MOUNT DESERT, April 25, 2024 - In case you missed it …
From Euronews.com, “As Europe nears peak summer season, tourist hotspots are increasingly feeling the strain.
“In some places, like Spain, locals have long been growing weary of the ‘sun, sex and sangria’ tourism certain destinations attract.
“But now the issue is more than just nuisance behavior. Rising visitor numbers are putting pressure on health services, waste management, water supplies and housing at the expense of residents.
“The Canary Islands are experiencing a similarly drastic situation.
“Activists say the over 10 million foreign visitors that holiday on the archipelago each year are ruining life there. Locals are reportedly sleeping in cars and caves due to soaring house prices.
“One local organisation said the islands are ‘collapsing socially and environmentally’ under the pressure from mass tourism.
“A report from Ecologists in Action warned that almost 34 per cent of the local population - nearly 800,000 people - is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.”
Amsterdam blocks construction of new hotels to fight overtourism
By Colleen Grablick, Washington Post
April 19, 2024 at 11:46 a.m. EDT
“In another attempt to crack down on overtourism, officials in Amsterdam are banning the construction of new hotels in the Dutch capital.
“The policy, announced Wednesday, only permits new hotels in a one-in, one-out system; a new hotel can be built only if another closes. New hotels may not exceed the bed count of the previous hotels and must be “better,” per the city’s release, with more modern and sustainable features.
“Amsterdam says ‘no’ to new hotels,” reads a translated statement from city officials. “We want to make and keep the city livable for residents and visitors.”
“The effort follows initiatives in Amsterdam to limit the influx of tourists into the city, a destination known for its tolerant drug policies, sex industry and liberated party scene.
“In Amsterdam, people are not prosecuted for buying up to 5 grams of cannabis, which can be purchased in coffee shops. For years, city officials have been trying to rein in hordes of “nuisance” tourists, or those who are attracted to the city by the promise of a night of debauchery.”
Venice launches world’s first tourist entrance fee in bid to fight overcrowding
April 25, 2024, 6:48 AM EDT
By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News
VENICE - “Ancient and beautiful, this city is sometimes referred to as an open air museum — and now visitors to Venice will have to pay an entry fee after the tourist hub on Thursday became the first in the world to introduce a charging system for day-trippers.
“In a bid to thin out the crowds that throng to see the canals, bridges and striking architecture during vacation season, day-trippers will have to pay 5-euro ($5.35) to enter the lagoon city on 29 peak days, mostly weekends, as part of a trial phase until July 14.
“Tourists who have booked at least one night at a hotel in the city will be exempt from the charge, as will residents, workers and students in the city. Visitors under the age of 14 will also be exempt. But like the day-trippers they will also have to ensure they have registered online and received a QR code.
“Those without smartphones will have to go to the city’s Santa Lucia train station to buy a ticket.
Meanwhile, Leonard Leo busy at work …
NORTHEAST HARBOR - The pasha of 46 South Shore Road has been busy this winter.
Along with his major fundraising for Project 2025, which has targeted the federal government’s climate initiatives among others, Leonard Leo, the dark money operative said he would not comply with a subpoena issued by the US Senate judiciary committee, as it investigates undisclosed gifts to conservative supreme court justices that have stoked an ethics crisis at a court already held in historically low public esteem.
In a statement to the Washington Post, Dick Durbin, democratic chair of the Judiciary Committee, said: “Since July 2023, Leonard Leo has responded to the legitimate oversight requests of the Senate judiciary committee with a blanket refusal to cooperate. His outright defiance left the committee with no other choice but to move forward with compulsory process. For that reason, I have issued a subpoena to Mr Leo.
“Mr Leo has played a central role in the ethics crisis plaguing the supreme court … This subpoena is a direct result of Mr Leo’s own actions and choices.
A depressingly large percentage of species on this planet have left the party over the previous 3.5 billion years. Saber tooth kitty was gone long before jacked pickup trucks and cruise ships were were created. Realistically, we are probably next. Drinks on me.
We stayed on tiny Stewart Island, New Zealand for the second time this past March. They are struggling with same love-hate relationship with the ever increasing cruise ship traffic (how much is too much? should we charge entry fees?) Unfortunately there seem to be some island village elders making cruise ship decisions the local residents are not privy to. Luckily we don’t have that nonsense on Mt Desert (haha)
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/guests-book-stewart-island-cruise-get-timaru-instead-po-reconsiders-rakiura-port-of-call/ZJIQ2SZTUBBPDG6KJP3LMRF3TM/