Foreign Affairs

Cities like Athens like tourist dollars, but too many makes living in such cities difficult. I was in Venice a few years ago with five of those behemoth cruise ships in port. It was miserable. In the afternoon when the cruisers returned to their ships to depart for the next city, St. Marks Square was filled with trash for the city to clean up. Speaking with waiters in a local restaurant, they said that the only people making money are the vendors of the cheap souvenirs (mostly made in China) because cruise passengers do not stay in hotels or eat in restaurants.

It's a tough problem for city officials to manage the crowds while keeping the residents happy.