Hate against tourists

Paris, London, Barcelona, Berlin,  Prague,... VENICE. All of them magnificent cities with wonderful monuments, excellent restaurants and...hordes of tourists. It has become the hot topic of the season. People are complaining about tourists, which seems paradoxical since most of the complainers also travel as well and probably "behave like tourists". The issue has triggered protests in Barcelona, tons of hate through the web, new laws and regulations in several cities specifically targeting services like AirBnb or trying to impose bans to shops and restaurants oriented toward tourists.

The protesters have some reasons to complain. Some people are very rude, specially those who travel to do what is forbidden in their home countries. I have seen tourists vomiting in the streets, making noise, waking up the whole neighborhood and even having sex in public. There is also other side effects of tourism that are not so evident. In particular, prices increase in touristic cities and the quality of the food diminishes. The reason is simple, restaurant owners do not have to worry about attracting clients since most of their clients are one-timers who probably will never eat again in their restaurants . There is plenty of supply so it is cheap to deceive. That is why you need to use the internet to find a decent restaurant in Paris or Barcelona.

Furthermore, this massification of tourism intensifies xenophobia. Anglosaxon tourists (specially British) are known as "guiris" in Spain. They are considered the worst kind of tourist because of their wild behavior in places like Majorca or Canary Islands. There is much hate against Italians and Americans for being loud, Chinese for having bad manners (that is what I heard) and to the French and Germans for being ... French and German.

I decided to create this blog for those of you who want  an alternative from these "beautiful hells", feel welcomed, pay reasonable prices for food and lodgement, avoid long cues, and be able to see "something" inside the museums. These underrated cities might not have the opulence, the charm or the diversity of the mainstream destinations but their offer is quite good and you will be able to enjoy them at your own pace.