English city that's 'too beautiful' overrun by tourists flooding to see it
An English city has been deemed so pretty it has hordes of tourists milling around its overrun streets almost every day.
The "too beautiful" city of Bath is turning heads and attracting people from around the world as it boasts links with Jane Austen and houses a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bath is not suffering from "overtourism" according to those in the area who believe the increase in foot traffic is making it a difficult place for residents to live. One TikTok creator has slammed the city's Christmas market for being too busy, and has since claimed "overtourism" is ruining the area.
The historic city is flooded with tourists, with 'bottleneck' periods noted by those who live there (Bath Chronicle)They claimed the "ancient English city" was booming but the six million visitors a year was taxing on those who lived there permanently. Alex Peters, a local businessman of the Bath Pizza Co., has said the Christmas market is a misleading example of how busy Bath can truly be.
Speaking to the Daily Express, Mr Peters said: "If you are someone from outside visiting Bath you [come] at the peak times when it is really busy, weekends in December or throughout the summer, there are real bottlenecks. From my point of view, I think we're really lucky to live and work in a place like Bath.
"[I] appreciate that tourism is a huge economic driver for the city. It makes all the businesses able to be successful and operate. Nationwide we're about nine percent down on 2019. There are more challenges in terms of getting international travellers to the UK because there are more costs associated with coming over to Britain in terms of tourist visas."
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Alex later suggested Bath was only now finding its footing after the Covid-19 pandemic, with tourists from across the globe only now nearing levels it once was pre-pandemic. He added: "We're lucky the footfall in Bath is really strong. We had a very difficult trading period during Covid but we have bounced back to previous trade levels, which is great and a lot of that is testament to the quality of our team and us being a great venue.
"[However] I don't think we have seen the return of visitors from Asia and the Far East quite back to where it once was." Others in the area oppose the hen dos and weekend revelry which is on display frequently in the city centre and throughout the streets of Bath, famed for its abbey and Roman Baths. Air BnBs in the area are rather profitable as the demand for short-term rents increases as tourists make their way to the city.
Local Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said: "I have heard from countless constituents deeply frustrated by the noise and disruptions caused by these short-term lets. It is not right that residents have had to put up with this for so long. This should not be allowed to continue for a moment longer. Saying that we will introduce these changes but you will just have to wait is not good enough."
Beyond noisy neighbours, the short-term lets are having a troublesome effect on those hoping to live in Bath long-term. Mr Peters added: "This is a real challenge that Bath is facing. The tourists we welcome and the growing student demographic [means] it is becoming more expensive to live in the city. A lot of a lot of our team were living further and further outside Bath."
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