As we touched on yesterday, residents of destinations around the globe are beginning to push back against the mass tourism they believe is negatively impacting their Quality of Life. And I get it. I've been a destination marketer for decades...and, for the first time, found myself face to face with the ugly side of mass tourism last summer as I watched 7 cruise ships jockey for position along the Alaska Coast.
Of course, when I asked our driver why the City didn't cap the number of boats each day, she looked at me like I was crazy. "Why would we do that," she asked. Of course, I was talking to a person whose livelihood depends on more and more boats...and not a resident.
But, the anger is real...and it got very real last week.
We're becoming used to seeing graffiti and banners expressing frustration with tourists. "Your Paradise, Our Hell," "Tourists Go Home" and "Tourism = Terrorism."
But, this was a first..."Kill a Tourist" on a wall in Majorca.
OK...this is over the line. Because some nut job will think this is the will of the people. Just like a lot of nut jobs thought occupying the Capitol was a good idea.
This level of rhetoric needs to stop. Good people are addressing the issue...maybe not as fast as you want. But they are.
Just Stop.
Image Credit: The Daily Mail
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