It is not important exactly where I live, suffice to say it is near a popular tourist destination in Alberta, Canada. We are no different than any other tourist area around the world, in that there are local residents year round and transient tourists who are seasonal visitors. People come in the best seasons and enjoy our areas best resources.
In some countries this has become a real problem as locals are displaced in favor of tourists. As more and more tourists claim the best beaches, hotels are built to accommodate them and poorer residents of the area are "removed". I do not live in one of those areas, but still I am impacted daily by summer tourists to my country home.
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Don't get me wrong, the area I am in is still welcoming of tourists, but so many times the tourists are oddly intolerant of the local residents. In fact they often are surprised that there are local residents at all. I work in a retail shop and find it a bit puzzling when folks ask if I live around here. They are often amazed that I, and all my co-workers, do. The nearest big city is about 1 hour away, and this is where the bulk of our tourists come from, although we do get people from all over the world. Yes folks, people do actually live year long in the country, or on lakes.
Now, it's not that we don't want your tourist dollars, lord knows I spend a lot of my money in the city as well, it is just that we want to be recognized as people. People who moved to the country for a reason. I grew up in the city and did not enjoy it, I wanted more space and the ability to have animals, big animals, horses, llamas, and such.
One of the nations where tourism is now being resented by many of the locals is Jamaica. Tourists have taken over the nicest beaches and other destinations once enjoyed by the local residents who now are outnumbered by tourists. This is causing a lot of resentment and problems, including some hostilities between locals and tourists.
We have a grocery store, in the off season it is pretty fast to select your groceries and leave, when we get tourists it is rather the opposite, I personally do not love standing in line, but equally so, I accept it as a fact of life, and endure the line ups. On one occasion somebody actually said to me, while in a line up, "Can I do ahead of you, I am from the city?". As though where they lived made them somehow more important.
On the roads if you are driving behind me remember a few things. Maybe I am slow because my old farm truck cannot get over 80 kilometers per hour for the first 5 minutes. Maybe it is because I know the road, and know that it gets nasty in a short while, or maybe I am just not in a rush. Perhaps there is a deer ahead whom I would like to avoid hitting, or a neighbors dog that occasionally darts out.
Remember I want to enjoy the beach as much as you, I want to relax as well. I want you to come here and have a good time, but not at my expense.
