Cambridge, a city steeped in over 800 years of history, attracts visitors worldwide to admire its breathtaking architecture, world-renowned educational institutions and quintessentially English setting. However, locals claim the city centre is overrun with tourists, with most people “only coming in for work”. Cambridge relies heavily on its tourism and hospitality sectors, welcoming an impressive 8.1 million visitors each year.
Despite its rich history, Cambridge is surprisingly small, leading most tourists to visit for just a day. The sector represents nearly a quarter of local jobs and continues to grow, but residents are not particularly thrilled. Street performer Ray Brenan expressed his frustration, saying: “Apart from a few old stones and its cobbled streets, I have nothing else nice to say anymore. Take away the universities and there’s really nothing else to it, it’s overrun with people visiting.”
Cambridge is globally recognised as the home of one of the world’s top universities. As a collegiate institution, administration is divided among smaller establishments, with over 25,000 students living and studying within their individual colleges, reports the Mirror.
Among the most renowned colleges is King’s College, known for its iconic chapel and prime city centre location. Long lines of people can be seen outside the entrance gates along the pavements, filled with sightseers taking photographs.
Local market vendor Lorain Cheeseman explained how “everyone just comes here to visit people at the university”.
“We get a really huge amount of visitors, everyone is always here on holiday,” said Cheeseman. “There are a lot of students in the city, I don’t live here anymore, I just come in to work.”
Another market trader shared similar sentiments: “I don’t live here and I don’t know many people who do nowadays.”
The vast majority of tourists who flock to Cambridge are day-trippers. They turn up in packed coaches, where large groups of sightseers are deposited. They spend several hours discovering the city before climbing back aboard their transport. Express services from London also allow tourists to reach Cambridge in under an hour.
Nevertheless, some local workers regard the surge of people favourably.
“I love selling ice cream to the visitors. Everyone is so nice and really friendly, but it does get very very busy at the stall,” said Kristof Santha, a local ice cream stand worker.
Masters student at Cambridge, Muhammad Mudassar, echoed this sentiment: “People here are more friendly than other cities, but most people are students here like me.”
