Tourist folk

tamburlaine

Why is it when tourists come to visit Dublin that they feel the compulsion to walk down alleys and lanes and other isolated places making them even more of a target for assault or robbery? And then they wonder why Dublin or Ireland is so dangerous and claim they'll never re-visit as a result. Even native Dubliners wouldn't think this a good idea. Do the same rules not apply in their country and shouldn't general common sense not prevail regardless. Personally I wouldn't find myself embarking on a potentially precarious route in a foreign country. Why do they?

aidan_walsh

Because people came to Dublin (or any other town or city in Ireland) to see the city, and walking down identikit High Streets doesn't really offer the same experience?

scojones

Because people are idiots no matter what city they are in? Do you really expect an answer to this question? Out of curiosity, how many tourists do you know who will never revisit Dublin as a result of them going down the wrong alley?

tamburlaine

scojones wrote:

Because people are idiots no matter what city they are in? Do you really expect an answer to this question? Out of curiosity, how many tourists do you know who will never revisit Dublin as a result of them going down the wrong alley?

An answer, no, I suppose. A fathomable reason, maybe. Your own view, yes, which I got. I'm gleaning this non-returning tourist thing through the media.

biko

Most major cities in Europe are perfectly safe.
I've wandered around a lot of them, never a bother.
I've been to countries were there was a war on, never a bother.

Visiting Dublin and walking with a friend down a side street to O'Connell we were approached by a guy: "Are yous from here" to which I replied "No"
"Well, you'd better go back to the main streets, it's not safe here".
"Ok, thanks"

It's not the tourists being stupid, it's Dub being skanger central!

Collie D

biko wrote:

Most major cities in Europe are perfectly safe.
I've wandered around a lot of them, never a bother.
I've been to countries were there was a war on, never a bother.

Visiting Dublin and walking with a friend down a side street to O'Connell we were approached by a guy: "Are yous from here" to which I replied "No"
"Well, you'd better go back to the main streets, it's not safe here".
"Ok, thanks"

It's not the tourists being stupid, it's Dub being skanger central!

One day you'll lose that chip on your shoulder

brianthebard

aidan_walsh wrote:

Because people came to Dublin (or any other town or city in Ireland) to see the city, and walking down identikit High Streets doesn't really offer the same experience?

Well tourists in Ireland are predominantly American (taken from the study I just did just now) so I imagine every twisty windy main street is an experience for them after their block system....

biko

Indeed. I love visiting Dublin for the craic but the big city mentality an brusqueness really gets my goat at times.
Living in Stockholm for a few years I noticed the same thing, how city folk regard the rest of the country as a supply chain to feed the city. I've yet to find a similar Swedish word to culchie though.

Pineapple stu

Its simple, tourists think dublin is a safe and friendly place where everyone is welcoming. WRONG its not. Tourists should sue Board failte for false advertising.

Overheal

Well if skangs and knacks and etcs etcs etcs just had any sense of code or ethic they would know to keep tourists out of it /=/

And the poor Americans, they think its all like Eurotrip.....ugh....

Archeron

Didnt a recent international poll show that Ireland (so I assume Dublin as well) was one of, if not the, safest destinations tourists could visit? Every city has its rough areas, but some people seem to think the ATM machines in Dublin has one queue of people to get money out, and another queue of muggers to rob them. (oh, and lets not forget the third queue of beggars and the fourth queue of chuggers) Its not that bad, and Dublin is a nice city if you actually try to see it that way. Then again, if you want to just make it out to be a kip, then I'm sure you can see it that way in your own eyes.

Why dont you wear a high viz vest and stand on the corners of these dodgy lanes and warn our doe eyed tourist friends of the hazards that could befall them? I'm sure most of them will be thouroughly surprised to learn that >SHOCK< there are rough areas too, and that Dublin isnt entirely populated by leprechauns and flame headed colleens singing Enya songs.

In The Ghetto
On a cold and gray Dublin mornin'
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)
And his mama cries
because if there's one thing that she don't need
it's another little hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
(In the ghetto)

englander

The tourists I know (from England) that have been over to Dublin dont really want to come back to Dublin.

They can have some negative comments (expensive been the most frequent complaint) but the main reason they dont want to come back is that you can see the highlights of Dublin in a weekend - so why would you come back ?

It is quite sad that tourists aren't able to go down sidestreets and explore Dublin safely.

Its lucky for Irish tourism that its not reliant on repeat visitors and that the label (if I was unkind I could say myth) of Ireland/Irish being friendly, warm, welcoming , happy go lucky etc etc is intact.

Archeron

englander wrote:

It is quite sad that tourists aren't able to go down sidestreets and explore Dublin safely.

.

Amsterdam has plenty of places you dont want to go near, as does London, Prague, Capetown, heck, even Reykjavik has some dodgy places. (i actually got mugged there :mad: ) In fact, I cant really think of any city I've been to that is 100% safe in all areas. Dublin is no different from other places around the world, and tourists should be aware of that fact before they go travelling. Of all the people I know from other countries who come here, most love it. OK, they complain about the prices, but thats nothing to do with personal safety.
Dublin has many nifty places to go exploring and they are not dangerous at all, unless one is an idiot and walks around waving a wad of cash in front of oneself, but then I would think that most people would be too copped on to do something that stupid.

galah

well, my parents were robbed IN THEIR CAR while coming off the ferry in Dublin harbour. All they did was queue in traffic along the quays, some punk opened the door, and took a few things from the back seat.

Granted, they should have locked the doors, but still...(in Germany, you;re told when you get your driver's license not to lock the doors of your vehicle, since, should you happen to have an accident, it is easier for emergency response crews to get you out of the car if doors ar unlocked)

They are never, ever going back to Dublin...(and they're only coming back to Ireland because I live here - for them, it's way too expensive here (as in zero value for money), and they've seen it all...

But apart from that, I can see why people are fooled into believing Dublin is safe - all the happy smilie faces in the ads, and the assumption that Ireland is still stuck in the 1950's (which, in some respects, it is, but not when it comes to crime and drugs unfortunately...) and nothing bad could ever happend to you...

slipss

Archeron is the only one thats really made any sense so far. Dublin is no better or worse on average than most cities, in regards to the view of the city they advertise to possible tourists and the realities of how safe it really is. I mean my god have you ever seen the ads for Jamaica and Jamaican cities like Kingston, if you were to go by them you would expect that the whole country is nothing but chilled out smily faced people just dying to welcome you and show you a good time. That view is completly shattered on you first saturday night out and you decide to leave the touristy areas and head into the city centre when you see a gang of psychos walking dow the street with machetes in there belts and you see the cop cars screaming past every half an hour and have kids trying to mug you anytime you venture out of the street light.

Judt

Well, if tourists want the real Irish flavour experience then getting robbed in Dublin by a skanger from the flats or beaten up by a drunken college kid from Castleknock is part of the experience. I daresay that's why tourists wander off the beaten track - to get the "real" Irish experience. Well, they do get that.

InFront

I think a far more likely reason than 'walking in the wrong side of town' for a tourist to not return would be the cost of visiting.

There is also one other thing and that's that there really might not exactly appear to be as much to do here as you'd find in other European cities like London and Paris. I think you have to live in Dublin to realize the really good things about the city, there are lots of hidden features and characteristics that you don't get by staying in a hotel in the centre of town for a week. I love Dublin now, but if I were a tourist coming and going, I think I'd find it a pain.

Anyway, any reasonable tourist will be wary of street crime.