joannyc

I bought tickets for the National Tour of An American in Paris. It was scheduled for late March and has been postponed until mid-June. Even if the show does go on then, I'm not so sure I want to sit in the audience with hundreds of others.

kerouac

It is undeniable that if we ended our culture of frenzied tourism, gastronomic overkill and luxury hotels we would all be better off. There are indeed regions and villages that are currently totally dependent on tourism, and they have been the first to understand that they made a number of bad choices when they got rid of their traditional shops and replaced them with souvenir junk and tourist bars.

Tulips

In Amsterdam the food shops and restaurants catering to the local population are adapting by increasing delivery and take-away. The souvenir junk shops selling wooden shoes, not so much.
The Dutch high court has just ruled that Amsterdam can continue to refuse permission for new stores that cater exclusively to tourists.

twk

Look, I understand that there are areas where tourism is threatening to strangle the local culture. But you are making sweeping statements that are simply hyperbole. Is there some kind of tourism that is virtuous and good, and some that is loathsome? Who is the arbiter that decides this?

Take Venice, as an example. Everyone laments the fact that Venice is a dying city with a shrinking population that is overburdened by the number of visitors, but if you were to ban tourism, what would become of it? The economic forces that caused it to be a great city are no longer present, so without tourists, what is Venice's reason for being?

I'm not a foodie, but how does it harm society for someone to sometimes indulge in a $100/person meal if that's what they enjoy? The people taking the $100 for making and serving the meal aren't complaining.

I don't stay in luxury hotels, but how would we ALL be better off if luxury hotels disappeared? The people that work in those hotels certainly wouldn't be better off.

Again, lots of sweeping pronunciations about what is good and virtuous and what is not, none of it having to do with the topic of this thread.

nonconformist2

It's a legitimate debate but I think the current situation is showing how much of an impact banning travel has on local economies.

anikamiller8419

I can imagine. The travel and tourism industry has definitely received a big hit this year. It is an industry everybody's dependent on, from both sides. I guess almost everybody's favorite hobby is related to traveling and I would not see it as a luxury necessary, it is just a way of being. After working for a whole year, everybody deserves to get the chance to relax and explore this beautiful world. Of course, I respect all the restrictions in place and I agree with staying at home. I am only thinking of a future trip. Taking into consideration domestic travel at the end of September hopefully, is anyone willing to share any places to visit in the south-central region of the U.S., around Texas?

Fra_Diavolo

>>>Taking into consideration domestic travel at the end of September hopefully, is anyone willing to share any places to visit in the south-central region of the U.S., around Texas?<<<

About that time last year we visited Canyonlands and Arches National Parks in Utah, the Mesa Verde in Colorado. It was a nice mix of natural beauty and ancient history. Depending on your interests, you could weight it one way or the other. There are many, many Anasazi sites to choose from. We ended up with a few3 days in Santa Fe for more urban enjoyments.

mlgb

I can't vouch 100% for the accuracy of this article, but depopulated rural French communes cater to tourists and expats/second home owners. I spent a boring 10 days with family in one in 2018. Good luck to the few remaining cafes, bakeries, and vendors at weekly markets.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20180423/fra...e-country-inns

Moderator1

Welcome to Fodors anikamiller8419. We have removed many argumentative and discourteous comments from veteran Fodorites, plus a few off-topic posts. Everyone is welcome on these forums, and travel questions and topics are encouraged

mlgb

Hi anikamiller, since you are now interested in US domestic travel, I'd recommend posting on the US Forums. You can "tag" states, such as Texas (maybe also Arizona, Utah).

Lois2

Thank you....this one really went off...first time posters are welcome always.

anikamiller8419

Thank you! I was interested to find out more about how the situation is in Europe and if there is any chance international travel will be possible this year, however, I was not looking for negativity. I guess we should all stay positive and cooperative during these times, instead of blaming people's desire to travel. We would have loved to experience a sailing trip and enjoy Europe's seas, however, next year will bring more positive outcomes for sure. As far as it goes for domestic travel, I will have a look for recommendations in the U.S. forums.

Heimdall

Anikamiller, it’s not just Fodor’s that is suffering from negativity at the moment, as I have also seen it on another travel forum I participate in. There are lots of frustrated travelers at the moment. Nevertheless, you deserved a better welcome for your first post than you did, so let me belatedly add my welcome to you.

fourfortravel

Hang in there, anika. This forum can feel like Lord of the Flies at times, even absent a pandemic. I, like many others, have seen our travel plans for 2020 go, "Poof." I'm using this ~downtime~ to research and learn more about the places to which we had planned to travel this year so that I might better appreciate the destination(s) when we hopefully reach them.

geetika

Welcome anika, don’t let this scare you off, I assure you Fodorites are extremely helpful and have been a huge help with many of my travels over the years. I’m another one who’s vacation has gone for six, but we roll with the punches and think of what we could do in 2021.

Good luck with planning a trip closer to home, Europe and the rest of the world will still be there for you, you’re young and have many decades of travel ahead of you...😊

dcorey

We had a road trip to Rushmore area and the Tetons scheduled for mid June. We canceled and I’m pretty sure our tours in Europe in September won’t happen either. We are waiting for the company to cancel soon.

BDKR

"Good luck with planning a trip closer to home, Europe and the rest of the world will still be there for you,"

True, but it'll never be as free of crowds as for the few months after opening up again. It is something to consider. Overtourism saturated many of the most popular destinations almost to unbearable levels for both locals and fellow travellers. There will be a short window of oppourtunity to see these places in relative peace as they used to be 15-20 years ago and this time you'll made welcome by the locals even in cities where they used to have enough of tourists(I remember a large graffiti 3 years ago in Athens: "Tourists go home!".

Tulips

BDKR, it is just as likely that they will be suspicious of travelers coming from outside the EU, depending on how well the tourist's home country has dealt with the pandemic.

millie2112

I am one of these crabby old fodorites, and for me "unfortunate" is the many who have been sick and tragic are those lives that have been lost because of this virus. Or unfortunate the number of people that are out of work and who have lost their job. Not able to travel to Europe this year is not unfortunate.
There will be other years that bring opportunity to travel.
In Australia, I would be surprised if we allow any foreign visitors for pretty much all of this year.
And if I was Europe I would be doing the same.
While some countries are managing better than others, it is the fear of a second wave that may put a damper on international travel this year.
Plus the US is really not doing as well as other countries. So makes sense.
I know tourism is suffering as are those that work in this industry so it is very very hard.

jacooper

I live in Australia and would love to visit Europe but without a vaccine wouldn’t. I hate the idea of possibly getting Covid19 in a foreign country while on holiday. Besides which, travel insurance might not cover me. So this year I think the only overseas trip we might make later in the year is to New Zealand.