i hear you, but costa del sol has been that way since my parents honeymooned there in the 70s, and the balearic islands are completely UK-ized. not a new phenomenon, but definitely one that is getting progressively worse…

Here in NZ if you want to have a holiday at the beach, you get pack your tent, or tow the caravan and off you go, but in England, not everyone has a car, and the beaches are not the best, so they took over a part of Spain, and to make them feel at home, along came the foodchains, greasy spoons and of course the pubs, so to them they are just doing what we take for granted but in another country.
Yes, with the increase of tourism in Europe along come the home comforts which is a pity. I think that is why more people are now heading over to Asia, South America and Africa before they are invaded

I think european cities only lose their charms if you let them. They are not going to put a Macdonalds at the top of the eiffel tower or paint Ronald Macdonald in the cisiten (I spelt that wrong I know) chapel.

And I’m sure european countries are pleased that more people are traveling. Tourism is a big part of a countries economy. You chose how you want to see it.

Part of it has to do with us wanting it to be a certain way and the opposite thing called reality.

I don’t think the Brits in the Costa del Sol or elsewhere in Spain are Americanizing the place. They might be Anglicizing it, though. Cultural interchange is the way of the world, then and now and forever after. Otherwise we’d have cultural stasis. Europe has never been a fairy tale for most of its inhabitants, except possibly as a gruesome nightmare in some cases, so why should it be a fairy tale for us tourists?

Maybe you want Europe to be a fairy tale, but there’s people who want to live here too, you know. If you want fairy tales, I suggest you go[url=‘http://www.efteling.nl/homeFlash.aspx’]here[/url].

Seraphim, you just touched on a point that I was just discussing with a friend the other day.

It’s interesting that many Americans travel abroad with the idea that the rest of the world is there as sort of a "grand amusement park" or a "fairytale land" which exists solely for their entertainment. Not that Luisfc1972 means this in his/her post, I’m just sort of bringing this point up to discuss.

I’m sure that this goes for anyone traveling in another culture to some extent, but for some reason I definitely notice it more from Americans. I’ve met many who view going to Europe like buying a 1-day pass to Epcot Center in Disneyworld (showcasing 11 countries) or Busch Gardens Williamsburg (showcasing countries in western Europe).

My point about Costa del Sol/Balearic Islands is that there have always been places in europe where people from certain countries go on holiday to — the Bulgarian beaches are filled with Germans and the Spanish ones are filled with Brits. It’s not a new phenomenon, although with the growth of corporations worldwide, it’s much easier to expand and capitalize on these trends now for investors looking to construct chain restaurants and retail establishments.

Your right Hope. For people to tavel aboard is a start in the right direction. People generally are sheep. They follow other people. For Americans to leave there shores and go to another country is probably a big step for that person. When I think of Americans going on holidays I usually picture them going to Florida or California or to a Lake or something. I also know that only 5% of them own a passport. So any American I see travelling in Europe I already have respect for because they have gone outside the square. Their additude towards the place doesn’t matter, as long as they are having a good time and learning about new things.

English on the other hand I noticed when I was over their had this thing about going to Spain and turning really red, drinking lots of beer and being hooligans and going home. I guess Spain didn’t want English people in the rest of the country so they gave them an island and said enjoy yourself. I also found out that english people are extremely paranoid.

What I really saying is I guess every country has it’s own heard of sheep. I think of the traveller as being the black sheep. Going against the trend and curious about the world and about other cultures and things. So I forgive that fact that there is a few western places springing up in the cities. I’m sure the countries them selves have their own governments who take it in the interest and culture of that country and it’s people.

(I know I’m being pretty broad about the things above, but it’s just what I’ve observed)

Hope, I think the Japanese have this point of view even more, but that’s probably because their culture is so different from ours. We don’t really get many American tourists in Antwerp, but I’ve had Japanese tour groups totally block my way when I was trying to get back to work in time after my lunch break just because they all needed to take pictures of god knows what. Americans seem to be torn between shouting either "this is so quaint" or "why isn’t everything like it’s supposed to be?" at the top of their longs, as if the locals don’t understand English or simply don’t exist.
I don’t mean to offend anyone here, of course these are stereotypes, there are many American/Japanese/German/Israeli/Dutch tourists that are cool.

quote:
I think european cities only lose their charms if you let them. They are not going to put a Macdonalds at the top of the eiffel tower or paint Ronald Macdonald in the cisiten (I spelt that wrong I know) chapel.

And I’m sure european countries are pleased that more people are traveling. Tourism is a big part of a countries economy. You chose how you want to see it.

Well said, Schmatt.

now now folks this is what i mean. when do you predict there will be a mcdonalds on the cinque terre? a hilton perhaps?

when i say fairytale i mean old castles, roman ruins, etc.
i imagine in a couple of years there will be a burger king next to the roman colliseum.

no i did not mean for it to be an amusement park.
i guess what im getting at is people realize that europe one day will turn into another hawaii. i think it will lose its appeal when that time comes.

As long as they’re not demolishing (sp?) the castles and ruins to build a McDonalds there, I don’t see your point. What distance from tourist sites do you suggest real life can begin?

quote:it seems there is more and more traffic congestion in those beautiful squares every year…everything is getting americanized.

Since when is modernization "americanization" ?? Automobiles and motorways were invented in Europe, as well as the Industrial Revolution. McDonald’s is Americanization [to some extent], yes, but cars are not. The traffic congestion in those beautiful squares are the product of the 20th century.

As sickboy points out, there’s the image tourists expect, and there’s reality. Personally, I appreciate the reality a great deal. The traffic congestion makes the place seem more human, more alive. Of course, I also deeply appreciate pedestrianized old quarters. And I think several European cities have made a good balance of the two.

One major flaw in the trans-atlantic relationship is that Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans (especially Americans/Canadians) see their countries as the "New" World, and Europe as "Old." This operates under the false presumption that North American countries sprang out of nowhere in the past century only, and that Europe has been at a standstill since 1750. The TGV, AVE, Thalys, and ICE trains, the massive stadiums built for Euro2000 [Holland + Belgium], Euro2004 [Portugal], France ’98, Athens 2004 and Turin 2006, the highrises of Frankfurt and Paris’ La Défense, the Eurotunnel, etc, all these things are a part of Europe just like crêpes, chianti, and lederhosen.

The impact of tourism is a whole other story, and bringing up the Costa del Sol epitomizes, in my opinion, the blight of the situation particularly in Southern Europe where the impact of the tourism industry both negative and positive has been felt the most. Spain, Italy, France, Greece, and Portugal are all within the world’s top 20 tourist destinations. Along with tourism money come tourism troubles. And while it’s true that tourism is welcome, I completely disagree that locals should be willing to adopt the negative side of it. There are ways for both the host country [i]and[/i the visitors [especially] to monitor the situation. Foreigners getting drunk and acting in a way completely offensive to the locals by often times doing things they wouldn’t dare to do at home is completely unacceptable, and unfortunately all too common in places like Costa del Sol, Corfu, Rhodes, Rimini, etc, where hoardes of northerners come to let loose. Besides the physical damage that can be done (violence and crime commited every summer by out-of-control tourists), there’s also a psychological effect giving southerners the impression that northerners disrespect southerners and look down on the South.

I can write forever about the rowdy northern tourists in Southern Europe, but ya’ll get the picture. Please behave yourselves.

I find the subject interesting. I have travelled extesively around Italy and the US and England. I think it is more a problem of big cities and touristic places. You go to Rome to see Roman ruins and the history. But you cannot go to Rome if you want to immerse yourself in the local culture. You will barely meet any Romans in the city center. Then I may have a kind of romantic idea of travelling but I do not like when I get the impression to get exploited in a too shameless way. That is what Italy is mostly.
When my friends from the States come I want them to appriciate my culture. We visit Rome and touristic places but then we go to small towns and they really like it a lot. An area that I like a lot is Abruzzi national park. YOu can find a bed&breakfast for just €15.
You can have everything – nature, sport, culture and people.We go to the local shepherd and we buy some cheese that we eat with some homemade bread and have a glass of wine from his vineyard. That is just an example. There are some very good informative website about abruzzi national park. You can also have a look at this site www.italyfarmstay.co…. I think it just depends how you travel and what I have written is not just about Italy but the whole world.

more than mcdonalds, the zillions of aussies seem to be ruining europe. hell I love sustralians but they are friggin EVERYWHERE!

Hey look europe is a big place. Because they are so close together you have europeans in every different other country in Europe. There is a big difference between the big city centres and the small towns. A city isn’t losing it’s charm is just modernising itself to deal with the hug influx of cities. Like people have said. it’s not just there for your amusment. These are cities where people live and work everyday. SO they have to function in a way that can apeace to everyone not just the tourists. And it’s not just americanisation If you go to your local mall what do you see? Chinese resuarants, italian, Paris shops. So every place has had it’s certain impact on other countries. So it’s not like America is taking over it’s just that europe is evolving to take on the world. I say you get out of a city what you put in. if you chose to see it losing it’s charm just take a deep breath and look again and you will see the charm. Every city has it’s on feel and rythem, you just have to see it.

Yeah I know us Aussies are everywhere, we just like traveling and exploring the world concidering we live on an island on the other side of the world. Most australians in some part of their lives will travel overseas. it’s just our culture. Visit the mother land England and see europe at the same time. It’s great I loved it.