Destinations that jumped the shark

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Complaints about rude locals (Parisians!) and deliberately overcharging tourists have been around forever. Nor it is just Americans being fleeced, similar themes appear in British papers too, and doubtlessly cause chatter among Germans and Japanese travelers.

But here's the thing: for those of us who remember going overseas in the 1980s and 1990s and even earlier, there's no denying we now live in a world of mass, even exceedingly mass, tourism. I remember being the only person alone in the Sistine Chapel other than a solitary guard. I remember having the entire chapel to myself for about ten minutes before other people drifted in. That's impossible these days. It's just a reflection of the changes in mass tourism and trying to blame Airbnb is missing the forest for the trees. There are simply many more hundreds of millions of people from all over the world now traveling. And we have to deal with it. Add to it the increased homogenization of cities with the same shops and same restaurants and same boutiques anywhere you go, whether London or Los Angeles or Bangkok. And then you do have significant mass migration changing cultural dynamics of a number of European countries that's definitely affected their national characters, and nowhere do you see this as clearly as in Britain and London.

Agree that secondary cities are more relaxing these days.

Ha. For a few minutes in 1995, I was the only person in the room with the Mona Lisa!

[Anonymous]

Barcelona

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AirBnBs are great for my family. I enjoy shopping at local supermarkets for fresh and convenience foods. My kids have a lot of fun memories from this.

Starting with touring Europe in the 1970s as a child, I ate a lot of mediocre overpriced food because we were traveling as a family on something of a budget. I ate bland chicken in white cream sauce multiple times on my 1982 trip to France. Each time billed as a local specialty. After that I tended to stick to croque monsieurs and citron presses. Some other low-lights include Hawaii Toast in Austria, Italian pizzas literally swimming in grease, and extremely overpriced red sauce spaghetti in Reykavik.

So I don't feel sad for mediocre ripoff tourist cafes. They were never good.

I'm pretty sure I got sick from a restaurant in Tulum. Also in Bali. I felt they had low hygiene standards for food-related issues. Would not go back to Tulum. Would go back to Bali because it has a really interesting island culture and it's visually lovely.

What I think is most ruined about Europe is the experience of seeing the largest/most famous art museums. I tend to avoid them now. They are too crowded to facilitate learning and enjoyment at peak season. The second tier museums are a much better experience.

Thoughts and prayers for your experiences that "ruined" all of Europe. I got food poisoning in a DC restaurant, and being likeminded to you, I have now concluded that DC has "jumped the shark."

PP. Come on. It's not just the food poisoning. As I understand it the party people who like underappreciated gems have already moved on from Tulum because the cost/value relationship changed. DC is more interesting to me than Tulum. Never got food poisoning there and much better museums. Tulum's ruins are pretty ruined, lol. After Chichen Itza, I felt Tulum wasn't really worth my time because it's just a few walls and towers and foundations with few architectural features. It has nice weather for beach people. But is nowhere as interesting as Bali. My favorite memories of Tulum were shopping at the Mexican version of Walmart and having cute lizards in our bungalow. No need to go back.

You're like the living stereotype of the dopey American tourist who goes to one place and decides it's not as nice as his shopping mall back home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AirBnBs are great for my family. I enjoy shopping at local supermarkets for fresh and convenience foods. My kids have a lot of fun memories from this.

Starting with touring Europe in the 1970s as a child, I ate a lot of mediocre overpriced food because we were traveling as a family on something of a budget. I ate bland chicken in white cream sauce multiple times on my 1982 trip to France. Each time billed as a local specialty. After that I tended to stick to croque monsieurs and citron presses. Some other low-lights include Hawaii Toast in Austria, Italian pizzas literally swimming in grease, and extremely overpriced red sauce spaghetti in Reykavik.

So I don't feel sad for mediocre ripoff tourist cafes. They were never good.

I'm pretty sure I got sick from a restaurant in Tulum. Also in Bali. I felt they had low hygiene standards for food-related issues. Would not go back to Tulum. Would go back to Bali because it has a really interesting island culture and it's visually lovely.

What I think is most ruined about Europe is the experience of seeing the largest/most famous art museums. I tend to avoid them now. They are too crowded to facilitate learning and enjoyment at peak season. The second tier museums are a much better experience.

Thoughts and prayers for your experiences that "ruined" all of Europe. I got food poisoning in a DC restaurant, and being likeminded to you, I have now concluded that DC has "jumped the shark."

PP. Come on. It's not just the food poisoning. As I understand it the party people who like underappreciated gems have already moved on from Tulum because the cost/value relationship changed. DC is more interesting to me than Tulum. Never got food poisoning there and much better museums. Tulum's ruins are pretty ruined, lol. After Chichen Itza, I felt Tulum wasn't really worth my time because it's just a few walls and towers and foundations with few architectural features. It has nice weather for beach people. But is nowhere as interesting as Bali. My favorite memories of Tulum were shopping at the Mexican version of Walmart and having cute lizards in our bungalow. No need to go back.

It’s hilarious you say it’s nowhere near as interesting as Bali because everyone I know who has visited Bali in the last 5 years or so has said it’s so completely overtouristed that they almost regret going.

PP. I went to Bali a fairly long time ago and it was overtouristed BUT the landscape is lovely and I developed an interest in watching gamelan and Balinese dance. It has something of a living heritage culture. So I would go back. The downtown was full of partying Australians. But my hotel was quiet and pretty. So, that's what would bring me back. Something besides just "a nice beach".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AirBnBs are great for my family. I enjoy shopping at local supermarkets for fresh and convenience foods. My kids have a lot of fun memories from this.

Starting with touring Europe in the 1970s as a child, I ate a lot of mediocre overpriced food because we were traveling as a family on something of a budget. I ate bland chicken in white cream sauce multiple times on my 1982 trip to France. Each time billed as a local specialty. After that I tended to stick to croque monsieurs and citron presses. Some other low-lights include Hawaii Toast in Austria, Italian pizzas literally swimming in grease, and extremely overpriced red sauce spaghetti in Reykavik.

So I don't feel sad for mediocre ripoff tourist cafes. They were never good.

I'm pretty sure I got sick from a restaurant in Tulum. Also in Bali. I felt they had low hygiene standards for food-related issues. Would not go back to Tulum. Would go back to Bali because it has a really interesting island culture and it's visually lovely.

What I think is most ruined about Europe is the experience of seeing the largest/most famous art museums. I tend to avoid them now. They are too crowded to facilitate learning and enjoyment at peak season. The second tier museums are a much better experience.

Thoughts and prayers for your experiences that "ruined" all of Europe. I got food poisoning in a DC restaurant, and being likeminded to you, I have now concluded that DC has "jumped the shark."

PP. Come on. It's not just the food poisoning. As I understand it the party people who like underappreciated gems have already moved on from Tulum because the cost/value relationship changed. DC is more interesting to me than Tulum. Never got food poisoning there and much better museums. Tulum's ruins are pretty ruined, lol. After Chichen Itza, I felt Tulum wasn't really worth my time because it's just a few walls and towers and foundations with few architectural features. It has nice weather for beach people. But is nowhere as interesting as Bali. My favorite memories of Tulum were shopping at the Mexican version of Walmart and having cute lizards in our bungalow. No need to go back.

You're like the living stereotype of the dopey American tourist who goes to one place and decides it's not as nice as his shopping mall back home.

No, I'm just not a tropical beach person and I have occupational interests in consumer packaged goods, retail, and foreign languages. So I like to visit foreign stores to see how they run and what's for sale (e.g., what does Kellogg's sell in Mexico that they don't sell here). But I get that it's really psychologically important to you to make fun of internet strangers for having an opinion on an opinion forum. So have at it! I hope it makes you feel better about yourself.

[Anonymous]

Lake Como

[Anonymous]

Rehoboth. It’s just not fun anymore. So over crowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tokyo for me, sorry. Kyoto is still good tho

lol the idea that one of the world’s densest metropolises has “jumped the shark” is absurd.

Or that a whole country can jump the shark. Op is like one of those people who think Africa is a country.

OP said destinations (not continents or countries) and then pointed to recurring themes from destination/region specific travel groups.

In terms of “jumping the shark,” think of it this way: destinations that quickly became super popular (perhaps thanks to social media and/or influencers) and now have devolved to shells of their former selves: bad food, bad service, bad experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Atlantic City, NJ

When was the prior time it hadn't jumped the shark?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tokyo for me, sorry. Kyoto is still good tho

lol the idea that one of the world’s densest metropolises has “jumped the shark” is absurd.

Or that a whole country can jump the shark. Op is like one of those people who think Africa is a country.

OP said destinations (not continents or countries) and then pointed to recurring themes from destination/region specific travel groups.

In terms of “jumping the shark,” think of it this way: destinations that quickly became super popular (perhaps thanks to social media and/or influencers) and now have devolved to shells of their former selves: bad food, bad service, bad experience.

No. OP listed several countries as examples after talking about being a member of country/city specific travel groups. It's the overgeneralization that rubbed me the wrong way. Let's just cancel Croatia because it's jumped the shark!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rehoboth. It’s just not fun anymore. So over crowded.

Same with Bethany. Knocking down all the cottages and building these mega family rentals has led to a huge overcrowding of the town (in addition to all of the growth out 26).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tokyo for me, sorry. Kyoto is still good tho

lol the idea that one of the world’s densest metropolises has “jumped the shark” is absurd.

Or that a whole country can jump the shark. Op is like one of those people who think Africa is a country.

OP said destinations (not continents or countries) and then pointed to recurring themes from destination/region specific travel groups.

In terms of “jumping the shark,” think of it this way: destinations that quickly became super popular (perhaps thanks to social media and/or influencers) and now have devolved to shells of their former selves: bad food, bad service, bad experience.

No. OP listed several countries as examples after talking about being a member of country/city specific travel groups. It's the overgeneralization that rubbed me the wrong way. Let's just cancel Croatia because it's jumped the shark!

Okay. OP here to clarify.

Nobody has suggested canceling any country or destination.

I belong to tons of travel groups, some of which fall under a big umbrella like a country such as Croatia while others drill down to specific cities/regions (eg, Hvar, Zadar, Split, etc.). The groups are a mix of locals and tourists from all over the world, and there is a noticeable uptick in comments along the lines of, “I’ve been vacationing in Croatia for two weeks every year since the 90s and this year I’m noticing (fill in the blank: empty restaurants, bad food, bad service, locals aren’t as welcoming, etc.).

Honestly, not a lot of comments about crowds (which are expected during peak summer tourist season). Some spots are still crowded/overly crowded, but the comments seem focused on, “it’s just not as good as it used to be.”

People are wondering if maybe the destinations got lazy because you can do that when you are slammed with crowds. You can charge 10 euros for a bottle of water or can of soda when it’s hot and there are tourists everywhere. But at some point people wise up and move on.

There are people wondering (myself included) if Airbnb renters are opting to forgo a subpar yet pricey dinner in a restaurant.

And the most common destinations in Greece have perhaps become the worst offenders so much so that most people who loved the destinations before they became so popular, crowded, and filled with subpar and overpriced restaurants are now searching for other places to vacation.

Again, nobody is suggesting any country should be canceled. But it is interesting when people who have traditionally loved certain places all of a sudden notice a change that prompts them to abandon their favorite places altogether.

PS - The Paris thing was just timely since it popped into my feed this morning and the piece by the French media was so specific as to how locals are screwing tourists. While I know this happens elsewhere (ICYMI: taxi and uber drivers scam tourists in Italy all the time, and Greek restaurants are notorious for scamming customers), the fact that French media bothered to shine a light on it is very telling.

[Anonymous]

COSTA RICA

DCUM is obsessed with it but it’s become nothing but a theme park for UMC white families who consider it an “adventure.” There’s no longer anything authentic about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of insecure people getting weirdly touchy about a standard conversation starter question

Right. Because they go to the lame places!

[Anonymous]

French waiters are my favorite people.