"Things You Wouldn't Know If We Didn't Blog Intermittently."
18 December 2019
"Overtourism"
Staggering graph in a screencap from an Atlantic video about overtourism.
And note the vertical scale is not truncated for emphasis (the x-axis is zeroed). I'm old enough to remember the left side of this graph. It was a different world.
Maybe I'm misreading the chart... but it seems odd that the regions are so parallel in growth... that there's no point where tourism in Africa or the Middle East were lower than tourism in Europe.
I can give you a first-hand account I was an Army brat in Germany in the 60s and then did my three years in the Army mid-to-late 70s. I remember one of my trips to Paris you walked right in to see the Mona Lisa and your only issue with the Eiffel Tower is how much you wanted to pay to get on what level. I went back to Paris last year for the first time in 40 years. The Mona Lisa is no longer on the wall with the other paintings it has its special wall with one-way traffic through the hall. If you didn't book your tickets for the Eiffel Tower three months in advance your choice was to stand in line for hours or do what we did and got there at 10 PM when the lines weren't as bad. The only bonus was how many people can say they kiss their wife at midnight under a full Mona at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
* This will make you understand residents of Venice and Barcalona that are fed up with tourists. * This is what happens when hundreds of millions in China and India become part of the middle class. * Hey Americas! Start attracting some tourists!
Maybe I'm misreading the chart... but it seems odd that the regions are so parallel in growth... that there's no point where tourism in Africa or the Middle East were lower than tourism in Europe.
ReplyDeleteAfrica and the Middle East are way lower than the others. The graph shows a summation of the five regions.
DeleteI can give you a first-hand account I was an Army brat in Germany in the 60s and then did my three years in the Army mid-to-late 70s. I remember one of my trips to Paris you walked right in to see the Mona Lisa and your only issue with the Eiffel Tower is how much you wanted to pay to get on what level. I went back to Paris last year for the first time in 40 years. The Mona Lisa is no longer on the wall with the other paintings it has its special wall with one-way traffic through the hall. If you didn't book your tickets for the Eiffel Tower three months in advance your choice was to stand in line for hours or do what we did and got there at 10 PM when the lines weren't as bad. The only bonus was how many people can say they kiss their wife at midnight under a full Mona at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
ReplyDelete* This will make you understand residents of Venice and Barcalona that are fed up with tourists.
ReplyDelete* This is what happens when hundreds of millions in China and India become part of the middle class.
* Hey Americas! Start attracting some tourists!