We imagine an already tough life at college would be a bit more stressful if you had befuddled tourists meandering into your dormitory.
That's been happening at an alarming rate at Cambridge University's Clare College, an institution that has been around since 1326.
The Telegraph reports the college has decided to shutter its grounds to tourists because one group after another has ambled where they shouldn't. Instead of having its impeccably kept grounds walked all over and its students deal with surprise guests, Clare College will remain entirely off limits until the summer-when staff can deal with the influx of tourists.
The report explains further that the tourists, "are predominantly from Japan and China."
Visitors from China have earned themselves quite the stigma before. Back in 2015, the China National Tourism Administration issued a reprimand of sorts in hopes of restraining some of its citizens as they traveled abroad.
At the time, China People's Daily reported that a new measure was enacted due to actions such as, "violating order on public transportation-including flights-damaging public facilities or historical relics, ignoring social customs at tourism destinations, and becoming involved with gambling or prostitution."
The policy states that it would keep close records on its citizens, documenting infractions for up to two years from the date of an incident.
Thus the happenings in Cambridge are not without precedent as some tourists walk beyond clearly marked signs.
An unnamed source tells The Telegraph: "We have had a lot of trouble with busloads of tourists turning up without warning, and we can't cope from a health and safety perspective. We are just fed up of them. They wander around posing for photos and making lots of noise."
[READMORE]READ MORE: US Steps Up Efforts to Accommodate Chinese Visitors [/READMORE]
If you have ever wanted to see Clare College up close, the report explains it will open again during the summer term for the price of ?4.50.
The source explained, "In the summer term, we have custodians and porters on duty at the weekends, but during the spring and autumn there is only one porter."
This person continued: "Many of the tourists ignore the signs which say private and wander wherever they like. We have had problems with tourists entering private parts of the college such as students' rooms and even the roof."
This should serve as yet another reminder to travel with a keen eye on local customs and warnings. The moment we holiday without a modicum of respect is the moment we lose out on a good thing. In this case, a college that had been open for centuries.
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