Everyone in this forum knows that backpackers are the greatest folks on Earth, but it seems that the residents of the Kreuzberg district of Berlin feel very differently.
…the “right on” residents of arguably the German capital's hippest borough are up in arms over a new threat, posed not by eviction bailiffs, greedy developers or drug busting police, but an apparently insufferable tide of young, back-packing, budget flight tourists.
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The culprits are mostly young British, Scandinavian and Italian tourists coming to the city via easyJet and other budget airlines for mini-break holidays. They are accused of rowdy all-night partying, and offensive drunken behaviour such as leaving trails of broken bottles and vomit in their wake.
Read the full article: Backpackers not welcome in this town.
Does anyone here run a hostel in a city that has responded negatively to an increase in backpacker tourism? Have you felt any backlash from the community against your hostel? (Aside from your next door neighbors, perhaps) Do you do anything in particular to keep your guests under control when they go out to party? Do you feel that it is your responsibility to do so?
13 years
The south of Bali has this problem, particularly in Kuta. We are not located there. Aussie "bogans" coming on cheap Jestar flights. All of our guests so far have been quiet people. I don't think I could cope having a place in a party area with guests coming home at all hours and drunk.
13 years
This is a pervasive negative stereotype which unfortunately has some truth to it. The wrong kind of hostel guests can do tremendous damage to a city/destination and reflect poorly on the industry in general, closing many doors in City Halls and Planning Authorities across Europe. I know that as beautiful as it is, I no longer go to Prague because it was simply over-saturated with drunken yobs.
There's always a balance between the city's need for tourist revenue and the cost incurred by youth tourism. Berlin is a great example of this, it is widely regarded as the most tolerant European Capital and home to what are surely best and standard-setting hostels. There was a time when the city's administration clamoured for hostels, perhaps the Kreuzberg district is now too full?
13 years
“we don't want to build another berlin wall around kreuzberg,” explained local green mp dirk behrend, who organised the meeting. “but we want the tourism to be properly organised and controlled.”
lolz
13 years
This is ridiculous. When I moved to Berlin in 1994, I lived just around the corner of Kreuzberg´s Bergmannstrasse. It was a pretty noisy place already. People in their 20ies, like me, moved there to be close to the action. They´re still there, but now they´re in their 40ies, have kids and/or well-paid jobs and want to sleep early. Why don´t they move to the suburbs? They have changed, not the neighborhood around them. They want different things now, so why don´t they go to where they find those things, instead of asking everyone else to make babies, buy a BMW and a Bugaboo stroller and behave like a petty burgeois?
The backpackers are only scapegoats. It is embarrassing. Take their rants and replace the word "tourists" with "Gypsies" or "Jews" and you´ll have 100% Nazi diction.
Dear all, please visit Berlin. Please go to Kreuzberg and behave as obnoxiously as possible. Kreuzberg´s Green Nazis are asking for it.
13 years
We run a hostel in Kreuzberg. Def. every backpacker is welcome there and will be happy. As all the central districts (Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain) Kreuzberg is changing. The times with apartments for 200 € a month are gone. Berlin is becoming a metropolis and the space in the inner city becomes more and more popular. That's the change that always happens and will last forever. We can all think back to the good old times but these times are gone.
The media pushes this movement, because the story is so strange. The former home of tolerance Kreuzberg and now this. All you can do is ignore this small group of stupid idiots and keep on moving.
A wise man said: "... Berlin is a city condemned always to become, never to be. ..."
Tourists of the world: C U in Kreuzberg soon!
13 years
Berlin's bo-bos are all grown up!
This is ridiculous. When I moved to Berlin in 1994, I lived just around the corner of Kreuzberg´s Bergmannstrasse. It was a pretty noisy place already. People in their 20ies, like me, moved there to be close to the action. They´re still there, but now they´re in their 40ies, have kids and/or well-paid jobs and want to sleep early. Why don´t they move to the suburbs? They have changed, not the neighborhood around them. They want different things now, so why don´t they go to where they find those things, instead of asking everyone else to make babies, buy a BMW and a Bugaboo stroller and behave like a petty burgeois?
The backpackers are only scapegoats. It is embarrassing. Take their rants and replace the word "tourists" with "Gypsies" or "Jews" and you´ll have 100% Nazi diction.
Dear all, please visit Berlin. Please go to Kreuzberg and behave as obnoxiously as possible. Kreuzberg´s Green Nazis are asking for it.
13 years
interesting! I agree with your views.
This is ridiculous. When I moved to Berlin in 1994, I lived just around the corner of Kreuzberg´s Bergmannstrasse. It was a pretty noisy place already. People in their 20ies, like me, moved there to be close to the action. They´re still there, but now they´re in their 40ies, have kids and/or well-paid jobs and want to sleep early. Why don´t they move to the suburbs? They have changed, not the neighborhood around them. They want different things now, so why don´t they go to where they find those things, instead of asking everyone else to make babies, buy a BMW and a Bugaboo stroller and behave like a petty burgeois?
The backpackers are only scapegoats. It is embarrassing. Take their rants and replace the word "tourists" with "Gypsies" or "Jews" and you´ll have 100% Nazi diction.
Dear all, please visit Berlin. Please go to Kreuzberg and behave as obnoxiously as possible. Kreuzberg´s Green Nazis are asking for it.
13 years
what is the name of your hostel in Bali?
The south of Bali has this problem, particularly in Kuta. We are not located there. Aussie "bogans" coming on cheap Jestar flights. All of our guests so far have been quiet people. I don't think I could cope having a place in a party area with guests coming home at all hours and drunk.
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