Amsterdam To Hit Back At 'Disneyfication' Of The City

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by JoeMusashi

Isn’t the fat American tourist thing kind of a cliche now? People who travel internationally tend to be younger/college age or those with a disposable income (better fashion sense). People like that don’t seem to fit the old stereotype in my experience.

Anecdotal, but if we're talking European tourism, I would say Americans, on average, tend to be more affluent/cosmpolitan than European tourists, because it costs considerable free time and many thousands to visit (say) Venice, while a German can do it on a cheap weekend excursion.

[iheartthed]

British tourists are the worst.

[M II A II R II K]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

British tourists are the worst.

Yes they take a strict approach with them.


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[JManc]

Originally Posted by JoeMusashi

Isn’t the fat American tourist thing kind of a cliche now? People who travel internationally tend to be younger/college age or those with a disposable income (better fashion sense). People like that don’t seem to fit the old stereotype in my experience.

Having disposable income does not guarantee class or fashion sense. Ever been on a cruise ship?

[Innsertnamehere]

The stereotypical American tourist is better seen on tour bus routes in Europe - definitely still there. Where you see the young millennial backpacking from hostel to hostel is in the more off beaten routes - and by that I mean literally anywhere but the top 2 or 3 spots in any given country / region.

Even then, a tour bus of 50 Americans may unload at a hotel, and maybe 5-10 will fit the stereotype. The cost of European vacations is still generally too high. The vast majority are at least reasonably aware of their surroundings and don't fit the stereotype exactly, though many may have small bits of it. Hell, I certainly do.

This is of course from my few excursions to Europe that I have managed myself.

[10023]

^ Anyone who tours a country by bus with a guide is going to fit the stereotype, generally speaking.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by JManc

Having disposable income does not guarantee class or fashion sense. Ever been on a cruise ship?

Eh, cruise ships are not very different than your Caribbean all-inclusive packages. The both offer unlimited food and beverage deals that attract the cliche fat American tourist who really just wants to laze by the pool or beach, get wasted, and gorge on food without having to sit on plane for very long. We all know these types of people! And those are not the same people who want to fly 6+ hours to look at museums and churches all day and gasp! pay for every drink (and sorry, no $1 beers or discounted margaritas).

A European vacation, even organized tours, are completely different. And while that may not guarantee class or fashion sense, Europe does require a certain amount of money and effort that is absent from the pre-packaged all you can eat/drink vacations. And so I do think a distinction should be made between those who go to Europe (or Asia, South America, India, etc.) on organized tours and those who've never gone on a vacation that isn't all-inclusive. I think that stereotypical fat American tourist is much more prevalent in the latter than the former.

[Crawford]

I think there's a hierarchy of cruises, though.

While I hope to never take a cruise again (or at least until I'm very old), my parents usually take a Viking river cruise every year, and they are not the conventional type cruises. They have onboard academics and cultural reps offering lectures, actual chefs, and itineraries are tailored to more cultural pursuits. There are no pools, obviously, and the boat functions more as a floating hotel room than anything else (you spend almost the entire day off the boat).

They're also, not surprisingly, a lot pricier than the regular cruises. I think a typical two week cruise, for a easily runs like 15k+. So factoring in airfare and incidentals, that's a 20k vacation.

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

does amsterdam have dozens of (Nepali?) selfie stick vendors milling around all the sites/squares/etc, like Rome or London?

Do you get lots of those in London? Maybe I don't go to the right places whenever I visit as I'm often there for work but I've seen far more of that kind of thing in Barcelona, Paris etc

[austin242]

All I have to say is that an all out ban on airbnb and the like is silly. They could have done what Austin did and have it be limited to no more than a month or so of renting. Which is great because while you're on vacation you could just rent out you're house. However in Austin the State is suing us once again because they don't like our Laws to get rid of any restrictions on airbnb (Thanks, AS$hole Republicans who sued Denton because they didn't want fracking in their city, who sued Austin because they didn't want to cut down heritage trees that had been here since before the city, who sued Austin because we banned Uber & Lyft from stopping in the middle of traffic, who sued Austin for a plastic bag ban etc etc etc). Sorry for the rant but this BS state needs to get the f out of our business. Democrats the only party that really cares about small government when it matters.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I think there's a hierarchy of cruises, though.

While I hope to never take a cruise again (or at least until I'm very old), my parents usually take a Viking river cruise every year, and they are not the conventional type cruises. They have onboard academics and cultural reps offering lectures, actual chefs, and itineraries are tailored to more cultural pursuits. There are no pools, obviously, and the boat functions more as a floating hotel room than anything else (you spend almost the entire day off the boat).

They're also, not surprisingly, a lot pricier than the regular cruises. I think a typical two week cruise, for a easily runs like 15k+. So factoring in airfare and incidentals, that's a 20k vacation.

You got me there, but I'd guess that a very small percentage of people who go on cruises board this type of ship. Heck, a single Caribbean cruise probably holds more people than what Viking does in a single year. But for the typical cruise, it's probably the same crowd that books all-inclusives in Mexico, Punta Cana, et. al. And this demographic is different than those who do organized tours of Europe.

[Baronvonellis]

I have a friend in Amsterdam that rents out an Airbnb. She said she got a business license from the city to run a b&b so this wont affect her. Maybe they wont give out new licenses or something, I'm not sure.

I think alot of the tourists there are British. Most all of the obnoxious wasted drunks I saw were British lol. For them it's a cheap weekend getaway place to get wasted, like going to Vegas for American frat types.
There's really tourist areas like any big city, but there's plenty of quiet and off the beaten path places in Amsterdam still. It depends what kind of experience you want.

Since it costs so much for Americans to go to Europe, most travelers I saw in Europe were more educated, well off, and going there to experience the culture and museums. But yea the people getting off a big tour bus are the typical fanny pack wearing older tourists. Those tour bus trips are expensive and seems like the worst way to travel to me. Getting shuffled through every museum and castle in a big mob seems really annoying. I don't get why those baby boomers would want to do that. If you think you need a tour guide to visit Europe you might as well need a tour guide to visit California or anywhere in the US. It's pretty easy to get around there on your own, they have all the same stuff we do in the US.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

Unpopular opinion, but this seems kind of snobby and unfair and also sounds like a very rash populist measure.

cities governments have more of a responsibility to their own citizens than they do interlopers.

[the urban politician]

I proudly just came back from a Caribbean Disney Cruise.

It was an experience that I'm sure most on this forum would despise.

But I don't care. My kids has a blast, I'm relaxed, and I've put on 10 lbs which I now need to lose

[JManc]

Originally Posted by McBane

You got me there, but I'd guess that a very small percentage of people who go on cruises board this type of ship. Heck, a single Caribbean cruise probably holds more people than what Viking does in a single year. But for the typical cruise, it's probably the same crowd that books all-inclusives in Mexico, Punta Cana, et. al. And this demographic is different than those who do organized tours of Europe.

There's a lot of overlap between people who enjoy a cruise that also enjoy exploring Europe. My wife and I for example and we're hardly unique.

[destroycreate]

I've seen a lot of general cruise ship tourists and they tend to be extremely obese, and I get uncomfortable by being surrounded by so many people who are cavalier towards their health/make poor lifestyle choices. I'd also be nervous about food safety/preparation. Seems like huge amounts of people get sick on these ships every other year.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I proudly just came back from a Caribbean Disney Cruise.

It was an experience that I'm sure most on this forum would despise.

But I don't care. My kids has a blast, I'm relaxed, and I've put on 10 lbs which I now need to lose

I have been on a Disney cruise as well and the clientele is nothing like a normal cruise. The cost is like twice a normal cruise or even more (companies like Royal Caribbean always run all kinds of discounts that make them dirt cheap). Disney cruises are expensive, much smaller than the big lines and are avoided by the drunken 20-30 year old crowd.

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by dave8721

I have been on a Disney cruise as well and the clientele is nothing like a normal cruise. The cost is like twice a normal cruise or even more (companies like Royal Caribbean always run all kinds of discounts that make them dirt cheap). Disney cruises are expensive, much smaller than the big lines and are avoided by the drunken 20-30 year old crowd.

Drunken 20 somethings or an abundance of bratty children. I can't figure out what'd be worse...

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Drunken 20 somethings or an abundance of bratty children. I can't figure out what'd be worse...

It depends on who you are.

If you're a parent with their family, drunken 20 somethings are obviously the bigger nuisance.

If you're a drunken 20 something, you generally enjoy the company of other drunken 20 somethings...

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by dave8721

I have been on a Disney cruise as well and the clientele is nothing like a normal cruise. The cost is like twice a normal cruise or even more (companies like Royal Caribbean always run all kinds of discounts that make them dirt cheap). Disney cruises are expensive, much smaller than the big lines and are avoided by the drunken 20-30 year old crowd.

No thanks to dirt cheap cruises.