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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 9:27:24 GMT
The picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water has closed all parking for tourist coaches meaning they have to let passengers off a half-hours walk away. Needless to say restaurant and gift-shop owners are up in arms about the potential loss of revenue if coach-borne visitors fail to arrive in the hundreds of thousands as before the ban.
Most private citizens appear to be in favour of the move, according to a report in Times, citing parking on yellow lines, obstructing driveways and reversing in cul-de-sacs to offload passengers near the centre. In fact I'd go even further and as well as banning coaches I'd restrict car parking in the village except for local residents.
Having lived in attractive places that are 'destinations' for many years I'm in total agreement. The last thing anyone wants is for thousands of Chinese to descend on their village or, perhaps even worse, denizens of the inner-city to flock en masse to your destination encouraged and emboldened by government initiatives to make the countryside more 'diverse'.
Mass tourism is a modern blight on society and people should encouraged to stay at home whether that's Beijing or Birmingham. You're not wanted!
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Post by Hutchyns on Mar 13, 2024 9:45:33 GMT
Dan Dare The Government always gets what it wants in the end, and I'd expect what's happening in Bourton to be outlawed as 'Extremist' by the end of the week, once Gove has spoken. Keeping Bourton a peaceful haven for white middle class residents and rejecting coach loads of diverse visitors, is, I expect No.10 will confirm, a move with clear racist undertones, and the sort of thing you'd read about in a National Socialist manifesto ...... how long before we discover that the whole plan to keep the coaches out was instigated by Frank Hester ? Seems as if Bourton requires it's very own Diversity Czar  |
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Post by bancroft on Mar 13, 2024 10:28:24 GMT
The picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water has closed all parking for tourist coaches meaning they have to let passengers off a half-hours walk away. Needless to say restaurant and gift-shop owners are up in arms about the potential loss of revenue if coach-borne visitors fail to arrive in the hundreds of thousands as before the ban.
Most private citizens appear to be in favour of the move, according to a report in Times, citing parking on yellow lines, obstructing driveways and reversing in cul-de-sacs to offload passengers near the centre. In fact I'd go even further and as well as banning coaches I'd restrict car parking in the village except for local residents.
Having lived in attractive places that are 'destinations' for many years I'm in total agreement. The last thing anyone wants is for thousands of Chinese to descend on their village or, perhaps even worse, denizens of the inner-city to flock en masse to your destination encouraged and emboldened by government initiatives to make the countryside more 'diverse'.
Mass tourism is a modern blight on society and people should encouraged to stay at home whether that's Beijing or Birmingham. You're not wanted!
Interesting, do you think if the residents win that this will result in a lot of businesses closing? I would also think some of those that would go would be missed by locals too. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 10:43:15 GMT
A salutary tale...
Almost thirty years ago we bought a second home in Northern California, in a picturesque small town in the middle of 'Wine Country'. The centre of town was a Spanish-style plaza, surrounded by small local stores and services. Nothing fancy, a couple of family restaurants, a few bars, pizza joint, coffee shop, travel agent, baby-clothes shop and an old-fashioned hardware store etc. A farmers market on Saturdays and so on, with plenty of parking on all sides of the plaza.
About twenty years ago everything began to change. Stores closed and fancy restaurants opened along with a couple of boutique (i.e pricey) B&Bs and a 'Whole Foods' store and cafe just like in San Francisco. Before we knew it our cosy little town where locals gathered had become a destination as indeed it remains today, not just for wine enthusiasts but also tour buses full of Chinese from SFO stopping off for a gander while en route to the Indian Casino a little further on. Needless to say very few locals bother going into town these days, they'll do their shopping at Costco and Safeway.
Be surprising if the experience of Bourtonians has been much different.
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 10:43:26 GMT
delete - duplicate
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2024 10:53:37 GMT
I expect they will have to move the model village and Birdland park to Worcester if people can't park there any more.
Shame, really, we've spent many pleasurable hours there.
You sound a bit of an authoritarian killjoy, Dan.
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 11:06:23 GMT
Guilty as charged, M'Lud.
You might relish the prospect of coachloads of Chinese tourists or inner-city countryside lovers turning up chez vous but I can assure you most people wouldn't.
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Post by sandypine on Mar 13, 2024 11:21:54 GMT
Guilty as charged, M'Lud. You might relish the prospect of coachloads of Chinese tourists or inner-city countryside lovers turning up chez vous but I can assure you most people wouldn't. Depends if you are a local business or not, I used to have a shop in a heritage village and it was like manna from heaven when the coaches unloaded their occupants and went off to park, especially Americans and Canadians. I suppose I was lucky as I visited most of the Cotswold villages in the mid 60s as a youngster and they were busy but bearable. I would agree in some respects as walking the Scottish Hills in the 60s was an exercise in mostly being alone nowadays some areas are like Piccadilly Circus. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 11:30:30 GMT
Local people need goods and services too, so why not cater to them rather than peddling tat (often Chinese-made) to tourists or fleecing them for over-priced junk food.
Just because somebody has a 'business plan' doesn't mean they should have carte blanche to implement it.
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Post by johnofgwent on Mar 13, 2024 11:42:38 GMT
The picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water has closed all parking for tourist coaches meaning they have to let passengers off a half-hours walk away. Needless to say restaurant and gift-shop owners are up in arms about the potential loss of revenue if coach-borne visitors fail to arrive in the hundreds of thousands as before the ban.
Most private citizens appear to be in favour of the move, according to a report in Times, citing parking on yellow lines, obstructing driveways and reversing in cul-de-sacs to offload passengers near the centre. In fact I'd go even further and as well as banning coaches I'd restrict car parking in the village except for local residents.
Having lived in attractive places that are 'destinations' for many years I'm in total agreement. The last thing anyone wants is for thousands of Chinese to descend on their village or, perhaps even worse, denizens of the inner-city to flock en masse to your destination encouraged and emboldened by government initiatives to make the countryside more 'diverse'.
Mass tourism is a modern blight on society and people should encouraged to stay at home whether that's Beijing or Birmingham. You're not wanted!
you should join plaid cymru and move to abergele they'd make you party leader I remember Bourton on the Water, I used to stop there on the way back from client sites in Oxfordshire. I can't recall tourist coaches though. I guess if the resident's don't want my money in their pub's till it won't bother me other villages and former coaching inns will. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 11:49:09 GMT
I'm always sympathetic to local folk who band together to repel mass invasion. Not so sympathetic towards those who see such invasions as an opportunity to make a fast buck and usually don't give a bugger about local folk.
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Post by sandypine on Mar 13, 2024 13:35:20 GMT
Local people need goods and services too, so why not cater to them rather than peddling tat (often Chinese-made) to tourists or fleecing them for over-priced junk food. Just because somebody has a 'business plan' doesn't mean they should have carte blanche to implement it. Largely because most businesses do not make enough just from local people. I made about £20 a week off the locals. I did not however sell either junk or junk food. In the US I tried to buy some authentic Amish shaker items all at most outlets designed in the US but made in China. Somehow it is not the same. |
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Post by Dogburger on Mar 13, 2024 13:47:06 GMT
I'm always sympathetic to local folk who band together to repel mass invasion. Not so sympathetic towards those who see such invasions as an opportunity to make a fast buck and usually don't give a bugger about local folk. So what happens when the cafes and pubs shut because there is not enough footfall ? Your little village will become just a few houses on the side of the road with boarded up businesses |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Mar 13, 2024 13:55:30 GMT
The picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-Water has closed all parking for tourist coaches meaning they have to let passengers off a half-hours walk away. Needless to say restaurant and gift-shop owners are up in arms about the potential loss of revenue if coach-borne visitors fail to arrive in the hundreds of thousands as before the ban.
Most private citizens appear to be in favour of the move, according to a report in Times, citing parking on yellow lines, obstructing driveways and reversing in cul-de-sacs to offload passengers near the centre. In fact I'd go even further and as well as banning coaches I'd restrict car parking in the village except for local residents.
Having lived in attractive places that are 'destinations' for many years I'm in total agreement. The last thing anyone wants is for thousands of Chinese to descend on their village or, perhaps even worse, denizens of the inner-city to flock en masse to your destination encouraged and emboldened by government initiatives to make the countryside more 'diverse'.
Mass tourism is a modern blight on society and people should encouraged to stay at home whether that's Beijing or Birmingham. You're not wanted!
Bah humbug.
Take a look at these two children in Tibet. American tourist walking the streets. These are a couple of children he meets. Look at their ages, and yet they are bilingual already. What lovely manners they have.
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Post by Dan Dare on Mar 13, 2024 13:55:58 GMT
Local people need goods and services too, so why not cater to them rather than peddling tat (often Chinese-made) to tourists or fleecing them for over-priced junk food. Just because somebody has a 'business plan' doesn't mean they should have carte blanche to implement it. Largely because most businesses do not make enough just from local people. I made about £20 a week off the locals. I did not however sell either junk or junk food. In the US I tried to buy some authentic Amish shaker items all at most outlets designed in the US but made in China. Somehow it is not the same. So be it. Perhaps the wrong business plan for that time and place. |
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