tourists

[lost on 5th]

how many of you are experiencing the influx of summer tourists???

...the money they spend here is great, but getting to work on time is REALLY hard when there are herds of people waring the same color shirt and hat...following someone who is holding a flag.. blocking every sidewalk and crosswalk.

does anyone remember the computer game lemmings???

 

[AGBF]

No tourists here. Are you in Manhattan?

Deb

 

[lost on 5th]

yes.. manhattan.

my office is in one rockefeller center.

my morning commute gets a little bit of times square, radio city, nbc studios, rink bar, today show summer concert series, and occasional book signings at B&N.

if you can believe it... a few weeks ago i had to show someone how to use a revolving door!!!

(i guess i should be happy because its better than holiday shopping season, but it was nice and quiet here for a little while)

 

[ammayernyc]

I feel your pain!

There was a group of tourists from the midwest on the subway on my way to work last week that missed their stop because they were afraid that they all wouldn''t be able to get off together... they were all using the same door and there were about 20 of them. Ummm... three subway doors to one car... you can make it! Then, at the next stop they had two ''door holders'' stand in front of the door to make sure they all got out. They kept standing there when the doors tried to close and then, when they were all out and the holders moved, the door wouldn''t budge! They broke the door...

So, I got to work 30 minutes late (not that I really care... but it was plenty frustrating...)

I try to be a nice New Yorker... but it''s hard sometimes!

 

[MINE!!]

I am actaully quite excited.. we are having a ''deflux'' of people here. Finally it doesn not take me an hour to go 5 miles!!!

 

[lost on 5th]

amandapanda.. i ''try'' to be a nice new yorker too, but some days......

as for the broken door.....

 

[movie zombie]

i live in an area that if it weren''t for tourists, many businesses would be defunct. i stopped grouseing about tourists on the road when i started driving in europe. but when i travel in europe, i don''t go during the summer...too crowded with too many tourists!

i do try and avoid san francisco during the summer. its not just ''cause of the fog and like mark twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco''. the tourists are around all year long but during summer they are just too many to contend with even though i don''t frequent tourist spots.

tourism is such a mixed bag: brings $$$ into the local economy which the locals just wouldn''t see otherwise but at the same time a real pain in the behind for locals. example: local bar frequenters complain that the bar gets overrun with tourists but i don''t hear the owner complain as she rakes in the $$$. the lines are longer at the two grocery stores but the owners are making more money per day than they do during the winter months. some of the businesses rely on the tourists to make enough money to get through the rest of the year. in the long run, having those places open year round benefits me.

peace, movie zombie

 

[jorman]

If you are ever tired of your tourists, you can always move to Lubbock. The only tourists we get are either:
a) Die hard Bobby Knight fans from Indiana
b) Actually interested in the Buddy Holly museum
c) lost

Janna

 

[ammayernyc]

Luckily, I don''t go to work early enough to see all the people who get to the morning shows at the crack of dawn!

I just experienced another throng of tourists while getting lunch. I work right across the street from City Hall, which is also near the World Trade Center site. So, aside from the protesters who are always around, I have to deal with people trying to get into City Hall (which is difficult unless you''re taking a tour or have a purpose to be there). Also, at least once a day, someone asks me how to get to the World Trade Center site. For the life of me, I don''t know why people would want to go there to take pictures. It''s an empty pit. I would think the only people who would want to see it would be the families of people who died there or those with some sort of connection. Otherwise, to me, it''s like going to a graveyard to look at the pretty stones...

 

[Blue824]

Date: 6/20/2005 12:03:30 PM
Author: AmandaPanda
I feel your pain!

There was a group of tourists from the midwest on the subway on my way to work last week that missed their stop because they were afraid that they all wouldn''t be able to get off together... they were all using the same door and there were about 20 of them. Ummm... three subway doors to one car... you can make it! Then, at the next stop they had two ''door holders'' stand in front of the door to make sure they all got out. They kept standing there when the doors tried to close and then, when they were all out and the holders moved, the door wouldn''t budge! They broke the door...

So, I got to work 30 minutes late (not that I really care... but it was plenty frustrating...)

I try to be a nice New Yorker... but it''s hard sometimes!

Not all Midwesterners are that bad. I swear

I hate looking or feeling like a tourist. I like knowing where I''m going and act like what I''m doing. Chicago gets its share of tourists, so I just avoid the popular hang areas and all the museums in the summer. I get super frustrated with them. They walk slowly and just stand in the middle of the sidewalks staring at the buildings. My job interacts with a lot of tourists, and sometimes it is great, they''re just happy and enjoying themselves, but sometimes I just wnat to shoot myself, can''t answer another silly question.

I loved the large groups of tourists following their flags in Europe in 4 inch heels on cobblestones or like in the middle of uneven ground on Pompei. Those women are brave.

 

[ammayernyc]

Date: 6/20/2005 3:18:54 PM
Author: Blue824

Date: 6/20/2005 12:03:30 PM
Author: AmandaPanda
I feel your pain!

There was a group of tourists from the midwest on the subway on my way to work last week that missed their stop because they were afraid that they all wouldn''t be able to get off together... they were all using the same door and there were about 20 of them. Ummm... three subway doors to one car... you can make it! Then, at the next stop they had two ''door holders'' stand in front of the door to make sure they all got out. They kept standing there when the doors tried to close and then, when they were all out and the holders moved, the door wouldn''t budge! They broke the door...

So, I got to work 30 minutes late (not that I really care... but it was plenty frustrating...)

I try to be a nice New Yorker... but it''s hard sometimes!

Not all Midwesterners are that bad. I swear

I hate looking or feeling like a tourist. I like knowing where I''m going and act like what I''m doing. Chicago gets its share of tourists, so I just avoid the popular hang areas and all the museums in the summer. I get super frustrated with them. They walk slowly and just stand in the middle of the sidewalks staring at the buildings. My job interacts with a lot of tourists, and sometimes it is great, they''re just happy and enjoying themselves, but sometimes I just wnat to shoot myself, can''t answer another silly question.

I loved the large groups of tourists following their flags in Europe in 4 inch heels on cobblestones or like in the middle of uneven ground on Pompei. Those women are brave.

The only reason I knew they were midwesterners (aside from the obvious accent) is because when the subway started moving, no one had held on to anything, so they literally toppled over...
Then the leader of the group made some sort of comment about how they didn''t know they had to hold on since they were from the midwest and they don''t have subways out there (or something like that...). It was very funny!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Drena and I are 15th from the left.
We are staying over the road at the Hilton

Nice weather

 

[onedrop]

I also live in a high tourist area (DC metro). This of course is prime tourist season. Generally I avoid downtown especialluy during the daylight hours during this time. But I decided to bite the bullet last week and check out a Toulouse Lautrec exhibit at National Gallery of Art. To my surprise, I found things not to be as bad as I''d imagined. Of course I avoid any of the other Smithsonian museums until after November. The crowds are just too much

I too used to complain about the tourists but I remember how slow things were after Sep. 11th and how many hotel workers and other employees at tourist-driven business were laid off. Given the alternative though, I grin and bear tourist season. I''d much rather see the city thriving and people employed.

 

[Matata]

We have tourists from spring until October and it''s not bad. We have also become a mecca for retired folks and I would much rather have the tourists than deal with the issues created by having a large population of retirees in the area.

 

[tawn]

I live on that cute little island across from downtown San Diego, and it''s tourists ALL year long! I have no problem with them, except they run across the middle of the road instead of crossing on the sidewalks. There are mini curves and you can''t see them, and I almost run someone over weekly. I also feel badly when I see them all sunburned and suffering at Starbucks. I joined them this week...for both!