America's small cities being overrun by tourists

[pj3000]

Overrun by Tourists, American Cities Are Taking Aim at Hotels

Places such as Charleston, S.C., Asheville, NC, and Portland, Maine, are starting to feel pressure after a decade-long boom in tourism.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...un-by-tourists


A new hotel going up in Charleston’s French Quarter. PHOTOGRAPHER: EVA VERBEECK/BLOOMBERG

- U.S. tourism has enjoyed a robust run for a decade. The travel industry has grown for 116 consecutive months, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Meanwhile, the supply of hotel rooms has expanded by about 12% in the past decade.

- Certain markets have grown far faster, including Nashville, where the number of rooms is up 32% since 2009, as well as Charleston and the North Carolina mountain retreat of Asheville, up 23% and 21%, respectively.

While European destinations such as Venice and Barcelona are famously overrun, some of America’s small historic cities are starting to buckle from a prolonged boom in tourism—and rightly or wrongly, locals are directing some of their anger at hoteliers.

- Four hours away from Charleston, city leaders in Asheville just passed a moratorium on hotel construction that could last for a year. The Martian landscape around tiny Moab, Utah, has lured so many adventure-seekers that the city temporarily stopped accepting new lodging applications amid concerns hotels were edging out housing and offices.

- Developers feel unjustly singled out. Jim Brady is trying to develop a 135-room hotel in Portland, Maine, where city leaders recently required new hotels to pay into an affordable housing fund, arguing that hospitality workers are being priced out.

- In Charleston, a decades-long effort to nurture tourism without spoiling the city’s 350-year-old heritage reached a boiling point recently. Former Mayor Joseph Riley presided over the “Holy City” for 40 years until 2016, and since then the city’s politics have been rife with infighting, locals say. Mayor John Tecklenburg campaigned on a pledge to temporarily halt new hotel construction as a candidate in 2015 and continued the fight upon taking office.

[hauntedheadnc]

I think Asheville reached the breaking point when a plan to turn the Flatiron Building, home to dozens of offices, including several non-profits, into a hotel was brought before the city council and approved. All those organizations and offices are out on their ass, and people are not happy about it. Meanwhile, fully three percent of the housing stock in Asheville is given over to Airbnb rentals, the highest percentage in the country, while fully half of the renters in Buncombe County are rent-burdened and pay more than a third of their income on rent. And meanwhile, a city of about 93,000 and the infrastructure to serve it, continue to also serve an estimated eleven million tourists per year. Asheville is rapidly being loved to death.

[Sun Belt]

I've been a tourist to all 3 of those cities. I haven't been to Asheville since the 1990s though.

Portland doesn't really struggle with the crowds though, it's easy to fly in to Portland, or drive up from Boston, or take the train from Boston. It's the points north of Portland that struggle.

Mid-Coast Maine in the summer is pretty awful, with heavy traffic all piled up on a 2 lane highway - US 1.

https://goo.gl/maps/c3B7vuzBV4J6UNzd6

[eschaton]

Limiting the construction of new hotels in the era of Airbnb seems idiotic, quite honestly. It's the same rationale that people use to oppose new high-cost residential buildings, which ultimately causes more people to be gentrified out of historic units of housing.

Ultimately, I just don't think there's a good way to limit tourism in smaller, picturesque cities with nice seasonal weather and walkable downtowns.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Limiting the construction of new hotels in the era of Airbnb seems idiotic, quite honestly.

Seems pretty effective to me. The Hamptons have essentially banned new hotels for 50 years, and there are strict limits on Airbnb, and so have restricted tourism to the wealthy.

Not saying this is best from a public policy perspective, but it has certainly worked. It's quite easy to restrict tourism.

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Seems pretty effective to me. The Hamptons have essentially banned new hotels for 50 years, and there are strict limits on Airbnb, and so have restricted tourism to the wealthy.

Not saying this is best from a public policy perspective, but it has certainly worked. It's quite easy to restrict tourism.

Only wealthy enclaves can restrict tourism because they don't need the money. But where in small town America that isn't the Hamptons can they afford to turn money away by saying "we don't want you here"?

How do I tell my neighbor they can't make money? How do I tell a theatre of actors they can't have a bigger audience? Or tell a waitress she can't have more customers?

This is asinine.

[Obadno]

"No we dont want tourists here spending money in our businesses and on our services"

Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Only wealthy enclaves can restrict tourism because they don't need the money. But where in small town America that isn't the Hamptons can they afford to turn money away by saying "we don't want you here"?

How do I tell my neighbor they can't make money? How do I tell a theatre of actors they can't have a bigger audience? Or tell a waitress she can't have more customers?

This is asinine.

First time arguing with Crawford I see

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Only wealthy enclaves can restrict tourism because they don't need the money. But where in small town America that isn't the Hamptons can they afford to turn money away by saying "we don't want you here"?

How do I tell my neighbor they can't make money? How do I tell a theatre of actors they can't have a bigger audience? Or tell a waitress she can't have more customers?

This is asinine.

It's representative democracy. If a majority of local people wish to keep an area pristine, and aren't violating any laws, I don't see the problem.

Why do the Hamptons (or Laguna, or Malibu) have to look like Myrtle Beach or Panama City? It isn't like there's a shortage of beachfront development in the U.S. The beaches are still free and open to the public, but the city doesn't have to encourage visitors by providing subsidized parking and the like.

[10023]

There are like a dozen small American cities overrun by tourists, because they are tourist attractions. The vast majority are not. And it’s not nearly as bad in Charleston or Asheville as it is in hundreds of small European cities.

[JManc]

Been to all three cities..plus Moab within past few years and the key is to go off season. Moab and Coastal Maine (along with NH and MA) are absolutely horrible peak season.

[dave8721]

Key West residents fighting chamber of commerce types over giant cruise ships over-running the island:

https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-n...le1955604.html

Key West draws a line in the water over a wider cruise-ship harbor

[JManc]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Key West residents fighting chamber of commerce types over giant cruise ships over-running the island:

https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-n...le1955604.html

Plus, cruise ship tourists are obnoxious as fuck. They zero in on the tackiest/ cheesiest shops and then get drunk at kitschy chain restaurants that are at every stop.

[CherryCreek]

Silly and inaccurate title on the thread. More accurately: several small tourist cities have lots of tourists.

In other news, LA has tons of cars.

[Centropolis]

don’t like crowds, go further. most nice places in the west are not crowded, even drop dead gorgeous coastal towns. i spent time in a town that felt like a fucking art film with one pub and one store in northern california...i have no need for putting up with fucking tourist crowds in america. plenty of space...

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

don’t like crowds, go further. most nice places in the west are not crowded, even drop dead gorgeous coastal towns. i spent time in a town that felt like a fucking art film with one pub and one store in northern california...i have no need for putting up with fucking tourist crowds in america. plenty of space...

I agree.

Solvang, CA
Montecito, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Monterey, CA
Big Sur, CA

etc. - so many great spots out West.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

I agree.

Solvang, CA
Montecito, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Monterey, CA
Big Sur, CA

etc. - so many great spots out West.

gualala, elk, westport, philo, shelter cove (mendocino county) those are my speed.

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

don’t like crowds, go further. most nice places in the west are not crowded, even drop dead gorgeous coastal towns. i spent time in a town that felt like a fucking art film with one pub and one store in northern california...i have no need for putting up with fucking tourist crowds in america. plenty of space...

Even the people who live in tourist towns tend to stay away from the touristy areas.

[Jonesy55]

Sounds like a typical summer day in a few hundred different small cities around Europe.

[CaliNative]

In SoCal, Laguna Beach is overrun by tourists in summer, especially during the late summer Festival of Arts. But so far no pressure to restrict hotels. La Jolla near San Diego and Coronado are also crowded. Santa Monica is too but NINBYs do keep most new construction away.