Maine had 90,000 fewer international visitors this June than a year ago

Interestingly even the Third Reich had lots of tourism and visits from foreigners.

This interesting (German/Austrian) article is a summary of the book Travellers in the Third Reich. The Rise of Fascism through the Eyes of Everyday People from Julia Boyd.

Some key parts from the article, auto-translated with deepl.com:

The newly married British couple Boyle spent their honeymoon in Germany in 1937. Their destination was Marseille, from where the couple wanted to travel on to Kenya, where the bride's father was the British governor.

The GB license plate on the car they had brought with them attracted almost magnetic attention in Germany, and the Boyles were repeatedly approached by people. One Sunday, they parked their car in Frankfurt am Main to visit the city. They had just left the car when they were approached by a Jewish woman with her 15-year-old daughter, who was limping badly on one leg.

The mother got straight to the point and begged the couple to take their daughter Greta abroad with them. The Boyles agreed - they had seen enough to know how dangerous the prospects were for a disabled Jewish girl. After the British consulate had provided the necessary papers, the Boyles, together with the girl, continued their journey.

[...]

A few days before the planned Reichstag election, two Britons, Owen Tweedy and Jim Turcan, also arrived in Germany. Both had been wounded in the First World War, Tweedy was now working as a journalist. They arrived in Berlin exactly on the day of the Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933. The atmosphere among the foreign journalists was already characterized by fear; they had to fear being persecuted by the Nazi authorities for espionage.

Three days before the Reichstag elections, Tweedy and Turcan witnessed a Nazi squad knocking down a boy: “We were terrified and ran away immediately.” They were relieved when they reached the hotel unharmed. Another Brit summed up the mood as follows: “Fear made cowards of us all.”

[...]

From today's perspective, it is initially surprising that even under Nazi rule, Germany was initially a very popular vacation destination that attracted many foreign travelers. Germany was regarded as one of the most culturally important destinations. And last but not least, it was also comparatively cheap due to the exchange rate. It was not only occasionally that young ladies from British aristocratic families were sent to impoverished German aristocratic families for a longer language course and stay abroad.

14 comments

Maybe, just maybe, tourists go like "We could go visit this now-raging fascist country and risk being detained for hours at the airport, our personal shit being searched without warrant, getting sent back home on the next plane, or getting deported to some concentration camp in the glades or in El Salvador... OR we could book a hotel in Cancún for a week and visit México in complete safety."
- Interestingly even the Third Reich had lots of tourism and visits from foreigners.
  This interesting (German/Austrian) article is a summary of the book Travellers in the Third Reich. The Rise of Fascism through the Eyes of Everyday People from Julia Boyd.
  Some key parts from the article, auto-translated with deepl.com:
  The newly married British couple Boyle spent their honeymoon in Germany in 1937. Their destination was Marseille, from where the couple wanted to travel on to Kenya, where the bride's father was the British governor.
  The GB license plate on the car they had brought with them attracted almost magnetic attention in Germany, and the Boyles were repeatedly approached by people. One Sunday, they parked their car in Frankfurt am Main to visit the city. They had just left the car when they were approached by a Jewish woman with her 15-year-old daughter, who was limping badly on one leg.
  The mother got straight to the point and begged the couple to take their daughter Greta abroad with them. The Boyles agreed - they had seen enough to know how dangerous the prospects were for a disabled Jewish girl. After the British consulate had provided the necessary papers, the Boyles, together with the girl, continued their journey.
  [...]
  A few days before the planned Reichstag election, two Britons, Owen Tweedy and Jim Turcan, also arrived in Germany. Both had been wounded in the First World War, Tweedy was now working as a journalist. They arrived in Berlin exactly on the day of the Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933. The atmosphere among the foreign journalists was already characterized by fear; they had to fear being persecuted by the Nazi authorities for espionage.
  Three days before the Reichstag elections, Tweedy and Turcan witnessed a Nazi squad knocking down a boy: “We were terrified and ran away immediately.” They were relieved when they reached the hotel unharmed. Another Brit summed up the mood as follows: “Fear made cowards of us all.”
  [...]
  From today's perspective, it is initially surprising that even under Nazi rule, Germany was initially a very popular vacation destination that attracted many foreign travelers. Germany was regarded as one of the most culturally important destinations. And last but not least, it was also comparatively cheap due to the exchange rate. It was not only occasionally that young ladies from British aristocratic families were sent to impoverished German aristocratic families for a longer language course and stay abroad.
- I don't understand why they don't want to pick "Adventure"
MOAR!
People not visiting, that is.
- Less really is more! LOL
- Oh, it's coming. Erm, what I mean is...
🍁👋
——————-

🦞
That's -30%
- Only 70% to go.
Yeah, we'll keep our loonies here as long as you keep your looneys there.
I live really close to New England, and we've been planning some micro trips to Vermont and NH before the US election. Visiting Quebec City again. For the fourth time. There's always something new to see. Anyone been to Wendake yet?
- Île René Lavasseur?
I blame Stephen King. This Maine place sounds like a miserable monster, vampire, rabies, ghost, and alien infested shit hole with 3 weeks of spring, summer, and fall combined.
Old Orchard Beach gonna be dead this summer lmao.

🍁👋

——————-