Seneca’s Ancient Rome Tourist Complaints

This hot European summer, the protests against tourism have monopolized the headlines of the press, from Barcelona to Venice, passing through Mallorca and the Canary Islands.

However, riots are not limited to Europe.

A few weeks ago, in Mexico City, several peaceful demonstrations against excessive tourism and gentrification by foreign “digital nomads” ended in violence when a small group of participants shattered shop windows and looted stores.

And earlier this year, the Japan Tourism Office urged the Australians to change their trips to Tokyo and Kyoto (where tourists have been accused of harassing the Geishas) for less traveled destinations.

Tourists have been criticized for their bad behavior in Antarctica and Bali (where tourism represents between 60% and 70% of their gross domestic product).

Although the discomfort for excess tourism in Europe dates back to at least 2017, this year marks a milestone: for the first time, activists from all over the continent have coordinated their protests.

The locals have resorted to graffiti against tourism in Athens, attacks with water guns in Italy, Portugal and Spain, and an aquatic march against cruises in Venice.

To the point that security warnings have been issued for travelers who go to Europe during the summer season.

The most common complaints refer to overcrowding, the inaccessibility of housing and damage to the physical and natural environment.

In other parts of the world they also concern the imbalance of tourism policies, the insensitivity of visitors and real estate speculation.

But local protests against tourism are not new.

They have a long history: from ancient Rome and the Brighton of the nineteenth century to Hawaii and the Caribbean after the rise of mass tourism in the 1950s.

Ancient Rome and Brighton of the nineteenth century

The rejection of tourists dates back to the beginnings of “getaways.”

In the year 51, the philosopher Seneca wrote about those fled from Rome to go to the beach:

“Why do I have to do with drunks staggering on the shore or noisy parties in boats […]? Who wants to listen to the disputes of the night singers? “

This could have been said by a local that suffers the alcoholic excesses of the “single farewell tourism” in the current Amsterdam.

The cultural clash between the life of the inhabitants, focused on work and family, and the “carefree” spirit of visitors is timeless.

The modern foundations of current tourism were established in the 19th century, in the United Kingdom.

Among them were the travel agency created by Thomas Cook, the development of the railroad and steamboats, and a culture based on what was known as the great European tour.

Protests and antituristic feeling developed rapidly.

In the United Kingdom, for example, the rich began to spend their vacation on the coast. Tourist centers were built to attend them, but the emergence of these newcomers often affected the life of the residents.

Brighton’s riots of 1827 marked one of the first clashes.

After tourists complained about fishing networks that occupied the beach and the sullen presence of fishermen, fishing boats were removed from the coast.

The protests were repressed, the displaced ships of the main beach of the city and the sensitivity of the appeased tourists.

In the 1880s, several protests aimed to prevent trains from visitors from the picturesque district of the United Kingdom.

“The stupid herds of modern tourists are emptied as coal of a sack in Windermere and Keswick,” wrote the philosopher John Ruskin.

The protesters achieved at least one temporal victory.

Cruises, Thematic Parks and ‘Aloha Marketing’

However, since World War II, the protests catalyst was the “massification” of tourism as a result of a globalized and marketed industry, whose symbols were cruises, Jumbo airplanes and the great thematic parks.

Mass tourism was the result of the growth of the middle classes, which were granted paid vacations.

Transport systems caused tourism to be cheaper, more accessible and broader.

A culture was developed in which certain segments of the world population began to consider frequent vacations as a right, instead of exceptional privilege.

The book The Golden Hordes Includes a chapter entitled Paradise Rejected (“The rejected paradise”). It documented the local antituristic feeling from the Caribbean to Hawaii and Europe.

The authors, Louis Turner and John Ash, report violent antituristic incidents that occurred in the 1970s in places like Jamaica.

Governments used to promote themselves at the national level with “smile campaigns” to seek tourists to consider their nations as possible destinations.

This happened while many of these countries were decolonizing and drawing paths towards independence.

The indigenous Kanaka Ma’oli of Hawaii have been protesting decades, as the industry has been developed.

In addition, in Hawaii tourism has been based in part on the abuse of its culture, especially on the marketing of “Aloha”, idealizing its way of life in a stereotyped way to attract the exotic fantasies of travelers.

Many of Hawaii’s protests take place on the beaches, where the locals report visitors to the political context and the housing crisis caused by tourism.

As of 2004, some local activists began to create “deviations” for travelers, in order to share with them the opinions of the local inhabitants and tell stories away from the commercial narrative.

Recently, following the prompt reopening of tourism after Maui’s fires of 2023, the Hawaians decided to protest with a massive “fishing”.

A coalition organized the locals to place themselves with reeds and tools in front of the tourist complexes of Kaanapali Beach, in order to attract attention to the lack of permanent homes for residents and the slowness of recovery after disaster.

This is a clear example of tourist, in which residents feel that priority is given to tourist success over local well -being.

This era is also witnessing the competition between governments for housing sports mega -speakers, partly because of the tourist benefits derived from them.

The Brazilian cities lived several demonstrations in protest of the huge costs that the celebration of the 2014 World Cup, which were repressed by the riot.

The protests could soon give way to more comprehensive community strategies.

Social movements against excessive tourism and tourist are organized. For example, a Congress was recently held in Barcelona, ​​convened by the Global Stay Groured network, which brought together participants from all over Europe to create coalitions in order to empower communities.

Looking back, “antiturism” could be an erroneous term. The premises are not necessarily against tourists or tourism. They are against disrespectful visitors, an industry driven by growth at any price and governments that do not manage effectively in the interest of their residents.

For a long time, it is clear that we have to improve, and local communities, fed up, are taking action on the matter.

*Freya Higgins-Desbiolles is the attached professor of tourism management, University of Australia del Sur

*This article was published in The Conversation and reproduced here under the Creative Commons license. Click here to see the original version.

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