Visitors ‘grabbing something for the Gram’ are driving York resident Paige Craven to distraction
York is one of the most popular destinations in Britain, with the city’s tourism industry bringing in an impressive £1.7 billion last year.
But that success brings with it a particular set of problems. And one of the most infuriating is tourists stopping in the middle of the pavement to take a selfie.
There you are, walking along a busy York street, minding your own business. Then the person in front of you suddenly deems this to be the perfect spot for a selfie – and without warning comes to a complete stop.
I don’t remember agreeing to a game of Stop, Start, Go, so why am I playing? On a busy weekend, you end up waiting for umpteen tourists to take their photos on the shortest of journeys.
They don’t care if you are in a rush; they only care about getting the possible picture for Instagram.
Dodging people in the street has become an unavoidable daily irritation that no York citizen can escape. I get that we live in a beautiful location with many picturesque corners – but does that mean that I have to be subjected to swarms of visitors blocking the entire path because they just have to have a picture of themselves in front of the river on Ouse Bridge?
It inevitably puts me in a bad mood which lasts until I finally make it to my destination.
Rushing to catch a train? That becomes a Mission Impossible-style feat. You have to make like Tom Cruise, swerving, dodging and ducking past legions of phone clicking folk.
Particularly painful is when a gang of holidaymakers decides to stage a whole photoshoot in front of you, blocking the path for shot after shot. Eventually you get past, fuming inside but with a forced smile for the oblivious visitors.
I am not saying that tourists can’t take photos, but at least have the decency to look around to check if you would block anybody beforehand. It’s called good manners.
I wouldn’t dream of behaving like this when I visit another place. So why do I have to put up with it in the city I live in?