The harmful effects of too much tourism:

- A lot of houses become vacation homes, where the owners stay in another place, and rent their property to tourists for short lets.
- As a place gets full of tourists, the local community is outnumbered.
- Mostly, only the service industry flourishes
- (I'd probably write more later)

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

I'm not sure which is more damaging: homes becoming holiday-lets as you say, or their owners' second-homes - a problem in my part of the world.

Other effects:

Direct tourist developments including hotels, static-caravan sites, golf-courses and large car-parks destroying the scenery that attracts the tourists in the first place. (So do big camping and touring-caravan sites, but those are occupied temporarily.)

Cheapskate "attractions" like fun-fairs and amusement-arcades.

Tourist trades offering only largely-seasonal work on poor pay and conditions.

Over-crowding of town-centres, beaches, etc.; very heavy road traffic.

Heavy strains on the utilities and other public services.

Ironically many tourist "honey-pots" are in very deprived areas. For example, the County of Cornwall, in SW England, is all very picturesque and does have wild, beautiful scenery, fills with tourists and second-home owners (the latter skying house prices beyond local salaries), but is one of the poorest areas of Britain.

SW-User

@ArishMell Could you please explain the issue regarding funfair and amusement arcades?

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@SW-User The fairs are all right in their place but are often baldy sited. I know one taking up a sizeable portion of the best part of the beach of a seaside-resort whose major tourism attraction is very much that beach.

Amusement-arcades give a very tawdry, gimmicky, run-down impression especially when again, poorly situated. That as well as encouraging mindless gambling that can become a serious addiction.

MethDozer · M

@ArishMell Funfairs and midways are really the only good thing that gets created

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@MethDozer All a matter of taste I suppose. I don't object to funfairs as such, though I don't use them. What matters is where they are sited, and how obtrusive they are, not their existence as such.

I can think of far better creations than them, anyway.

Sorry - I don't know what is a "midway".

MethDozer · M

@ArishMell a midway is where the game booths are at a boardwalk or carnival as opposed to the rides and side shows.

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ArishMell · 70-79, M

@MethDozer Ah, I see.Thankyou!

Re your other message - I suppose they want what makes more money for the town.

Round my part of the world the ugly new buildings are not hotels but awful-looking blocks of very expensive flats whose style seems to reflect 1960s office-blocks or factories.

We are not short of American chain coffee-shops though!