrictions in Venice. Just got back and it was more crowded than Times Square on a Saturday night. 4 cruise ships were pulled into dock and those little groups of passengers were all over the city at all hours of the day. Day touring is also not restricted. It's a myth for publicity. Will never go back. Not only that but all churches charge entry fees but won't turn on the lights so you can see the art. And in St. Mark's Basilica they do have restrictions: they make you walk on path without stopping in 5 minutes or under. Oh yes, and I tried to cross the grand piazza with my suitcases as I needed to change hotels and was thrown to the ground by a police officer. I guess he is the one person who is trying to stop the crowds. Talk is big in Venice - earning MONEY is bigger.
21
How much does the tourist industry exasperate Venice's demise, its wear and tear, the compromising of canals, economic bubble blowing v/s contribute to its preservation, restoration and preparation for rising water levels?
These is so much potential power to be harvested. Like NYC, no one is really at the reigns.
These is so much potential power to be harvested. Like NYC, no one is really at the reigns.
3
You spell like Emily Emily Litella used to speak. It's not "exasperate," it's "exacerbate." And it's not "reigns" in this context, it's "reins."
6
West End Waterfront Living on Long Island rarely gets the public's attention like Brooklyn. Queens, the step-child of the City is its Best Kept Secret. My 4th of July Staycation includes swimming in the Public Pool on the waterfront (where the ferry will be based next month). There is a Costco hotdog & beverage in my weekend (more southern waterfront facing Manhattan), an easy bike-ride into Central Park for a loop, a visit to the Museum of the Moving Image, Brooklyn Bagel after the gym, then on Tuesday, supermarket deli mock lobster salad & crab cakes topped off by rooftop viewing of the Fireworks, accompanied by skyline backdrop. AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL - Word Is Out!
7
Walking around yesterday, I saw a young woman leading a pack of people and pointing, saying "And that is Park Street!" for what most of us call Park Ave.
There are definitely too many tourists.
There are definitely too many tourists.
62
I might have interrupted and said excuse me but there's no such place that you're pointing at called Park Street.
I have often seen and heard where so-called guides dispensed incorrect knowledge about the city.
These guides seem to know less than the average NYC fourth grader.
I have often seen and heard where so-called guides dispensed incorrect knowledge about the city.
These guides seem to know less than the average NYC fourth grader.
7
The hotels are also needed for non-tourist visitors. Many people have to come to New York on business; or, as in my case to be with family on special occasions.
While there, of course, many of these visitors will do some touristy things.
While there, of course, many of these visitors will do some touristy things.
10
I grew up in NYC and left in the late 70's. When I come in to visit family it is jarring to experience the hordes who have taken over Manhattan. From the overcrowded museums that remind me of the overcrowded ones in Europe to the throngs of people packing the streets it's not a pleasant experience.
In truth though it's no different than the hordes of tourists in Venice, Florence, Paris, Amsterdam etc. And when I'm there I'm a tourist as well!
I fear we are loving our iconic cities and tourist destinations to death. This is probably fueled by affordable plane fares, more people in countries such as China traveling and just an ever growing world population. And as frustrating as it is for NYC residents, if they travel they are part of the tourist hordes wherever they go as well! The only alternative seems to be to live somewhere no one wants to visit!
In truth though it's no different than the hordes of tourists in Venice, Florence, Paris, Amsterdam etc. And when I'm there I'm a tourist as well!
I fear we are loving our iconic cities and tourist destinations to death. This is probably fueled by affordable plane fares, more people in countries such as China traveling and just an ever growing world population. And as frustrating as it is for NYC residents, if they travel they are part of the tourist hordes wherever they go as well! The only alternative seems to be to live somewhere no one wants to visit!
56
Good for new york that it is earning millions of dollars from tourism. Ex Mayor Bloomie and others before him had worked v hard to lay the groundwork on this as a fillip to lost tax rev from the cyclicality of the investment banking industry, so kudos to them.
However, there is a saturation point: too much tourism is like the case of Venice, Italy, where at least to me tourists apparently outnumber locals, making it more of a museum than an interesting place to see local life, color (so one visit was enough for me.
It is a good idea for the city to promote other boroughs besides already crowded Manhattan, which is unique but is not the only new york, just like NY is not representative of the USA.
It is not fun to live in a crowded city.
You can't put the genie back into the bottle but other places - from Philadelphia to Plains, GA; Denver to Detroit and Dallas and so on - can do a better job of promoting their tourism industry so not only do they get more income but also foreigners can see how the rest of America really is.
(They'll understand us better, for better or worse.)
However, there is a saturation point: too much tourism is like the case of Venice, Italy, where at least to me tourists apparently outnumber locals, making it more of a museum than an interesting place to see local life, color (so one visit was enough for me.
It is a good idea for the city to promote other boroughs besides already crowded Manhattan, which is unique but is not the only new york, just like NY is not representative of the USA.
It is not fun to live in a crowded city.
You can't put the genie back into the bottle but other places - from Philadelphia to Plains, GA; Denver to Detroit and Dallas and so on - can do a better job of promoting their tourism industry so not only do they get more income but also foreigners can see how the rest of America really is.
(They'll understand us better, for better or worse.)
6
Tourism use to be about exploration, not being lead around by a carrot. Even pilgrimages had more to do with the journey than the end prize, as Chaucher reminds us.
3
The vast amount of the jobs generated by tourism are low wage. The jobs are overwhelmingly in restaurants, retailing and hotels which, unless they're unionized, are at the bottom of the wage ladder. The rate of unionization is dropping because non-union hotels have proliferated, particularly in the manufacturing areas, pushing out viable businesses that pay higher wages. A recent study by the Pratt Center (at http://prattcenter.net/research/hotel-report) found that hotels can typically outbid any other type of user – affordable housing, office development, manufacturers, etc. – which combined with the absence of any zoning restrictions governing their location was leading some areas such as Gowanus and Long Island City to be inundated by hotels.
The Pratt Center study recommended that zoning be changed to require hotel developers to obtain Special Permits which would give the communities a chance to negotiate to limit development and for unions to negotiate for jobs with better wages.
The Pratt Center study recommended that zoning be changed to require hotel developers to obtain Special Permits which would give the communities a chance to negotiate to limit development and for unions to negotiate for jobs with better wages.
40
Good points, bmt to those without work, low wage almost always beats no wage.
9
Bloomberg eviscerated the manufacturing zones along the waterfront, buildings which could have accommodated New York's resurgent small manufacturers and provided decent wages, so his cronies could sell million dollar views to deserving millennials. In his grand vision for the city, if you were not in finance or real estate and could not code, you had a bright future folding sheets, in perpetuity, in the "Hospitality Industry". And the great thing was, these jobs required little education, so the schools were off the hook. What a mensch.
21
I agree with much of your assessment, but the put down of millennials is unnecessary and wrong - that generation cannot afford and is not buying the slick new spaces ringing the waterfront in Hudson Yards, LIC, along the East River and in Brooklyn. They might be renting overpriced glorified dorms, but purchasing is being done by older, and up until recently, foreign buyers.
7
With so many discount airlines popping up in all regions of the world, along with the airbnb and couchsurfing.org's of the world, it's no wonder tourism is increasing. Although I live in a rural setting far from the hassles New Yorkers and Tokyoites endure, I have to believe that tourism is a great thing - on several levels. People experiencing different cultures and language can only improve relations on our planet. As a frequent traveler, I am stunned at how often people migrate mostly to big cities and tourist traps. Why not meet and encounter people and communities on the roads LESS traveled?
11
In theory you're correct about tourists "experiencing different cultures and language" but as the throngs increase sites are often forced to package visits in such a way as to limit their actual value. Coupled with peoples' often shallow depth of desire for exposure ("Ok, I saw that, check it off the list - in three minutes and move on to the next place.") and their dining at places like Red Lobster or Hard Rock with their hoards, it's hardly very authentic.
People migrate to these big cities and tourist traps precisely because its made so easy. Cheap flights, a bus or walking tour pushed by the hotel and, often most annoyingly of all, the quick block the way selfie shot, etc. makes for cookie experiences. People are lazy and want it easy - and it shows.
People migrate to these big cities and tourist traps precisely because its made so easy. Cheap flights, a bus or walking tour pushed by the hotel and, often most annoyingly of all, the quick block the way selfie shot, etc. makes for cookie experiences. People are lazy and want it easy - and it shows.
7
I live near the UN, which is another big ticket attraction in what I now refer to as Six Flags Manhattan.
The other day a double decker tourist bus (one of hundreds that come down the street all day) was beeping furiously at me...I was holding up the tourist bus "lane" as I tried to get my packages out of a taxi so I could take them into my home.
That bus driver perfectly summed up how the city has prioritized the needs of tourists over the lives of the people who live and work here.
The other day a double decker tourist bus (one of hundreds that come down the street all day) was beeping furiously at me...I was holding up the tourist bus "lane" as I tried to get my packages out of a taxi so I could take them into my home.
That bus driver perfectly summed up how the city has prioritized the needs of tourists over the lives of the people who live and work here.
63
You shouldn't have been blocking the bus lane.
1
The NYC economic development corporation has open public meetings and a board of directors, many from local boards. The web site states that NYC construction is at a 4 year high. They helped with tax exemptions film production at York Studios in SOundview, BX and Michangelo (his first name) at Made in NY in Bush terminal creates jobs but that is different than filming in and clogging streets. The city govt coordinator in charge of scheduling filming om sites should be fired for overbooking. They notify artists about vacant real estate for use as studios low rents, in Greenpoint they did a "renovation of a facility transforming a former auto parts warehouse into a multi-tenant manufacturing center", they helped the new Luna Park renovate after Sandy in COney Island They are jobs and business oriented and really don't care about how economic development impacts the local residents. At least Made in NY and the Brooklyn navy yard, and film production start ups are in the least density and poorest areas.
1
The Brooklyn navy yard had a functioning local economy that recently was shoved aside by higher paying tenants.
I checked the numbers and found that in New York state, three-quarters of a million jobs depend on tourism and its spin-offs, so notwithstanding some NIMBY-ism in a number of the comments here, that sure looks like a positive impact – especially if your job depends on tourism.
70% of the tourists come from other places in the USA, and should be welcomed as fellow-citizens. Of the 30% who are international tourists, a lot of those are from close allies of the USA – countries that sent troops into Afghanistan after 9/11. New Yorkers should not forget that.
A number of the comments flag specific problems with things like transit. The solution for these problems is not fewer tourists, but more investment in infrastructure, including information and ticketing services that smooth out the impact of large groups.
70% of the tourists come from other places in the USA, and should be welcomed as fellow-citizens. Of the 30% who are international tourists, a lot of those are from close allies of the USA – countries that sent troops into Afghanistan after 9/11. New Yorkers should not forget that.
A number of the comments flag specific problems with things like transit. The solution for these problems is not fewer tourists, but more investment in infrastructure, including information and ticketing services that smooth out the impact of large groups.
82
The research study done for NY state mentions that tourism to the state generates $16 billion annually in tax revenues, of which $8 billion goes to the city+state and the rest to the federal government. The annual $8 billion for the city+state could finance a lot of improvements to transit and other services which could cushion the impact of tourism on the city.
3
Plenty of people complaining about tourism moved into NYC less than a decade ago. It's a quantitative, not qualitative, distinction between the tourists who move in and adopt the superior air of locals and tourists who leave town after a few days.
14
In the old days people would visit here in their business suits for meetings or conventions or stay with friends or relatives. The hotel rooms and some airnb pay hotel taxes. The city needs that to replace the manufacturing decline. But hasn't the incubators in Brooklyn navy yard and movie industry permits provided the city with income. To rely on hotels excessively is a land grab, especially if socially important other uses cant afford to open or stay. It is sad that incubators and artists have to live and work in subsidized spaces. It seems the city needs Scott Springer and his board city planners to expose this phony growth or destuctive industry.
6
The phoney tourism agency is NYC & Company. What exactly is Marty Markowtiz doing besides getting a big check? How does the agency actually track hotel room nights stayed by conventions, and business travelers? Nobody knows what their metrics is.
3
I was in London a few years ago and then Paris, also Kyoto...all of them are crowded! Massive crowds thronging down sidewalks, intent on visiting the next thing on their list. They like places with good public transport and they like quick, inexpensive restaurants.
10
My NYC apt. overlooks a quaint village street where I now feel captive in a petting zoo. If it isn't the tourists it's the shooting of movies, and then all the photographers with their models nor after hour. I pray for cold wet February days.
62
The city has a density problem. #NYCdensityProblem
11
NYC is literally the only city in the country with a high population density. Maybe move to any other city if you don't like it?
5
And even here density varies greatly by borough.
Borough | 2015 Total Population | population % | Square Miles | avg pop per sq mi | as % of nyc
Bronx | 1455444 | 17.02% | 42.1 | 34571.12 | 122.37%
Brooklyn | 2636735 | 30.84% | 70.82 | 37231.50 | 131.78%
Manhattan | 1644518 | 19.23% | 22.83 | 72033.20 | 254.97%
Queens | 2339150 | 27.36% | 108.53 | 21553.03 | 76.29%
Staten Island | 474558 | 5.55% | 58.37 | 8130.17 | 28.78%
TOTAL= | 8550405 | 100.00% | 302.65 | 28251.79 | 100.00%
Borough | 2015 Total Population | population % | Square Miles | avg pop per sq mi | as % of nyc
Bronx | 1455444 | 17.02% | 42.1 | 34571.12 | 122.37%
Brooklyn | 2636735 | 30.84% | 70.82 | 37231.50 | 131.78%
Manhattan | 1644518 | 19.23% | 22.83 | 72033.20 | 254.97%
Queens | 2339150 | 27.36% | 108.53 | 21553.03 | 76.29%
Staten Island | 474558 | 5.55% | 58.37 | 8130.17 | 28.78%
TOTAL= | 8550405 | 100.00% | 302.65 | 28251.79 | 100.00%
1
And at MOMA! The chattering crowds nabbing selfies in front of masterworks are untenable.
52
True.
But the Arts organizations are responsible for cultivating those visitors.
I remember the MOMA when it was a kind of BEAT NIK place back in the 1960s. I loved it. The new MOMA is awful.
If you don't like how the patrons visit the MOMA in NYC, tell them, not here.
ART IS NOT A BACKGROUND SELFIE EVENT.
But the Arts organizations are responsible for cultivating those visitors.
I remember the MOMA when it was a kind of BEAT NIK place back in the 1960s. I loved it. The new MOMA is awful.
If you don't like how the patrons visit the MOMA in NYC, tell them, not here.
ART IS NOT A BACKGROUND SELFIE EVENT.
55
Sadly, this situation is not the result of mass tourism but simply of our lower standards of civility. People who take selfies at the MOMA will be just as annoying at home.
8
please calm down...this is the way people "vacation " now. It hurts no one 'cept in the heart of the beholder , that can be resolved by visiting in the off-season
get back to your beatnik mind set
get back to your beatnik mind set
3
I don't much like tourists b/c I'm a curmudgeon, locals or visitors, BUT these folks bring money, and leave it here, figure, loosely $1k per visitor, or $62B local income, even @ $500/ per is still $30B,
Pays for a lot of cops or school teachers or mayoral legal fees, and creates employment
So, Ms Bellafonte how is your own personal NIMBY
Perhaps we should wall off NYC and declare it a gated community and raffle off tourist visas
All this traffic raises the value of your property if you own...
I live a few hundred yards from ground Zero 9/11
Solid clog of people all deferential 'lest we forget/ why we fight'
An ongoing battlefield, in the Long War, 'we may not be interested in history but as Nietzsche said, history is interested in you'
Try not to be too sniffy of a NYer Ms Bellafote, they pay our bills and maybe even see the world our way, for a moment
Pays for a lot of cops or school teachers or mayoral legal fees, and creates employment
So, Ms Bellafonte how is your own personal NIMBY
Perhaps we should wall off NYC and declare it a gated community and raffle off tourist visas
All this traffic raises the value of your property if you own...
I live a few hundred yards from ground Zero 9/11
Solid clog of people all deferential 'lest we forget/ why we fight'
An ongoing battlefield, in the Long War, 'we may not be interested in history but as Nietzsche said, history is interested in you'
Try not to be too sniffy of a NYer Ms Bellafote, they pay our bills and maybe even see the world our way, for a moment
36
But what are New Yorkers when they travel abroad? I do believe I've even met one or two hanging around Golden Gate Park.
40
The aura and appeal of New York City (Specifically Manhattan and Brooklyn!) was shaped over the years but two underlying truths! First, many Hollywood movies over the years often focused on The City as the IT place! Second, Brooklyn (especially its southern neighborhoods!) was the nuturing ground of an unusually vast amount of talent!
9
I do my part by being really nasty to tourists who are in the way. Travelers who go with the flow are largely invisible and therefore acceptable. The slack-jawed out of towners blocking the sidewalks staring at their maps? Staring up at the tall buildings? Wasting everyone's time in any line because they're never ready? They get a hearty "KEEP IT MOVING" or "KNOW YOUR SURROUNDINGS" or "THIS ISN'T THE SUBURBS" or "YOU WOULDN"T STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY WOULD YOU?" as I push through. My husband says it probably excites them since they expect us to be "rude" and that they get a fun story to tell about how horrible NYers are. My reply is that hopefully, those who hear the story decide to go to Disney instead.
32
NYC, like much of Europe, IS a Disney property.
3
You ARE rude. What about when you travel, or do you know your way expertly around every town and city in the world? Jeez!
1
Oh don't be mean to tourists! I help tourists in Sacramento all the time. They come to see the magnificent Capital, and I take their family pictures, as a courtesy, for them as they pose in front of the Capital.
Why be mean?
Why be mean?
1
This is a problem in many places around the world. Here in Japan tourism has been increasing by double digits over the last few years and it is beginning to be painful to residents. Thanks to Air BnB, who never speaks to neighbors where they allow this disease, roller bags going down neighborhood streets at 05.00 in the morning have pretty much replaced alarm clocks and cities like Kyoto resemble Shanghai more than Kyoto itself. Tourism in itself does not have to be bad, but an alarming number of tourist seem not to know - or care very much - where they are and how they act. They violate local customs, carry huge bags on public transportation that is not equipped for bags, and act as if they were still at home. If only they were! Most mainstream guide books are also part of the problem. They are written by people who really know nothing very deep about the cities and places in countries they are writing about, and don’t get me started about Trip Advisor! Beyond the information they have about hotels and restaurants, they should be banned from talking about places ”that you must see”. It is just a bunch of reports written by people who know little about what they are writing about; the blind leading the blind. Perhaps the only sane way forward is for cities and sites to curb visitors or make everything reservation based. Of course the entities who are raking in all the money will never allow this, so just get used to it.
19
I've got to say, that the lack of awareness of tourists IS troublesome for THEIR safety, not my privacy or happiness.
Just yesterday, I had to explain to visitors from LA that walking in the Streets of downtown Sacramento is unsafe. Sacramento is having what it calls "A rash of gun violence, or more politically correct, a rash of crimes." Bullets are flying in downtown SAC and it is not safe. It is not safe for most tourists in SF.
People think that they are in Disney land, and they are so happy with the surroundings, in particular in SF, that they loose their defense mechanisms, and they become victims of crime.
There are many instances where tourists walk up a really nice but empty street in SF, CA and think nothing will happen when all of a sudden a man with a gun demands their wallets, but one will fight the robber and lose - his life.
I hate crowds. I hate strangers who don't act courteously.
Just yesterday, I had to explain to visitors from LA that walking in the Streets of downtown Sacramento is unsafe. Sacramento is having what it calls "A rash of gun violence, or more politically correct, a rash of crimes." Bullets are flying in downtown SAC and it is not safe. It is not safe for most tourists in SF.
People think that they are in Disney land, and they are so happy with the surroundings, in particular in SF, that they loose their defense mechanisms, and they become victims of crime.
There are many instances where tourists walk up a really nice but empty street in SF, CA and think nothing will happen when all of a sudden a man with a gun demands their wallets, but one will fight the robber and lose - his life.
I hate crowds. I hate strangers who don't act courteously.
1
I for one am a proponent of tourism. Of course, not all tourism is the same nor are all tourists the same. But I should only encourage those who show an interest in meeting and mingling with others in foreign lands. If done in the right way, it is something that shows the visitor and the visited that we are not all that different despite our various customs. So by all means, regulate tourism so it does not get out of hand. But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. With the rise of xenophobia upon us, let's welcome our global neighbors. Perhaps this will make for a better world.
17
A $2/gal tax on jet fuel and diesel and gasoline would clear our roads, reduce deaths from pollution and collision and allow those of us who NEED to drive an unobstructed path. It would also reduce our need to interact with terrorist-exporters. Stay home, please.
11
Have you tried to walk around Central Park on a nice weekend? Anywhere below 86th St, it's worse than Times Square. The one escape we had in the city, is quickly becoming unusable, not to mention the block long lines at Levain.
25
The people who don't matter these days are those of us who actually live in the city (renters and owners) work, and pay taxes. We are abused in so many ways - terrible infrastructure, subway disasters, dreadful buses, overcrowded streets, tourist invasions, film crews taking over and bullying neighborhoods - I could go on and on. Intrusions and impositions, all in the name of "good for business," have become totally abusive and are ruining the day-to-day lives of regular New Yorkers. Bloomberg accelerated it. De Blasio has done nothing to slow it down. What do they care? They are chauffered in black SUVs.
28
I truly agree with what you are writing. I cannot imagine working in NYC - the triple taxes on your income and every single thing you do is an effort of engineering.
When I visit the East Coast, I travel through NYC and I do not visit because I become so intensely depressed with what it has become against what it was when I was a young woman in the 1970s.
When I visit the East Coast, I travel through NYC and I do not visit because I become so intensely depressed with what it has become against what it was when I was a young woman in the 1970s.
16
Giving tax breaks to movie industry was started decades before Bloomberg, at least 1970s, to attract income. But it is now out of control.
15
Its funny that you comment on what it was in the 70's. I'm a native New Yorker that left in 71 because of the changes from the 50's and 60's. New York is full of "progressives" but I see many don't like what passes for progress.
2
"As of last month, New York City had 113,000 hotel rooms; by 2019, according to NYC & Company, it is expected to have 137,000". NYC & Company every year takes the same press release saying tourism is great. What they fail to do is help market small businesses since their membership is all hotel chains, and restaurant chains. What they refuse to address is hotels turned into condos, all the illegal airbnb apartments which take away from the real hotel properties, and real B&B's in NYC. What they also fail to do is help market venues that might need a little help due to cutbacks at the cities so-called cultural affairs department.
15
i"m really surprised to see so few comments here. Maybe everyone is busy watching the twitter wars. As a native New Yorker, I've been saying for too many years - this isn't my city any more. Enough of the comments before have mentioned the crowded subways etc. What continues to irk me, and push me closer than ever to leaving, is the seeming lack of interest of elected officials to take on this issue. They will speak loudly about lack of affordable housing, pushing the middle class out, jobs, etc. but what, if anything, do they do? Not much that I can see. Continue to permit more glass and steel monstrosities to be built in neighborhoods that were once low rise. Where is OUR quality of life? Every new "improvement" seems to be geared towards the quality of life of the visitors. Build more toilets along the High LIne? How about fixing the bathrooms in the school that exist in CB4 - or fix the streets or wrestle control of the MTA out of the mighty grip of Albany? It's outrageous. And uncomfortable. And unwelcoming - to those who actually live here.
94
I walk my dog in Central park every day and I have had a multitude of delightful conversations with people from all over the world. I am very happy that tourists come to Central Park and am very happy to converse with them and learn about their home countries as well as what they think of New York.
and by the way, this year nearly 100% of what I hear is:
1. how much they love New York
2. how on earth did you make Donald Trump your President?
and by the way, this year nearly 100% of what I hear is:
1. how much they love New York
2. how on earth did you make Donald Trump your President?
262
Of course you do tell them that New York did not make Donald Trump our president. The vast majority of us here voted against him.
12
I helped make Donald Trump our president. It was my personal revenge on New York.
1
Zenster
You're one native New Yorker I would love to have a Central Park conversation with. Too bad there aren't more of you...We're not all "tourists" - we just don't live there. By the way, one of the best conversations I had with two locals was in a New York museum while there in March....about Trump and our mutual dissatisfaction. It was by chance, but it was strong and a worthy conversation to take home in thought to Wisconsin. I still think about it.
MIMA
You're one native New Yorker I would love to have a Central Park conversation with. Too bad there aren't more of you...We're not all "tourists" - we just don't live there. By the way, one of the best conversations I had with two locals was in a New York museum while there in March....about Trump and our mutual dissatisfaction. It was by chance, but it was strong and a worthy conversation to take home in thought to Wisconsin. I still think about it.
MIMA
2
Like locusts, tourists strip a place of its unique qualities and move on to a new feeding ground. Only to be replaced by the next wave.
14
Not Trump, not Putin, not what's his name, but overpopulation is our biggest problem. (7.5 billion, and counting)
102
9 billion, Red China is lying about its actual population stats.
Yes. By breeding with as much sense as feral cats, we destroy everything.
Humans are the modern day locust swarms.
Humans are the modern day locust swarms.
6
@ Will, w/ the Internet we've come closer to maximizing swarm
I'm sure these complaints are justified. However, New Yorkers are tourists whenever they leave the 5 boroughs. When they do, they clog up The Hamptons, the Jersey Shore, the Berkshires, Miami Beach and so on. So unless you promise to stay home for the rest of your life, you too are a tourist. As Pogo said: We have met the enemy, and he is us.
281
touche'
1
I don't mind tourists too much, because I have been one myself, but the frustrating thing about tourists is their behavior. Learn how to walk, people! If you're going to walk slowly, don't clog up the whole sidewalk! Be aware of the space you occupy, it's not that hard.
3
Just got back from Rome.
The hordes (of which I was admittedly one) were unbelievable.
The night tour of the Vatican Museums were supposed to be less frantic.
The crowds were so thick that it actually got frightening at some points.
It was a shock to me and I will never go to Italy other than off season again.
November in Rome is fabulous. November it shall be.
The hordes (of which I was admittedly one) were unbelievable.
The night tour of the Vatican Museums were supposed to be less frantic.
The crowds were so thick that it actually got frightening at some points.
It was a shock to me and I will never go to Italy other than off season again.
November in Rome is fabulous. November it shall be.
72
Yes, Rome is fabulous in November. And by the way, the best way to experience the Vatican is to book your tour on our Thanksgiving day. Americans are back home and the vast majority of tourists are gone for winter. Imagine standing in the Sistine Chapel with maybe 50 other people. It was a gift to behold.
20
Now that Rome and Venice are cruise ship stops, the crowds have become unbearable. Can't get into the Vatican tour because the cruise ship has sold tours to its passengers and they get first of the line service. The ship stopped somewhere and bussed people to Florence. Couldn't get into the museums because the cruise ship ticket holders had first of the line service. In Venice, we almost couldn't walk because the streets were so crowded with tourists from the cruise ships. As a result, we didn't go into the shops. We just wanted to get away from the mass of people. I'm sure Italy is enjoying the tourist dollars, but they are destroying their tourist sights with the mobs.
17
Great tip, but why are you sharing it? I used to work for a travel magazine. We published such cherished "secrets" all the time.
1
I've been in this city for over 45 years, and it's never been worse.
Ms. Bellafante, if you think your lovely historic block in Brooklyn is crowded, you ought to try living in Hell's Kitchen, front burner. There's nothing like trying to take your laundry to the laundromat and having two extra large buses of tourists unloading at your front door.
I feel in a personal war with rolling suitcases every time I leave my apartment.
I don't know if there is anything to be done about reducing the number of tourists but, I have been suggesting for a very, VERY long time that PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIVE IN NEW YORK should PAY TWICE THE FARE on BUSES and SUBWAYS, while those of us who live here should have our fares slashed in half!
My main urk with the tourists on the buses and subways is that they don't know where the hell they're going. They can't decide if this is the correct train or not so they waffle and hold the doors, causing the train to be delayed ten or twenty seconds. Add that up over ten or twenty stops and you've got a significant amount of time. On the buses they have to ask directions from the driver, causing even MORE delay, and they take up precious room with their luggage, their oversized shopping bags, and their baby strollers.
And then there are those damn rolling suitcases!
I don't think the people who live here and have to suffer through 12 months a year of tourists should also have to be footing the bill for them. MAKE THEM PAY MORE!
Ms. Bellafante, if you think your lovely historic block in Brooklyn is crowded, you ought to try living in Hell's Kitchen, front burner. There's nothing like trying to take your laundry to the laundromat and having two extra large buses of tourists unloading at your front door.
I feel in a personal war with rolling suitcases every time I leave my apartment.
I don't know if there is anything to be done about reducing the number of tourists but, I have been suggesting for a very, VERY long time that PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIVE IN NEW YORK should PAY TWICE THE FARE on BUSES and SUBWAYS, while those of us who live here should have our fares slashed in half!
My main urk with the tourists on the buses and subways is that they don't know where the hell they're going. They can't decide if this is the correct train or not so they waffle and hold the doors, causing the train to be delayed ten or twenty seconds. Add that up over ten or twenty stops and you've got a significant amount of time. On the buses they have to ask directions from the driver, causing even MORE delay, and they take up precious room with their luggage, their oversized shopping bags, and their baby strollers.
And then there are those damn rolling suitcases!
I don't think the people who live here and have to suffer through 12 months a year of tourists should also have to be footing the bill for them. MAKE THEM PAY MORE!
36
Chief, Washington, DC, has the same kind of thing: strollers, rolling luggage, backpacks, backpacks-on-wheels, and, on the subways, bicycles, but I honestly think most of their owners live in the DC area.
3
Or maybe you... move someplace less crowded
I thought it was a great New York City philosopher who once said "That place is so crowded that nobody goes there anymore."
63
lol.
NYC has problems? Ha! Venice, Italy with a resident population of about 40,000 and only 3.5 miles wide and 2 miles long receives over 22 million tourists a year. Currently, that often comes to over 100,000 people a day. That would be like NYC with 8.5 million hosting 11.9 million people a day. A day. And those who come to Venice typically stay for a day or two and leave no trail of money behind. If they are on cruise ships (when 8,000 people disembark at a pop) they don't even sleep or eat in the city. It's impossible to understand what this brings to Venice—surely no revenue from the sale of imitation Venetian masks made in China and sold in junk shops and kiosks. The result on such a tiny place with narrow streets is just plain awful. And the behavior of tourists is, for the most part, abominable. In my two months there this spring no matter how many times I politely said, "Scusi" to the horde, they simply wouldn't let someone who is on their way to work or school pass. And every day I had to pick my way across a tiny bridge to my apartment, stepping over people sitting on the steps getting drunk and leaving their pizza boxes and plastic beer cups behind. What I want to know is, why would anyone want to come to a place just to be in a giant, sweaty, impolite crowd? This can't be fun or interesting.
99
I live in Florence and what you describe is the routine here too. Mass tourism is a two-edged sword--the good side is that people get a small idea of what life is like in another place, another culture. And maybe they contribute financially to the place they are visiting. Italy has been in deep recession for years now and tourism is one of the few industries which never flags. Of course the other side of the sword is that local residents begin to yearn for January when they can take back their city from the hoards of visitors.
9
."Venice, Italy with a resident population of about 40,000 and only 3.5 miles wide and 2 miles long receives over 22 million tourists a year. Currently, that often comes to over 100,000 people a day. That would be like NYC with 8.5 million hosting 11.9 million people a day. A day. And those who come to Venice typically stay for a day or two and leave no trail of money behind. If they are on cruise ships (when 8,000 people disembark at a pop) they don't even sleep or eat in the city."
I simply do not understand why this is still permitted.
I simply do not understand why this is still permitted.
2
Not to be too offensive, but if I moved to Florence, I would expect to live in a city invaded by tourists.
Yes, mass tourism has its inconveniences, but what is the alternative? Stopping tourism? I went to your extraordinary city in 1993 and it is one of my most precious memories in my many years of travelling. I long to go again to Italy... Is it really possible to think that people would be forbidden from seeing the wonders of Renaissance art?
Yes, mass tourism has its inconveniences, but what is the alternative? Stopping tourism? I went to your extraordinary city in 1993 and it is one of my most precious memories in my many years of travelling. I long to go again to Italy... Is it really possible to think that people would be forbidden from seeing the wonders of Renaissance art?
3
Let's not forget that those hotels provide tens of thousands jobs. Without them, the low income folks that you are advocating won't be able to afford *any* housing even if the hotels were turned into low income housing. And it's not like Brooklyn is collapsing under the weight of the invading hordes of tourists. I've been there, Brooklyn ain't no Venice. I say put up with minor inconveniences for the sake of jobs and tax revenue.
54
Just be thankful you don't live anywhere near midtown Manhattan.
I am a senior and lucky to be in good enough health that I am still riding the subway. But oh my goodness, when your station is Grand Central and you have to fight your way through huge groups of tourists (teen tourist groups are the worst), it is a nightmare. I recently once again lost, or had stolen, my senior pay as you go Metro Card (i.e., the kind you can load $20 or whatever on,not the monthly unlimited kind). I reported the loss oline. Having gone through this before, I knew I would have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new one, and I also knew going down to the MTA office at Stone St., as I did last year, wouldn't help, as they no longer give temporary refillable cards when you have lost a permanent card. So you have to buy your subway fares ONE ROUNDTRIP AT A TIME AND YOU CAN't BY THEM FROM MACHINES, ONLY FROM BOOTHS, and when you live near a tourist station like GCT, you have to stand in line behind 20 or 30 know-nothing tourists.
ANother issue for me is having to climb over the giant wheelie suitcases tourists, and some locals, carry on the subway cars. Some metros, like Milan's, have started charging extra for suitcases over a certain size, and I think the MTA should consider doing that.
I am a senior and lucky to be in good enough health that I am still riding the subway. But oh my goodness, when your station is Grand Central and you have to fight your way through huge groups of tourists (teen tourist groups are the worst), it is a nightmare. I recently once again lost, or had stolen, my senior pay as you go Metro Card (i.e., the kind you can load $20 or whatever on,not the monthly unlimited kind). I reported the loss oline. Having gone through this before, I knew I would have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new one, and I also knew going down to the MTA office at Stone St., as I did last year, wouldn't help, as they no longer give temporary refillable cards when you have lost a permanent card. So you have to buy your subway fares ONE ROUNDTRIP AT A TIME AND YOU CAN't BY THEM FROM MACHINES, ONLY FROM BOOTHS, and when you live near a tourist station like GCT, you have to stand in line behind 20 or 30 know-nothing tourists.
ANother issue for me is having to climb over the giant wheelie suitcases tourists, and some locals, carry on the subway cars. Some metros, like Milan's, have started charging extra for suitcases over a certain size, and I think the MTA should consider doing that.
73
Funnnny! I know you didn't mean it either. Go girl!
2
Unfortunately I don't think the luggage situation is going away anytime. The MTA encourages taking the subway to and from the airport (notice the advertisements). Perhaps they can have a recommended designated car (like the last car) for people who carry large item.
14
Go public with your complaints. Really. Go to the Public MTA meetings, they must have them.
I agree about taxing the luggage, in a way.
I agree about taxing the luggage, in a way.
3
As a long-time resident of a specific suburb of Orlando, Florida's premier mass tourism destination, we hear your plight ex-fellow New Yorkers (coincidentally, we fled New York City and a well-paying technical-professional job back in the late '70's for supposedly "greener pastures"). And, unlike the writer, and not exactly in the direct path of hordes of curious tourists, we still avoid International Drive and southern portions of Greater Orlando where the main attractions are physically located, like the plague. Luckily for us, East Central Florida does have its advantages despite its dubious notoriety as a tourist mecca: the abundance of county and state parks where one can get completely lost and commune with wildlife and nature. Our best wishes to you Brooklynites!
10
Unfortunately, you've also got alligators and unhinged people walking around with guns. (See Travon Martin.) I'll take my home state of Massachusetts any time.
14
Very true. But then, nothing is perfect in this day and age. And yes, I'm sadly aware of the Travon Martin racial tragedy; it happened in Sanford where we live and not too far from our own residence. And speaking of guns, this is a national disgrace. Why not address your complaint directly to the omni-powerful and omni-present national gun lobby, as I'm a poor slob with very little political power. And by the way, I do admire your home state a great deal having visited there a couple of times while living in New York City.
16
First of all, the top sources of "tourists" to Brooklyn are (not necessarily in this order): Manhattan, the other boroughs, the New York suburbs, and people visiting friends and relatives. You can't exactly deny them entry. Second, the impact of tourism on Brooklyn, for better and for worse, is dwarfed by the impact of gentrification. Tourism is a type of development. Like other types, it can be productive and sustainable, destructive and unsustainable, or somewhere in between. Rather than calling for some kind of tourist discouragement effort (a crime increase would do the trick), how about channeling the borough's popularity as a destination in ways that benefit its residents and institutions as well as its tourist-oriented businesses?
32
More than half a billion dollars for a ferris wheel? I know there's plenty of graft everywhere.. but between De Blasios 100 million for painting rooftops white ??? FLWright long ago suggested roof top gardens y'all -- and we had tr beach until the insurance company decided no one should go to the roof.. about 15 years ago... but this is all insane. BTW can the ferry system handle the extra crowds-- and it's now free -- can it or even should it remain free- so that the upper 1% can make moola off of what will prob end up being a mall and ferris wheel paid for by the city??? Geezie.. Luxury tax please... and a fare on the ferry.
8
I'm not surprised one bit at the absolute cluster-you-know-what 'The Wheel' has become. It was a creation of Bloomberg + the SI political establishment of both parties. I think it will better for the north shore housing market if it's not built.
1
Green rooves often aren't green.
California? Enough said! Please don't visit here! There are 40 million people already! Please go somewhere else that needs your tourist money. We DON'T! And yes, know the percentage of California economy based on tourism. All you do is cause more pollution, grid lock and make California a swamp of people (see Trump Swamp). Spare us and yourselves.
16
Don't blame the pollution & gridlock on the tourists--blame it on yourself. If you didn't all drive everywhere, one to a car...imagine that!
Decent public transport would help. Think you could get Bart, SFMTA, & AC Transit to allow transfers between systems? No, didn't think so.
Decent public transport would help. Think you could get Bart, SFMTA, & AC Transit to allow transfers between systems? No, didn't think so.
14
Don't flatter yourself -- Most New Yorkers don't even want to cross the Hudson River to go to Jersey.
20
Really? I use my Clipper Card on all of those and Golden Gate Transit as well. You haven't been here in a few years, have you?
4
It nauseates me that this city is trading on and marketing its "colorful heritage" at exactly the time its neighborhoods and vaunted "differences" have been destroyed by gentrification.
Yes. It's now New York City (tm). It's Epcot New York. No need to go to Disneyland.
Yes. It's now New York City (tm). It's Epcot New York. No need to go to Disneyland.
108
Gentrification is such an overused word that it has lost all meaning. How about we put a stop to the nay-saying and constant NIMBY negativity and enjoy the fact that we live in a much greener, friendlier and safer city than it was 20 or 30 years ago?
21
Which is exactly the way most tourists like and want it.
6
I live in Santa Monica, California where a rent-conrol organization has hijacked the city government for the last thirty-five years. Their one and only goal was to increase tourism for the the hotel taxes and other money they bring in.
As the rabbi said, "You can have too much even of kreplach." Now the traffic in Santa Monica has slowed to a crawl and the city council is now in the process of destroying every existing building downtown in order to build cracker box buildings with first floor retail. Building fees finance other "Santa Monicans for Renter's Rights" utopian dreams (like a super-expensive carbon-free city hall annex). I'm a progressive myself; but you can run a good thing into the ground. I wish I could still move around like I used to before Santa Mpnica got sooooooooo crowded.
As the rabbi said, "You can have too much even of kreplach." Now the traffic in Santa Monica has slowed to a crawl and the city council is now in the process of destroying every existing building downtown in order to build cracker box buildings with first floor retail. Building fees finance other "Santa Monicans for Renter's Rights" utopian dreams (like a super-expensive carbon-free city hall annex). I'm a progressive myself; but you can run a good thing into the ground. I wish I could still move around like I used to before Santa Mpnica got sooooooooo crowded.
18
And and the rest of LA isn't running at a crawl pace?
Come on. All of California is suffering from the same dilemma - everyone in the world believes that he or she should live here. But there are not the jobs, and most definitely a lack of housing.
Come on. All of California is suffering from the same dilemma - everyone in the world believes that he or she should live here. But there are not the jobs, and most definitely a lack of housing.
2
Your argument makes perfect sense however it will go nowhere because money talks.
20
I mentioned this on another article on the subway, but the tourists coming into more and more neighborhoods due to the insane number of hotels being built is a huge issue in my neighborhood. I think there are about five hotels on Fourth Avenue between 9th and 25th in Brooklyn. Many, many times I've reached my single R train station during morning rush hour and can't even enter - 50-person tour groups are crowding the bottom landing, purchasing MetroCards and struggling to figure out how to swipe properly to get through the turnstile. I've literally watched trains enter and leave the station as I helplessly watch over the tourists' heads, unable to get a train to work. Then, they don't spread out on the platform, insistent on being together, so there is a massive group of people blocking half the length of the platform so no one can get past them. Even better, due to an (understandable) unfamiliarity with the system: They're on the train, pushing folks around so they can read every single stop's sign, shout to each other when it's the correct stop, or worst case, realize too late it's their stop and block the doors so they can all 50 leave the train together, delaying everyone even more.
Honestly, I think it would help if local hotels provided, as created by the city, pamphlets about proper subway etiquette, put MetroCard kiosks in hotels, and encourage guests to avoid morning rush (suggest local breakfast places).
Honestly, I think it would help if local hotels provided, as created by the city, pamphlets about proper subway etiquette, put MetroCard kiosks in hotels, and encourage guests to avoid morning rush (suggest local breakfast places).
125
I feel your pain. Not only do they all wait for the train together in the same spot on the platform right after the turnstiles,they all get into the same car, and when they get to their destination, they all get off and stand in one spot, blocking everybody else's way, waiting until every single member of their group is off before anyone makes a move for an exit.
12
Actually it's the NY'ers that need the training in proper subway etiquette. At least the MTA is trying to explain to those local boors that standing in front of the doors slows boarding, man-spreading takes up extra seats, letting an elderly person sit in your seat is basic decency, etc. Daily I see NY'ers acting like the subway is their own personal transportation system with no regard for fellow riders, not the tourists.
1
With Trump in the White House and the travel ban in place, this may not be a problem much longer. Remember when DT says "America First" the rest of the world hears "We Don't Like Foreigners".
23
That's right, all those lovely people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen won't be able to visit our city anymore. What a shame! Somehow I don't think we ever saw many visitors from those garden spots.
3
There is a backlash towards heavy tourism world wide. Thanks to the advent of online vacation rental companies things are becoming insufferable for locals with no places to rent or live in. There are limitations in smaller environs where the impact is corrosive and also environmentally damaging. Towns in Hawaii such as Kailua on Oahu has asked their state tourism bureau to stop marketing them.
There are no longer homes for teachers, EMTs, fire/police to reside in the towns that they live in. How can a town function? Locally, a recently hired town manager declined to take the job when he realized he could not find an affordable year round house to rent. Same with our head librarian hire.
Where does this end? From Crested Butte to Camden Maine to Key West to San Juan Islands-same story.
There are no longer homes for teachers, EMTs, fire/police to reside in the towns that they live in. How can a town function? Locally, a recently hired town manager declined to take the job when he realized he could not find an affordable year round house to rent. Same with our head librarian hire.
Where does this end? From Crested Butte to Camden Maine to Key West to San Juan Islands-same story.
132
While I agree with you, I also think this has been going on for longer than AirBnB has existed. My late parents lived on the Vineyard (first both of them, then my mother alone following his death) for 24 years in retirement. When my late mother decided 14 years ago she wanted to live closer to me she had no problems selling her modest down-island home without a broker or without even advertising. People who had heard "through the grapevine" she might be selling contacted her and the house was sold quickly to the 20 something son of a longtime friend. (At one point, when she was considering staying, we were at the bank talking to an officer about a possible reverse mortgage and he said to us at the end " but if you do decide to sell please let me know as I have a daughter currently living off island who can't find an affordable home on the island"). This was all because the VIneyard, like many other places. had become a very hot real estate market (the value of her home increased almost 7-fold in 24 years), not because of AirBnB. After my mother sold and moved I believe the Vineyard adopted an affordable home program that enabled more teachers, EMTs , police and the like to buy (which, coincidentally, did nothing to help the value of older "starter/retirement" homes like my mother's), though I think the local authority retains some sort of equity interest in the new homes built under the program.
6
To this native New Yorker the city is plainly too crowded. You confirmed my experience en route to MOMA, 6th Avenue choked with groups of visitors, making walking difficult, even dangerous. Loud tourists on trains, clueless about the necessities, the niceties of cooperation in the midst of so many people. As someone told to move by my landlord, I resent the greedy, not needy using residential apartments as a commodity to enrich themselves and Airb nB. As tourists return to live here the population and the prices of goods and services continue to recklessly increase while the quality of life and public services grow ever poorer. Parts of NY are like a third world city and having bragging rights for living in a cool, creative, liberal city doesn't match reality for many residents. I used to wonder, "Don't people find the traffic plagued trip to La Guardia unacceptable? The chaos at arrivals and departures?" Walking on West 59th Street, and through the Central Park Zoo was a revelation. The sheer number of people sitting on the grass, walking the paths was never so great. Despite the NY love and touristic largesse that pours in, residents experience small shops closing, public transit imploding, cracked, broken sidewalks, danger crossing traffic clogged streets, non-existent or limited services for disabled, elderly, and poor residents. The "melting pot" has become a boiling pot, needing wise, loving care and vision not solely motivated by power and greed.
146
Bloomberg initiated policies and city resources giving tourists and tourist business primacy over services and a city that functions for actual NYC residents. For example, encouraging the MTA to reroute bus lines (used by actual New Yorkers) in order to free space for the construction of pedestrian plazas for tourists. Or supporting destruction of the original Donnell library to make way for a hotel. Or loosening zoning to allow hotels in residential neighborhoods. And one hotel in a neighborhood starts a tsunami of change.
Sadly this ethos has continued in the deBlasio Administration which allowed destruction of East Village residential buildings so that a hotel can be built.
And as for the subway, continually astonishing to see the No. 1 packed with tourists - and definitely no seats for New Yorkers heading home from work.
Sadly this ethos has continued in the deBlasio Administration which allowed destruction of East Village residential buildings so that a hotel can be built.
And as for the subway, continually astonishing to see the No. 1 packed with tourists - and definitely no seats for New Yorkers heading home from work.
56
Next ?? Is it advantageous to have NYC be a refugee city -- a safe haven? We saw what happened when the family moved here from Maine to take advantage of the welfare system__ and I bet there is a nice lawsuit now in the works for several million. (which the jury will allow -- at least 10 million if not double that.)
What to do? Very simple, follow the lead of other cities e.g. Boulder and buy up tracts of land wlsewhere or homes elsewhere, upstate, Canton, Cleveland, Detroit. People used to move to find jobs and of course a bunch of people also moved north c. 1950 for jobs/welfare. All this is paid by the taxpayer and it would cost a lot less to shelter, feed, educate or whatever people in less dense and desirable parts of the country. And no, it's not cruel. Plenty of people have left their homes to find work to support their families.
What to do? Very simple, follow the lead of other cities e.g. Boulder and buy up tracts of land wlsewhere or homes elsewhere, upstate, Canton, Cleveland, Detroit. People used to move to find jobs and of course a bunch of people also moved north c. 1950 for jobs/welfare. All this is paid by the taxpayer and it would cost a lot less to shelter, feed, educate or whatever people in less dense and desirable parts of the country. And no, it's not cruel. Plenty of people have left their homes to find work to support their families.
10
You know, Red China is the source of the most dangerous opiod pharmaceutical medicine on the streets in Ohio and the like deteriorated cities and post industrial areas in decline.
It is my opinion that China intentionally has wounded the people of West Virginia, Ohio, and other like areas in order to take them over.
They did so in San Jose and other areas of the Bay of SF. They did not wound people exactly. But I think they may have precipitated the housing crisis of 2007-2011 in California where more than a million homes were repossessed by the banks due their improper foreclosures.
It is my opinion that China intentionally has wounded the people of West Virginia, Ohio, and other like areas in order to take them over.
They did so in San Jose and other areas of the Bay of SF. They did not wound people exactly. But I think they may have precipitated the housing crisis of 2007-2011 in California where more than a million homes were repossessed by the banks due their improper foreclosures.
2
Perhaps because they come from places with no public transit and/or usually vacation at Disney, many American tourists, in my experience, seem to think the way to board a bus or subway train is to send their kids on ahead with instructions to "grab 4 seats," usually at the front in the case of a bus. I spent more than 40 years automatically heading to the back of buses to leave the front free for those who needed it, and now that I have reached the age where I might like to sit at the front once in a while, it's often impossible.
One of the funniest things happened when I got on a bus in front of the Met Museum. A well-dressed family of four (maybe 40-something parents and kids 7 and 11) had boarded behind me and was having some sort of discussion w/driver. Had trouble hearing it, but finally realized the father kept saying they were "military," and the driver kept saying "huh?" Finally the father made it more clear and told the driver not only that they were "military" but that "military" usually got to ride for free. The driver shrugged and said something like "not here you don't."
One of the funniest things happened when I got on a bus in front of the Met Museum. A well-dressed family of four (maybe 40-something parents and kids 7 and 11) had boarded behind me and was having some sort of discussion w/driver. Had trouble hearing it, but finally realized the father kept saying they were "military," and the driver kept saying "huh?" Finally the father made it more clear and told the driver not only that they were "military" but that "military" usually got to ride for free. The driver shrugged and said something like "not here you don't."
5
I live in a tourist destination which struggles with the same issues. A column in the local newspaper quotes residents daily pleading with the tourist council to stop advertising, that the town is at visitor capacity. The city commissioners and the residents have just resolved a protracted struggle regarding building a parking garage in the historic district. Thankfully, there will be no garage. Housing stock is taken up by vacation rentals. The town is a victim of its own success.
69
NYC and its environs have been a Disneyland for a long time, beginning with Giuliani and company, trying to staunch the financial losses created by the exit of manufacturing by selling NYC as a Disneyland. It showed a pathetic lack of imagination, which was and is Giuliani's calling card, and has been our long-standing reality.
90
Being native to New York and Berlin has its advantages when regarding the tourist expansion in both cities. But whereas New York has always been an open magnet to the world, Berlin only started to get its foot in that door since the Wall came down nearly 30 years ago; something which makes its rapid-fire growth in both tourism and population all the more impressive -- if not, frightening.
And as a result, certain parts of the city that are officially designated as "hip" or "cool" (like Kreuzburg) -- now have "Anti-touri" signs and stickers popping up as a warning and reminder to the masses, that people actually LIVE there, and don't appreciate the tourist mobs.
Finding the balance in any popular urban setting is a hard task, and whether its Venice, Berlin, or New York, tourist money always speaks louder than "Go Away!"
But if you have to go to Berlin -- don't go in summer.
Gute Reise.
And as a result, certain parts of the city that are officially designated as "hip" or "cool" (like Kreuzburg) -- now have "Anti-touri" signs and stickers popping up as a warning and reminder to the masses, that people actually LIVE there, and don't appreciate the tourist mobs.
Finding the balance in any popular urban setting is a hard task, and whether its Venice, Berlin, or New York, tourist money always speaks louder than "Go Away!"
But if you have to go to Berlin -- don't go in summer.
Gute Reise.
28
I like this "people actually live here" as a mantra, keeping it in mind as I go about my life where I live and in places I visit. To my mind, it's the lack of civility, e.g., loud talking, not moving along sidewalks, littering, the street as a toilet, etc. that is really at the heart of this matter.
31
This is a great opportunity to solve the high income and property tax problem NY has. If we follow the model used in Florida, where tourists cover a large portion of the the state budget with the Hotel Tax, and reduce property and State income taxes.
https://www.thebalance.com/an-overview-of-taxes-in-florida-3193256
https://www.thebalance.com/an-overview-of-taxes-in-florida-3193256
57
A new business has emerged from all these nyc tourists; the left luggage places. I'm a designer and have noticed in the past few years these new places opening everywhere in former manufacturing buildings on the ground and upper floors. There's 2 on 46th st, 1 on 29th st and couple in the garment center all in former manufacturing areas.
14
In Chicago, one can leave a suitcase at the Art Institute for 1$ per item. Also supposedly at Greyhound. In Denver the nice lady offered to watch my carry-on bag size suitcase that would not fit in the lockers for knapsacks and the like. The Onassis Center Museum here also has space for small suitcases.
Just information.
Just information.
3