Traveling To Europe This Year? Caveat Emptor: Here's What You Need To Know

Forbes

9 hours ago

BARCELONA, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2024/07/06: An anti-tourism placard is seen during the demonstration. ... More More than 3,000 people demonstrated against the tourist overcrowding suffered by the city of Barcelona and in favor of tourism reduction policies. The demonstration involved symbolically closing hotel establishments, bars and restaurants while heading towards Barceloneta, one of the neighborhoods that suffers the most from the presence of tourism. (Photo by Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Even if you manage to push your way through the crowds of tourists in Barcelona and Mallorca this year on vacation, you may now find yourself spritzed by a local with a water gun who wished you'd stay home. Because of a shortage of resident apartments, Barcelona's municipal government will eliminate 10,000 short-term B&B rental licenses by 2028. And in many European capitals locals are carrying signs reading 'TOURISTS GO HOME.' In Japan, where tourism records are being broken because of a weak yen, Kyoto banned tourists from entering certain streets, and in Paris the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Elysée has a line outside that stretches down the block, and Asians are only allowed to buy a single one of their most popular bags.
Japanese tourits queue up 13 December 2000 at the entrance of a Louis Vuitton luxury store on the ... More Champs Elysees in Paris. The store's management allows each client only one purchase to avoid illegal resale of its products. AFP PHOTO JEAN-PIERRE MULLER (Photo by JEAN-PIERRE MULLER / AFP) (Photo by JEAN-PIERRE MULLER/AFP via Getty Images)
The growing antagonism towards tourists is in the face of still-growing travel––the World Travel & Tourism Council projected that this year 142 countries out of 185 will set records, especially to Europe, spending $11.1 trillion and accounting for 330 million jobs.
VENICE, ITALY - AUGUST 02: Tourists are crowded near a canal near St. Mark's Square on August 02, ... More 2023 in Venice, Italy. UNESCO officials have included Venice and its lagoon to the list of world heritage in danger to review, along with Ukraine's Kyiv, and Lviv. The UN cultural agency deems Italy not effective in protecting Venice from mass tourism and extreme weather conditions. (Photo by)
So why the complaints? It's simply a story of locals being overwhelmed by foreigners who stifle the local way of life, cause lines to get into major museums as long as at Disneyworld, cause unbearable traffic jams, inhabit converted apartments where residents once lived and utterly change the true ambience of a city like Venice, which has now become little more than a theme park of singing gondoliers, souvenir shops and pizza parlors.
Up until recently, once less-trammeled cities like Lisbon, Milan, Valencia and Reykjavik were sensible alternatives, but now, they, too, are engorged with foreign travelers. But now, even Iceland, with a population of less than 400,000, is on target to get 2.5 million tourists in 2026, and more than two-thirds of its Airbnb's were once long-term apartments.
I have visited Europe four times in the last eight months––Spain, Austria, Italy and Croatia––and one thing I did not find was any anti-American attitude, though anti-Trump feelings run high. So, if you get squirted with water in Barcelona (it will cool you off this summer), it's not because you're from the U.S. but only because you and millions of others from around the world are upsetting the locals' tolerance for crowds, noise and discomfort.
If you do plan to visit Europe this summer here are some considerations to keep in mind:
CEFALU, ITALY : Tourists in street scene and souvenir shops in coastal town of Cefalu in Northern ... More Sicily, Italy. (Photo by)
● If you've never been to Europe's major cities, by all means go, but expect crowds and high prices for hotels and BnBs. Check the on-line sites like Trivago, Expedia and Travelocity for places within your price range. If you do go to Rome, Paris, Madrid and Athens, August is the month their populations take their own vacations, so crowds will not be so bad. Be aware that all the Mediterranean countries will be very hot, and waiting on lines can be daunting.
● If you've already visited major cities, stay away from them now. Rent a car or take advantage of Europe's superb train service to travel from small city to city at your leisure. In my last trip to Italy I drove up the Adriatic coast through Puglia and Abruzzo stopping in wonderful cities and charming small towns like Bari, Lecce, Vasto, Sulmona, Scanno and others whose tourist numbers are nothing close those of major cities, and each has its own distinctive charms.
● You may or may not need it, but obtain an international driver's license from AAA for about $20 before leaving the U.S. Some rental car agencies will not rent to you without one; most will but they caution that if you are stopped by the police they will ask for one.
● Always make reservations for hotels and restaurants, even in smaller cities and especially on weekends when the locals flock to their favorite tavernas, trattorias and rathskellers, as well as country inns and resorts.
COLMAR, FRANCE - OCTOBER 9: Traditional Alsace Kougelhopf cakes on display at a delicatessen on ... More October 9, 2019 in the city of Colmar in the Alsace region of eastern France. Alsace is famous for its unique Germanic-inspired cuisine, the high number of picturesque villages, churches and castles, the Vosges mountains and its vineyards with the 170 km of the Route des Vins d'Alsace. (Photo by)
● The regions outside of the major cities usually offer different cuisines you should definitely try, like the Alsatian cooking of Strasbourg, the Provençal food of Nice, the Dalmatian specialties of Dubrovnik and the Austrian fare in Graz. The food of Sicily is as different from the food of Tuscany as Boston's seafood is from San Francisco's.
Series of typical italian pasta Linguine al pesto with green beans, served in ceramic handmade ... More plate, wood tray, parmesean cheese and basil leaves, White raw background,. (Photo by: Costanza Sigismondi/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
● I am happy to report that, generally speaking––Venice, Zurich and London excepted––restaurants prices are still amazingly low, even though the US dollar is struggling against the euro. It is still easy to find a terrific tagliatelle al pesto in Liguria for $12 to $15, and you can hop from tapas bar to tapas bar in San Sebastián, Spain, for three or four bucks per item. Fish is often priced by the grams, and many dishes, like turbot or suckling pig are priced for two or more people.
● Wine and beer is not marked up in most European countries as much as in the U.S., especially if you drink French wine in France and Italian wine in Italy. And although it was once risky to order the house wine (vino della casa in Italian), today you can always be assured that it will be a good, usually local, red or white, sold by the glass or sometimes in a carafe. Rarely do such wines cost more than $20.
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Bobby Moore preparing for the opening of his own public house called Moore's at Stratford Broadway, ... More East London. He is wearing a bowler hat and false moustache. Bobby Moore plays fro Fulham at this time. Picture taken 17th November 1976 Bobby Moore preparing for the opening of his own public house called Moore's at Stratford Broadway, East London. He is wearing a bowler hat and false moustache. Bobby Moore plays for Fulham at this time. Picture taken 17th November 1976 . (Photo by Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Yet again must I address tipping in Europe: In Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Greece and others––tips are not expected at restaurants because a service charge is already included in the bill (servis compris in French). If, as an American, you still feel guilty, leave five or ten percent of the bill, never more. In the UK one does not tip at a pub, and, increasingly restaurant bills include a 12% service charge. If not, you might want to tip that amount. You can round off your taxi cab bill as a gesture.
Passengers queue to check-in for flights at the Schiphol Airport on 29 July 2022. - Schiphol has ... More been struggling with a shortage of security guards and baggage handlers for some time, and in combination with the increased flow of holidaymakers, this shortage has led to large crowds. - Netherlands OUT (Photo by Freek van den Bergh / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by FREEK VAN DEN BERGH/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
● Airlines are telling the truth when they advise you get to the airport three hours before your flight, especially if you're flying economy. The sheer size and Piranesian maze of major airports these days makes for long lines at the counter, security, passport control and gate. Getting into a foreign country for a non-EU citizen can also be daunting, but getting back to the U.S. has now become pretty easy if you've got Global Entry membership though the on-line U.S. Customs and Border Control Protection site.