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Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#11

Post by smegel »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

Do us all a favour and go there on the weekend and ask them. Although I admit that sounds more like a Reddit challenge, perhaps where this story belongs.

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#12

Post by stinkytaco »

mhink wrote: post #10
olalonde wrote: post #6

When I was traveling in rural parts of China, locals seemed equally baffled that a laowai was interested in their lowly village. Also, I assume most Chinese who have money to travel abroad live in large cities where such single family homes are quite a rare sight and sell in the millions of dollars. Now, why that village more than another I have no idea.

I think this might be hinting towards the truth. An additional observation might be the pursuit of authenticity - so many cities and tourist destinations across the world seem to have become hyperreal versions of themselves- in my own home city of Seattle, the Seattle Center park seems to be a good example of this. Walking around near the Space Needle feels like going to Disney World- monorail and all. I mean, if I v…

Off topic, but there's something I love about that webcam. It's that mix between the cultural meme that's frozen in time (notably the album cover) and its intersection with a real world place. Before I saw the video I guess it never really occurred to me that it's a real street carrying real people and real cars. It's obvious, but I had never given a thought to it as a real place.

Plus it's funny to see cars zipping around that curve while people are at the crosswalk. I can practically hear the frustration of the drivers who have to stop and wait for a bunch of tourists staging a photo.

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#13

Post by Piskvorrr »

codemac wrote: post #9
jonah wrote: post #8

Has no one bothered to ask the visitors why they came?

I was kind of baffled by this too, does the BBC not have access to anyone that speaks their language? Also, the article switches between them being Japanese & Chinese tourists.. is the BBC even sure where the tourists are from? I'm unsure as to why this is on Hacker News.

If the article is to be taken at face value, there isn't even a consensus on when are the tourists from ;)

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#14

Post by [deleted] »

codemac wrote: post #9
jonah wrote: post #8

Has no one bothered to ask the visitors why they came?

I was kind of baffled by this too, does the BBC not have access to anyone that speaks their language? Also, the article switches between them being Japanese & Chinese tourists.. is the BBC even sure where the tourists are from? I'm unsure as to why this is on Hacker News.

[deleted]

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#15

Post by beachstartup »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

> It's really average suburbia

from what i can see, it doesn't look like average suburbia in the US or china, which are basically just copies of the US suburbs (large mcmansions, cul de sacs, sterile landscaping, etc)

it has a very specific english quaintness to it.

fwiw, german suburbs (i was in bavaria) also have a very german quaintness to them.

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#16

Post by nostromo »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

I've been one of these weird foreigners taking pictures of "boring landscapes" for no appreciable reason.

For me it was on the backroads of SE Asia. I just found everything -- the farms, the houses, the roads -- to be beautiful and interesting compared to what I experience in America.

I'm sure some of the locals thought I was a weirdo for taking pictures of water buffalo and dirt roads and farms, but to me it was all completely novel and interesting.

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#17

Post by dsfyu404ed »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

Maybe they're visiting it because it's "average suburbia" aka how people really live in an English suburb and not some town that goes out of its way to be tourist friendly.

Someone in China may have very well chosen it specifically because it represents normal and not an image projected by a place that is already a tourist destination.

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#18

Post by Doctor_Fegg »

beachstartup wrote: post #15
Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

> It's really average suburbia from what i can see, it doesn't look like average suburbia in the US or china, which are basically just copies of the US suburbs (large mcmansions, cul de sacs, sterile landscaping, etc) it has a very specific english quaintness to it. fwiw, german suburbs (i was in bavaria) also have a very german quaintness to them.

It's certainly English, but if you want quaint, this area is Quaint Central - pretty much everywhere apart from Kidlington.

Here's Benmead Road in Kidlington, one of the places the tourists are reputed to be turning up: https://goo.gl/maps/urEVsQEmRqx

Here's historic Woodstock, which is just three or four miles away: https://goo.gl/maps/M2M9dzXv2e32

Here's Charlbury, another five miles away, where I live: https://goo.gl/maps/EDgNtFERyLD2

And literally 1.5mi from Kidlington, here's Thrupp, with its amazingly quaint canal and pubs: https://goo.gl/maps/Su1Y5uxAGB22

My only guess so far is that there's some slack in a tour schedule, and some jaded tour planner said "take them to a village, any village will do".

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#19

Post by [deleted] »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #18
beachstartup wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's really average suburbia from what i can see, it doesn't look like average suburbia in the US or china, which are basically just copies of the US suburbs (large mcmansions, cul de sacs, sterile landscaping, etc) it has a very specific english quaintness to it. fwiw, german suburbs (i was in bavaria) also have a very german quaintness to them.

It's certainly English, but if you want quaint, this area is Quaint Central - pretty much everywhere apart from Kidlington. Here's Benmead Road in Kidlington, one of the places the tourists are reputed to be turning up: https://goo.gl/maps/urEVsQEmRqx Here's historic Woodstock, which is just three or four miles away: https://goo.gl/maps/M2M9dzXv2e32 Here's Charlbury, another five miles away, where I live: https://goo…

[deleted]

Re: Kidlington's mystery tourist influx continues to baffle locals

#20

Post by rdtsc »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #3

Speaking as a local, this genuinely is bizarre. Three miles from Kidlington is Woodstock, which is a picture-perfect village with stone cottages and quaint shops. Ten miles away (where I live) you're into the genuine Cotswolds. The theories advanced in the BBC article don't stack up. Kidlington is not a "folksy cultural stop" or "a beautiful English village". It's really average suburbia - the fact it's formally a "v…

Didn't catch in the article if it was mentioned, but has anyone thought of you know, asking tourists why they picked to come there, or what they expect to see? Guessing the implication they can't speak English very well?

I have seen a similar phenomenon when going to Jamaica. Our driver who was supposed to take us from the airport to the hotel to the other side of the island, happened to stop for a "break" at a road-side cafe with a shop full of what looked like overpriced Chinese made handbags, clothes and some random things. There was a woman working there who was probably his wife or relative. The idea was to hopefully get the tourists to buy some of those things. We stood there entirely too long, and he thought he was being sly but it was kind of obvious what is happening.

So perhaps some pub owner or someone owning a business in the area somehow managed to convince a tourist company to bring clients in that area? A busload full of tourists is a nice captive audience who are already in a happy spending mood, so not surprising if someone would capitalize on that.

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