Locals Delete Their Coastal Town Off Google Maps To Dodge Tourists (and It’s Working!)

Forget protests and scandals, they’re old-fashioned: conscionable shade your thoroughfare connected Google Maps.

Fed up pinch endless waves of visitors hogging their streets and stealing their parking spots, 1 Dutch neighbourhood recovered a modern solution to an old-school problem: integer sabotage.

In Parkbuurt, a quiet seaside territory successful Zandvoort, Netherlands, locals person figured retired really to crippled nan system. Literally.

The Dutch anti-tourist solution

By utilizing Google Maps’ traffic-reporting tool, they’ve banded together to flood nan app pinch clone roadworthy closure alerts and incident reports.

They efficaciously erased their streets from GPS routes and turned their neighbourhood into a no-go area for clueless visitors and day-trippers.

The move started backmost successful April and has already made a visible difference. With less cars cruising successful from retired of town, locals opportunity it’s yet imaginable to find a parking spot connected a Saturday. That is thing they hadn’t seen successful years.

“The slightest invasive” measurement to a increasing problem?

City officials tried to antagonistic nan low-key integer rebellion by installing old-fashioned signs, asking visitors to disregard their apps and travel charismatic routes. They besides jacked up parking fees for non-residents.

But nary of it’s really worked. Residents are calling their map-hacking “the slightest invasive solution” to a increasing problem.

And it’s catching on. Neighbourhoods successful Lisserbroek, not acold from nan tourist-swarmed Keukenhof flower park, are now reportedly trying nan aforesaid tactic.

It’s almost a trend, a Dutch solution to a modern problem. This is grassroots resistance, 2025-style.

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