Why Sweden's Biggest Island DOESN'T Want Tourists | Gotland Overtourism

[@ryptoll4801]

I live on the south end of Gotland, in a smaller village, so I'm not hugely affected by the tourism, but even here it's quite a big contrast between summer and winter, and there are a few stores here that are only open during summer. I think a big issue is that companies (that own stores, restaurants, etc) can't really afford to keep it up during the winter. So a lot of them go out of business within a year or two. The whole island kinda struggles during winter because there's just not enough people to make everything go around. But then in the summer it's instead the opposite problem: too many people to accommodate. There are good things about the tourism, like for example that's a big reason Gotland has so many big stores etc for such a small place, like our supermarkets are gigantic with a ton of options, comparatively to similarly sized towns/villages on the mainland. And of course we have a legacy to be proud of, a lot of beauty and history to show off. But there are also bad things about the tourism. Living here during summers, even far from Visby, is annoying. Because they aren't just in Visby. They're crowding the bigger villages too.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

That's really interesting to hear! And unfortunately I'm not all that surprised either. It's really a double-edged sword, tourism - it does bring a lot of good things, but also problems for the whole island. But given that it's such an amazing place I understand why people want to explore it all. Sorry that it's affecting spots outside of Visby as well though!

[@siobhanduncan2156]

Love the Biggie quote! I just visited the last weekend in September towards the end of my month long travel from Australia to Scotland. I loved it in Autumn. Weather was mostly dry with blue sky. I lucked out with the Taste Gotland festival in St Karin's ruin & the Gotland museum blew my mind. Admittedly, I'd like to go back for a longer stay in another part of Gotland.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Oh wow! That does sound like a great trip - and awesome work on hitting that festival at the same time. Myself, I'm a hypocrite because I'm returning to the Medieval Week next year ^^

[@Nick-rl8pn]

Lol, I like how at 9:49 you just start walking down the middle of the oncoming crowd and making everyone else move.

[@etrigueros]

Miro, just a fun fact. The Panama city, Panama mayor invited all the tourist from Barcelona who were rejected by locals to spend their vacation there, all cost included.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

That's amazing! I had no idea :D Really cool idea for getting tourists to Panama City

[@84com83]

What a realistic report. Well done from an amateur view (have never ben on Gotland, but ...)

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Thank you! And I do think Gotland is a great place to visit...as long as one does it with a bit of caution!

[@YenarW96]

Hej hej! What an unexpected topic! Great idea! I love the comparison with Barcelona, as I had the chance to visit for three days during a conference. Overall, I’m feeling a bit down at the moment because I’ve really wanted to see Gotland-visit Visby (one of the Hanseatic cities, definitely worth seeing!), cycle around Gotland-and hearing this makes me hesitant to contribute to the tourist chaos. And regarding sieges, remember! It’s all just a meme until the Bloodbath happens (am I right, Denmark?). Have a nice week Miro!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

To be honest, if you rent a bike and explore the island then you're definitely not contributing to the worst of the problems - so I'd still go for it! It's the people who only stay in Visby (or even worse, buy up property) that really cause a problem in my view. So go for it! Just make sure that you leave your army behind ^_^ Cheers, you too!

[@millaneu9474]

I’m pretty sure you can go and not contribute to the chaos if you go later or earlier in the year, avoid June thru August when it’s peak tourist season, you will have fewer restaurant options but support year round businesses, lower prices at many hotels and so forth. It’s not like Gotland doesn’t want tourists at all, but that it’s too many during peak season…

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@millaneu9474 Excellent point! That's even better

[@bengtolsson5436]

@@YenarW96 You can come at the end of May, beginning of June. Then it's the best. And it's no problem for us Gotlanders, you're so welcome. And cycling around the island is a good way. Then you can take small roads and see the whole island. Not just Visby and Fårö. There are nicer places on the island. That it is such a big problem is something a journalist at a Stockholm-based newspaper invented. Not us who live on the island.

[@YenarW96]

Thanks guys! Yea, maybe you're right. I guess I was never a high-season traveller, and I don't really mind Swedish weather - det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder 😅 Is there a website with a list of local manufacturers/smaller businesses that one can support during the visit? 😄

[@AndrewKendall71]

Du hade mig på "mo' money, mo' problems." It's difficult to imagine the solution to this. I can see limiting the ferry even more, limiting SAS flights, etc. But the purchase of homes for Airbnb-type rental, etc., is definitely having an effect on housing costs. Innerstaden's prices are very high (even taking into account the tax remission), and the dead-backdrop is so true.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yeah, agreed - it's like all of the "solutions" people come up with only correct some minor parts of the problem, and not the root causes :/

[@elainen8672]

I think you've talked me out of a stop to see Gotland next summer! You got me thinking that as American tourists we are pretty clueless regarding some of these crowding issues as I think most tourists coming to the USA just come to see our natural parks/views and those tend to not be so concentrated people wise. We don't have really old historic relics/structures that draw the visitors in like y'all do! (I guess you could argue about crowding in like New York City....but who even wants to go there? Do tourists WANT to go there? Nah...).

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

In that case I can recommend a visit to another island called Öland instead! It's not yet as exploited as Gotland, and it has a lot of similar features (beaches, stone formations, unique flora etc). And it's reachable by car from the town of Kalmar. It's hard to balance being a tourist with seeing the truly worthwhile things in a place, unfortunately. I did my fair share of touristy sightseeing in the US unfortunately - but I did try to find more uncommon places too.

[@bengtolsson5436]

@@elainen8672 Did you come to Gotland instead? Öland is a pale copy. The fact that there is such a big problem with tourists does not come from Gotlanders. It is from a Stockholm-based newspaper. As a native of Gotland, you are welcome and no problem.

[@williamewilkin5022]

Elaine, go off-season. I had a wonderful visit in April. Everyone was wonderful. (Say Hi to the Catholic pastor--he is an American Franciscan.)

[@andreasbark793]

An other problem you didn´t say in the video, is the water consumption during the heat summer. The level of water in the water reservoirs will decrease rapidly.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I think I actually glanced over water shortages in summer, and that locals are encouraged to swim in the sea instead of using potable water. But yeah definitely an important thing to point out!

[@bengtolsson5436]

As a Gotlander, tourists are not the problem. It's that the buck doesn't stay on Gotland. And that we have to build infrastructure for that. But don't get the income from it. Which end up on companies that tax elsewhere and they who have bought a summerhouse on Gotland. The fact that tourists come is just nice. Not so hard.

[@TitaniusAnglesmith]

Yep. It's especially apparent when you're a broke student like me trying to find a place to live during the summer. Half the houses we can rent in the winter are empty in the summer except for one week. I've had to move back to my parents the last 2 summers.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Makes perfect sense! And yeah, that's a bit of a problem with tourist places in general as I understand it - they rarely get the benefit from all the touristy investments that companies make.

[@siobhanduncan2156]

@@TitaniusAnglesmith that same thing happens in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. It's common for apartments to only be on a lease for 10-11 months.

[@johankaewberg8162]

I’ve been there several times. Spend your cash. Do not be ”touristy”. No problem.

[@Mike40M]

The tourist season is just three summer months. Rest of the year practically no visitors. Making problems worse.

[@DenDarEmi]

Stockholmsveckan är verkligen värsta veckan på året, även för oss som bor ute på landet 😣 Många spenderar hela sommaren utanför Visby och åker bara in om det verkligen behövs

[@kangaroo967]

I feel for the locals. I don't know how they can make the tourism more manageable, but I hope they find a way Also, just wanted to say that the sound quality is great in this video! When you were on the boat, I was worried that it would sound super windy but it didn't

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Yeah, at least to not make it worse than it is! And thank you - that mic is pretty good at removing noise (and I did apply some noise reduction in post too). Glad to hear that it worked. Maybe I should do that all the time :D

[@bengtolsson5436]

It's just that it's not us who live on the island who say that. It is a journalist at a Stockholm-based newspaper. Who wrote like that to get a news and has no idea what we on the island think but just wanted to get some news.

[@pad9x]

note to self: visit Gotland in the colder months 🤔

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

That's actually a really good idea - a good way to avoid the crowds in general :D

[@ChristopherGronlund]

There was a brief spot on a Rick Steves travel show in the U.S. showing the realities of famous tourist destinations: how crowded they really are. Thousands of people crammed along a street, blocking traffic, to get a famous photo that made it look like a quaint day...when the reality was chaos. I've had friends who've visited place like that: "Bucket List" destinations. But you can tell they were let down by the experience, even though they try convincing themselves online that it was all they hoped it would be.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Sad to hear that! And yeah I visit a lot of "bucket list places" myself but I try to not have high expectations for them. It's almost more fun if I go there expecting it to be a crowded mess - like when I saw the Mona Lisa. Then I can just make a fun thing of it all, at how seriously everyone else is taking it.

[@kpelinka]

I’m visiting Gotland next month. Low tourist season suits me perfectly..Just seeing the aimless crowds there in summer in your video footage gave me the creeps-Swedish Disneyland vibes 100% 🤢 Gentrification is an issue in most desirable places..a tourist tax that goes directly to infrastructure support sounds very reasonable. Also reasonable to limit entry to protect UNESCO heritage sites. Like Machu Pichu in Cuzco… Great video :)

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

That's a great idea - I'm sure Gotland feels extremely calm and relaxed in off season :) Haha, definitely no Disneyland vibe then. But yeah very true - this is absolutely not a problem only relating to Gotland. Let's hope the tax can improve something at least!

[@carbonwarrior]

They could increase the yearly tax of transactioned housing that is not actively occupied (e.g speculative investment) or is used as airbnb by 500%, for example.

[@fruitarian]

I'm an American. I've started watching several videos on your channel. I appreciate your hard work, time and sense of humor. Though, in looking through the videos, my intuition tells me that getting out of Stockholm will result in a cheaper, quieter and friendlier experience, possibly also helping me to get a more authentic feel for Swedish culture. But, your channel doesn't seem to be going in that direction. Is that something you want to do?

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I actually have some videos showing off smaller towns in Sweden, and some nature as well. The problem is finding time (and money) to go on road trips more often. Stockholm is where I live, so it's much easier to find time to film something here in between work and activities :)

[@Ed87]

Gotland is among those very few places in the southern third of Sweden I haven't seen yet, but I may go to Dalarna or Northern Sweden instead. 😅

[@bengtolsson5436]

@@Ed87 You can come to Gotland? This is a journalist at a Stockholm newspaper who has written. It does not come from us Gotlanders ourselves. You are so welcome and no problem.

[@Ed87]

@@bengtolsson5436 Thanks, good news! :) I just know how frustrating overtourism is. And I always feel sorry for the locals who can't even move around in the mass of tourists. But then I hope I can make it to Gotland next summer!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I think it's always possible to visit a place (even an overcrowded place) if one does it with some thoughts about trying to not make things worse! So don't worry about making too much of a problem just by yourself ^_^

[@Ed87]

@@ThreeStarVagabond That's true! And some tourists are just louder and more unbearable than others. And act like the world should revolve around them while they're on a holiday. And people from the capital cities all around the world tend to get on the nerves of rural people very quickly. 😅

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@Ed87 I think there are some decent people in capital cities too. At least I hope so :D But I definitely get what you mean!

[@marna_li]

We see this in many parts of Sweden. Even Österlen where I come from. There is only life in the summer, and not in the winter time. And the municipality often is to blame too because they see tourism as a major means of income in taxes. Instead of focusing on making it a good place to live and to attract businesses.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

It's a pity that it happens - but it's understandable why as well, given the Swedish summers and Swedish "industrisemester" :/

[@pkharper3525]

So many ways to look at the situation in Gotland, they need tourism to survive and too much tourism is a burden. It drives up the prices so you can not live but need it to live, go figure. What the solution is, I haven’t a clue what needs to happen. Thank you for the tour it looks like a very interesting city to visit, or should I say burden. Stay safe till next time.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Exactly, it's one thing to note the problems but another thing to do something about it. I guess I simply made things worse in this video, by being there myself this summer! Cheers

[@SpaceDwarf55]

A tax on 'wear and tear' to maintain the medieval wall of Visby? You will have to send them a few krona in back-tax Miro, I saw you climbing it in a previous video! 😀 I think like with any problem, the thing to do is to learn from the best, and when it comes to lack of tourists, Blackpool in the UK could teach those other locations a thing or two on how to keep the numbers down. Great video as always, but no cute animals this time? I demand at least one duck in the next one

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

We all make mistakes! I was young and dumb back then. Now I'm just old and dumb instead :D Imagine if Rome and Barcelona learned a bit from Blackpool as well. No more complaining! Haha, I did include a few ducks - you can see a family feeding them in the park somewhere in the video. I just didn't do a close up. But it counts! :D

[@Avarua59]

Funny story. I live in Canada and some decades back I popped into a fast food place for a coffee. I detected a British accent from this south Asian cashier working there. So I asked him where he had lived before. He said in Blackpool. I replied "Oh I heard it's a popular tourist destination". He then gave me a serious look and said "It's a dump!". Had to stop myself from chuckling at that unexpectant reply.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@Avarua59 That's wonderful! And it does feel like a proper British reply :D

[@Quzinqa1122]

Everyone is welcome to Gotland 🌞 if they treat the island (and islanders) with love and respect. 🥰 .... And don't use too much water! 😄💧

[@chrisure4327]

Shower with a friend or have a Sailor's shower. Wet yourself, turn off the water, lather up, then rinse off. Easy and respect the people and their homeland.

[@zainulabdin1720]

International Tourism is very vital for globalisation. So, I love tourism oky over tourism can be major issue fir a country specially for locals. But we can't deny the importance of tourism industry! Thats how we learn history n culture of different countries ❤ some places are God gifted with natural epic beauty n source of income aswell. nice to see U in Gotland hope u enjoyed alot😊

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

I think tourism is important and inevitable! But I don't mind if locals feel the need to push back a bit as well. And Gotland is definitely well worth a visit either way! Cheers :D

[@Aceiolix]

Gotland were orginally its own country but nowdays they only have their heavy swedish accent -Guess they now are so swedisised cant imagine else -that globalistion swedish style

[@Cc-lp2xi]

Another developing pressure that influences numbers of tourists increasing in northern Europe in summer: global warming. Those unbearable heatwaves of the Mediterranean in summer have become unappealing; definitely to me.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Very good point! And given that Sweden has become cheaper for people to visit, it won't surprise me if tourism becomes even more of an issue in the future.

[@Cc-lp2xi]

@@ThreeStarVagabond 100%. And not just Sweden. Other Scandinavian countries too. Except Norway- their high cost of living will always be a deterrent. We did a month in summer and we were practically bankrupt 😆

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@Cc-lp2xi Haha, I slept in a tent for a couple of days when I went there. It is bloody expensive! But one of these days I'll cover Oslo despite that :D

[@Cc-lp2xi]

@@ThreeStarVagabond definitely! Make it one of your videos. 'What Norway does better than Barcelona: keeps tourists away'😂

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@Cc-lp2xi Haha! That would be really funny :D

[@stiglarsson8405]

Yes its the truth and noting but the truth! Its this.. im a swede, I did go by car and ferry.. and I know when Gotland have its weeks.. Medival week and the political week, so I avoided those! Another thing is that swedish summer is short and moste swedes get 4 weeks of summer vacation in July.. it could be crowdy at tourist hotspots! Soo.. for international tourists.. Gotand/Visby is still a nice place to visit.. when ever your packet travle agency put you there! Another option.. for advanced visitors.. one can rent bikes and bike around the whole island, bring your tent and other outdoor equipment and enjoy "allemansrätten".. the freedom of roam!

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Those are some awesome tips for how to enjoy Gotland without crowding it together with other tourists!

[@AndersTornqvistsvedbergh]

I don't see the boat tourists as a problem. They can't consume much since they are occupied with a tour of the city. I bet some of these people would like to sit down for drink and some shopping, given more time. You could always ask for a 20 dollars fee to visit like other popular tourist places. But that´s a kind of boring solution Imho. Anyhow, the real problem in Visby and Gotland is that rich Stockholm people suck up all the property, thereby rising the prices to impossible levels for the native Gotlandic people. The persons complaining about too many tourist were actually Stockholm Karens that had bought inner city apartments in Visby after being tourists for 20 years

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Agreed! That's really the true problem - and that won't be solved by introducing any tourist taxes or other things people have been talking about. Not really sure how to prevent that from happening at all.

[@AndersTornqvistsvedbergh]

One hardcore solution would be if you are a native (proven as in born in Gotland) you just pay half the price for property, the state compensate for the rest. This economic hack creates a set of other problems! I will now spend the rest of the evening adjusting Capitalism so that it is fair for all!

[@AndersTornqvistsvedbergh]

One (eco hack) solution would be to let proven native Gotland poeple get property for half the price, the state filling in the rest. In reality such a system creates a ton of problems with fraud but in theory it could be a thing

[@AndersTornqvistsvedbergh]

he, I solved it. Gotland people pays half for property and the state cover the rest. Every house transaction is reported and an AI checks if it is fraud or not

[@ArchieArpeggio]

Well Barcelona has some other issues too than just the tourists. There is so much of immigrants these days that it also rises living cost of housing in the city. Lisbon in Portugal have that similar problem. That is partly governments fault. There were tax benefit for the people tht immigrated Portugal and they tried to get there more people that have retired. Not sure but i think that there isn´t that anymore. People are pissed for the sky high prices that came along with immigrants.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Makes sense that there's a lot of different aspects to the problem - I probably missed a lot of the reasons why people are upset. Like these ones!

[@ArchieArpeggio]

@@ThreeStarVagabond I think that is general problem in many cities. In Helsinki there has been same kind of problem as private people started to rent appartments to refugees. Rents rised in many places so much that native Finnish people couldn´t afford to pay the rent anymore. That happened alot in 2015 and 2016 as over 50000 refugees came to Finland. Helsinki is generally expencive place to live anyway. Many people have moved other cities and towns becouse of that. Government pays those appartments to refugees so that made private investors very greedy.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@ArchieArpeggio Sorry to hear that it's affecting Helsinki too! It really seems to be happening everywhere. Stockholm might be an exception so far, though - but that's just because the housing market is insane even before any property investors get here.

[@ArchieArpeggio]

@@ThreeStarVagabond Well i don´t give a shit about the Helsinki situation. I used to explore there too as i was younger at the begining of the millenium. But i just never liked it like i like Stockholm. Helsinki was little bit too boring. I don´t know what would i think now 24 years later. I have always liked more of Tampere and that is one of the reasons why i moved here. But housing costs are very high here too.

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@ArchieArpeggio I think it's hard to find a city where housing prices aren't becoming ridiculous - it sounds like every country is complaining about it, in almost all cities.

[@CplOddballof8thCT]

Good thing I wanna visit the canals in gothenburg...............man and I thought our politics are the worst

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

There are always good and bad sides to each place - and Gotland is still an amazing place!

[@CplOddballof8thCT]

@@ThreeStarVagabond I can tell, in fact I think more of Visby with those medieval walls more military strategy

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@CplOddballof8thCT Well, Gotland as a whole is a really important island in the Baltic - it's been of military significance for hundreds or thousands of years!

[@diagorasmelos]

about 2:44, i think politicians are the same, everywhere you go but i've always heard that scandinavian and swedish politicians were so ethical and this and that so, one more myth debunked. i live far away and i don't know much about your country

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

We have our fair share of corruption and incompetence here too, just like everywhere. Just recently there was a corrupt politician who hired a lot of her friends, and there was a big scandal. She had to leave - but of course she gets a crapton of money for years despite that. But at least people are talking about it and trying to change it somewhat...

[@diagorasmelos]

@@ThreeStarVagabond i understand. all i know about sweden is the world wide famous musicians because they're awesome and they sing in english

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@diagorasmelos That's more than many people know about Sweden! So cheers for that at least

[@margomaloney6016]

Does Öland have the same problems? If so, I wonder if their municipal councils could get together and "brain storm" some solutions to strike a balance between tourism revenue and preserving their island's nature beauty and historical sites. Maybe set a limit on the number of tourists that can arrive daily via ferry or plane? Encourage "off season" tourism with a sliding fee schedule? It is a shame that such a beautiful place is over-run by tourists when in reality tourism should help a city generate revenue. 😣

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

Not yet, but people speculate that the same thing is happening on Öland actually. There's been immense investments in the areas close to the beaches there. And it's difficult to find a good incentive for off-season tourism - partly because summer is the only time where Sweden really has warm weather, and partly because Swedes typically have a month vacation during summer. So that's when they go places!

[@m420-nd1if]

Complains about tourism in Gotland while being a tourist in Gotland. Maybe the Swedes and Swiss are really one and the same? Complaining is an international sport for wealthy people lol

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

It's all about getting the OTHER people to stop coming so that I can enjoy my vacation in peace :D

[@m420-nd1if]

@@ThreeStarVagabond We have the same problems with our mountains and the chocolate.. Can't go skiing nowadays without a giant line of tourists...

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@m420-nd1if Too bad to hear about that! But yeah, it's the "curse" of having a beautiful or interesting place :/

[@m420-nd1if]

@@ThreeStarVagabond honestly between you and me, it's too expensive to go skiing here anyway. I recommend Austria, much less expensive and usually less people too 😅

[@ThreeStarVagabond]

@@m420-nd1if Well... Considering that I'm a sucky snowboarder I'm even satisfied with the smaller slopes in Sweden compared to down there. So no risk that I'm making things worse at least! ^_^