Completely Off Topic: Tourists

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:32pm

I live in New York and I was thinking about how pretty everything is when all the lights are up in the wintertime etc. however walking through Times Square this weekend reminded me of just how crowded it gets this time of year. So what I was wondering was do tourists get annoyed with tourists as well? Like do they care that they all walk so slowly and stop to take pictures of tall buildings? bc as beautiful and magical as New York may be in December, it would almost be ruined by the crowds, long lines, and 1mph people traffic... just a random though.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:35pm

Same thing happens in DC. I think sometimes tourists are in their own world and kind of oblivious to those around them. Just my opinion.

[timote316]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:37pm

I know I do. I plan my trips according to tourist season - when it ends, I'm there.

And I'll admit, I do do touristy things while I'm there (such as taking pictures of buildings). But, I pay close attention to get out of the way when doing so (usually standing right against a lightpost or trashcan or newspaper bin or something, where people wouldn't usually be walking anyway). When I go during tourist season, I steer clear of Times Square, unless its necessary.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:38pm

If it's "completely off topic," why isn't it on the off-topic board?

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:39pm

My mom said something one time that I've never forgotten.

"It's like Disney World for them... they don't realize people actually have to live here."

I repeat it like a mantra when I get off the subway in the morning at 42nd street. I know people are always saying to avoid Times Square... but I WORK in Times Square, I can't help it.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:40pm

This may be an off-topic board discussion, but I will respond!

I visit NYC twice a year. I don't mind the congestion in Times Square. I expect it. And, for me, it is part of what makes Times Square, Times Square. This year will be the 1st time in about 27 years since I have seen NYC at Christmas time and it will be the 1st time I see the tree lit in Rockafeller Center. I seem to always be there when they are still decorating it. So I am excited. Will be there on the 5th!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:40pm

Ugh. Times Square. The world's most irritating mall.

If I'm in a REALLY bad mood, I'll gently scoop people out of the way with the back of my arm...they seem to love it, they think they're getting the New York experience, so....the moral of the story is: Be An A**hole!

[mominator]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:44pm

When we go to NYC, we just avoid Times Square if at all possible.
It is called electricity people, nothing to new, move along.

[Marianne]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 12:53pm

NYC tourists are annoying more for sheer volume than for their actual behavior. I visit the city regularly and yeah, I get asked for directions and sometimes have to step out of the way of people's photos, but they ain't got nothing on the flocks of Japanese tourists in Washington DC or the ones that expect everyone in Paris to speak perfect English.

But crowds are a problem. I wish that tourist season meant you could actually shoot them and thin the herd a little.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:08pm

Tourist generate a great deal of revenue for the city, create jobs for the people who live here and keep many businesses in business.

I welcome them with open arms and hope they continue to find the city of my birth a place to visit.

[alex2155]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:10pm

I personally thing Herald Square is way worse than Times Square. Time Square I can actually handle, but 34th Street area...ugh! I can't stand it.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:14pm

To quote Noel Coward:

Why do the wrong people travel, travel, travel,
When the right people stay back home?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:16pm

Any time I visit NYC I'm always the fastest person walking down the street. I'm always the one walking to the right, avoiding the idiots coming in either direction. It's the same way in my home city as well. Tourists don't corner the market on douchey street behavior. In fact, I would say most of the people walking on the street acting like idiots aren't tourists - they're people on their way to work who have no conception of the fact that other people are in a hurry, they're groups of four or five people taking up the entire sidewalk going one direction, they're people who cut to get in front of you and then reduce their steps to a crawl as soon as they've past you.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:19pm

Updated On: 12/23/09 at 01:19 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 1:55pm

The funny thing about tourists is, everyone is one. You may not be when you go to NYC, but when you got to London, you're a tourist.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 2:03pm

Ditto what Phyllis said. I always find myself walking to the right and trying to keep with the proper flow. And it isn't only tourists that get in the way. My biggest pet peeve are people on their cell phones who decide to just stop in their tracks to talk, or are so involved in their conversation that they don't realize that people are walking behind or around them and don't keep up with the pace. And that happenes everywhere.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 2:45pm

Rentboy, many people who hate the tourists in their own city make the effort to NOT behave like that themselves wherever they go. If I want to take a picture, I don't block dozens of people in either direction just so I can get a clear shot. I don't stop in middle of a crowded sidewalk with a large group of people to read a map, or a sign, or discuss where we should go next. I certainly don't interrupt someone on a phone just so I can ask directions.

You can visit other places without acting like a "tourist."

[ChiChi]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 3:21pm

Whenever I am in New York I am a tourist as well. I try to blend in, though, and actually get irritated with how much time it takes to get around a tourist who wants to take a picture of all twelve people in their touring group in front of the Freakin' Phantom Marquis. It really grates on me. That's just me though.

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 3:49pm

I live in NY and I love Times Square. Imagine it without any tourists-it should be filled with people! And I also love the lights! Call it electricity, but look what it's doing! And I'll stand in the middle of the sidewalk or the street to get the right shot. Who wants the wrong shot? That's what people are supposed to do there-walk slowly, look up, take pictures, etc.

I wouldn't want to travel somewhere else and be expected to walk quickly through the sights without stopping to look up and take great shots! I would behave like a tourist and love it!

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 4:47pm

I go to NYC so often, so I've stopped considering myself being a tourist. When people walk slow, I push myself between the two people to get passed them, start to walk faster and mumble "Damn tourists."

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 4:49pm

I hate tourists even when I am one (no matter where I am, but especially NYC). If I want to stop and take a picture, I at least move to the side!

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 5:22pm

I hate people who are obnoxious, rude, annoying, loud and have no respect for others. If it's a tourist or a local, I don't care ! When I travel, I try to enjoy my visit, without annoying others !
If someone is a pig, he will be a pig both at his hometown AND when he travels ! If he is well behaved, he will be so everywhere ! People don't change because of location ! It's not a tourist thing, it's a human thing !!!

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 5:27pm

I'm a fast paced tourist. That way you also avoid to be robbed

[Rotel1026]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 9:00pm

I always find it funny when people are tourists and yet think they are better than the rest of the tourists. If I'm in NYC and I want to get somewhere fast, I avoid Broadway, it's easier to go to 8th avenue and use it to get up and down the Times Square area than to fight all the crowds on Broadway. I've been to NYC when it's not as busy and I just find it odd to see Times Square when there aren't as many people and when everything seems to die down right around 10 PM. I loved being there in the summer when there was so much energy even when it was midnight.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 11/26/07 at 9:14pm

I hate tourists, even when I am one. When visiting places (like New York, or San Fransisco) I try NOT to do do the tourist thing. I also find it so strange when I encounter tourists here in Chicago... Maybe its because I've always lived here. Sorry to thread jack a little, but anyone else feel that way?