Struggle, cramp and Tüechli terror Why the 2024 vacation summer was pure horror
Church bells, Tüechli terror, protests and strikes on the beach: tourists had to put up with a lot this year. Was anyone able to relax at all? We summarize the vacation summer of 2024.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The summer vacations are over: they were a real challenge for many tourists.
- Memories include fights and cramps on the beach, angry locals and reckless Instagram tourists.
- We have compiled the worst vacation stories for you.
And now the church bells in Trentino: they just keep on ringing without caring about the tourists. They want their peace and quiet - after all, that's what they paid for. Local customs here, needs of the locals there.
But more on that later.
Looking back on the summer of 2024, it is clear that vacations are no longer what they used to be. So much for peace and quiet, relaxation and recreation. This year, vacations were a struggle and a struggle, prevented beach days and angry protests.
We summarize the 2024 vacations - in a "Worst of Summer '24".
Martial arts: Tüechli dispute
It's the mother of all vacation feuds: the Tüechli dispute. Here are the instructions: in the morning, grab a load of bath towels under your arm and carry them at a reasonable pace to the hotel pool. There you drape the towels on the free sun loungers to mark them as your personal property for the day. Even if you don't want to swim until the afternoon or something comes up and you might not make it.
Formerly fought mainly by Germans and Brits on Mallorca, the Tüechli dispute has now become a universal martial art: across nations and genders, fought in every tourist destination in the world.
In the summer of 2024, night sessions were all the rage: shortly after midnight, the first players were already defending their recovery spot for the next day.
And if passive defense mode didn't help, they had to switch to attack. On an Italian beach, for example, this harmless summer pastime degenerated into a full-blown brawl.
Nowadays, a hearty Tüechli fight over free deckchairs is apparently so much a part of vacation socialization that tourists doubt their own sanity when offered freebies.
On Lake Brienz, an American woman had to cope with a real culture shock: she wanted to eat a sandwich she had just bought on a sun lounger - and didn't have to pay for the space. Nothing!
Extreme heat vs. "coolcation"
It's not as if it hasn't always been a little warmer in the Mediterranean countries than at home in Schaffhausen or in the Bernese Alps. That's why we go there: to soak up the sun, bathe in warm water, wear sandals and white linen shirts with impunity.
However, climate change has shifted the relaxation ratios. It's still warmer in the Mediterranean than here. Much warmer. Unbearably hot. blue News editor Vanessa Büchel has experienced this first-hand: Instead of taking a relaxed stroll through Florence, the heat got to her pretty badly. She was even envious of a tourist wearing fans around her neck. Which is not desirable from a fashion point of view.
Meanwhile, the heat of over 40 degrees in the Mediterranean south is driving more and more holidaymakers to the cooler north. Fjords instead of beaches, glaciers instead of the Mediterranean - Scandinavia is gearing up for more summer tourism. "Coolcation" - a combination of "cool" and "vacation" - is the name of the trend towards summer vacations in cooler climes.
In addition to the pleasant temperatures, another advantage is that the vacation destinations in northern Europe are generally not yet overcrowded. This is because overtourism is a problem in many places and was the cause of most of the trouble this summer.
Protests, protests, protests
In the Canary Islands, Greece, Spain and Italy, unregulated mass tourism is driving locals onto the streets. Tens of thousands protested on Mallorca, "Kill Tourists" graffiti appeared on the island and locals occupied the beach.
There were also demonstrations elsewhere: Tourism expert Jürg Stettler explains in a blue News interview why the basic mood towards mass tourism is changing in many places.
It's not just the population that has had enough. Politicians and administrators at particularly overcrowded destinations have also recognized that overtourism leads to problems.
Amsterdam now has an upper limit for overnight stays, Venice charges admission, a popular gorge on Tenerife does the same, taxes are being increased and the mayor of Saint-Tropez is desperately appealing to tourists.
Locals in lockdown
Sometimes, however, the city leaders have more of a heart for tourists than for the locals: In Santorini, Greece, an appeal by the mayor is making headlines.
In an "emergency notice", Panos Kavallaris warns the population of the "arrival of 17,000 cruise ship visitors!!!". To avoid overloading the local infrastructure, locals should "please reduce movements as much as possible!!!". A city in lockdown so that tourists can spread out ...
Screens for a mountain
The authorities in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, have come up with a special measure against mass tourism. The small town is overrun by photo tourists who all come for a single motif: Mount Fuji, which appears to be perched on the roof of a supermarket. One click and an Instagram upload later, they are gone again. What remains: the garbage and annoyed residents, because no one follows the traffic rules and roads are constantly blocked.
The local council is now taking action. A black wall is to be erected to block the view and keep the crowds of tourists away. A bitter solution.
Beach closed, and nothing else works in the sea either
Tourists in Italy experienced the ultimate nightmare. The beaches there simply remained closed on a beautiful summer's day at the beginning of August. The operators of the lidos went on strike: For once, the reason was not the tourists, but the EU.
But even when the beaches were open: It was not always appetizing to swim in the Mediterranean. Algae and faeces turned the summer into a hygienic test of courage. On the popular Croatian Adriatic island of Korčula, there was too much excrement in the sea, while Rimini and other Italian seaside resorts struggled with "sea snot": algae slime floating on the surface of the water made swimming in the Adriatic anything but a pleasure
Instagram tourists and repeated accidents
A species that has recently become particularly widespread: Instagram tourists. These are mostly younger people who come to particularly trendy places mainly for a social media photo.
There are also Instagram destinations in Switzerland: in the mountains, picture hunters sometimes turn up in sandals and a T-shirt. In contrast to the minimal equipment, the demands are, of course, maximum. Many people are also unaware of how to behave in the mountains. This costs energy and gets on their nerves, for example the warden of a Glarus SAC hut.
Lake Oeschinen in Kandersteg BE is also a popular excursion destination that generates a lot of enthusiasm on social media. The increasing popularity is also causing problems here. Many visitors are inadequately equipped and underestimate the dangers of the mountain trails - which can lead to tragic deaths.
The last bell: church bells in Trentino
Finally, as promised, the story of the church bells in Trentino. They ring relatively frequently in the village of Rumo in Val di Non, namely 48 times a day with a total of 184 chimes, as reported by"Focus".
This is not a problem for the locals, who have become accustomed to it. But not all tourists seem to be able to cope with it. A group of holidaymakers called on the municipality and the parish to take measures against the ringing. They were unsuccessful.
Worse still: a fierce dispute broke out between municipal officials and tourists with personal threats, including against the mayor. The end of the church bell song: the matter escalated, the tourists left, and at some point they met again in court.
Calm before the onslaught
Hope remains for next summer: if you're not in the mood for a horror vacation, we recommend destinations that haven't yet appeared in an Instagram feed and are therefore overrun.
A piece of well-intentioned advice: don't all go to Liechtenstein, Kiribati and Angola at the same time. This would only lead to the vicious circle described above.
