The people who run London, for example, love to boast that the city is attracting record numbers (17.4 million in 2014). And they want more. “They especially have their eye on the high-spending shoppers who currently stop in Paris.” For them, a “flourishing” tourist industry is the tourism hallmark of success – which it probably is, in terms of the cash it brings in. Trouble is, it doesn’t always enrich the lives of the local residents – think of all those tourist coaches clogging up the streets of the West End, or the selfie-stick-wielding throngs on Oxford Street making the pavements a hell on earth. But it’s exciting to discover that one European city has called a halt. Ada Colau, the new mayor of Barcelona, has dared to “challenge the conventional wisdom that tourism is the bright white hope of a modern economy”. The raft of new policies she has introduced include a moratorium on new hotel licences, and a clamp-down on unregistered apartment-letting. Calau is putting the residents’ interests first. Is it too much to hope that London and other cities might follow her example? (Mary Dejevsky, The Independent)
Bravo! Probably few, if any, readers will have visited Oxford Street (London) recently. Take my word, it is a vision of Hell. The hordes of people who seem to have arrived in London with whole extended families, each with half a dozen children in tow. They yell at one another, oblivious of others around them. Others have their heads down, consulting their mobile phones. Selfie photographers are the least of the problem. The phalanxes come straight at you, leaving you to dodge or skip round the small armies, gazing in windows. If you want to buy something you discover that major department stores, like Selfridges, have gone up-market, catering to the very rich tourists. Where I live is not much better; the armies are more modest, but so are the widths of the sidewalks. It matters not that English can seldom be heard, but it does matter that shopping has become quite unpleasant for residents. There is little Epicurean ataraxia on the streets of London, Summer being the worst.
Firstly, on Oxford Street specifically. I visited in August. And yes, it was hell. Fortunately, the Sadiq Khan (the Mayor) has announced that Oxford Street will be pedestrianised by 2020. I’m all in favour of that, it can’t come soon enough. Its the only way to reduce overcrowding in the short term.
Interestingly, Barcelona is also undergoing a programme of pedestrianisation. The city is built on a grid system. What the city is doing is dividing the neighbourhoods into blocs, and then pedestrianising the roads in the centre of the blocs, leaving only the main arterial roads for car use. Again, I’m all in favour, especially as it will discourage car use, reducing air pollution.
As for tourists, I’m all in favour of reducing numbers coming into big cities like London, Barcelona, Paris or Rome. But this should be done intelligently. Individuals, couples or small families with lots of money should be prioritised over large families or schools who want a holiday on the cheap. This would reduce overcrowding significantly, while keeping the vast majority of the income from tourism in place. It can be done by imposing taxes on mass hotel or hostel bookings. I also think Barcelona’s rules should be copied in London, with the exception of not allowing people to rent out their homes through sites like AirBnb. While I sympathise with efforts to reduce rents and overcrowding, I’ve also found AirBnb to be a very easy way of enjoying nice accommodation in convenient areas cheaply. That may be self interest talking there, but its too good for me to advocate banning.