Well-heeled families in West London are experiencing crowds of influencers and photographers outside their homes, with crowds growing larger and more organized, directed by dedicated 'wisteria tours' posted on social media. The problem centers on influencers and people with professional photographers arriving, bringing portable changing rooms and chairs, posing for wedding photos, and sometimes leaving rubbish or breaking plants.
A specific townhouse in Kensington has become a viral hotspot, featuring a 70-year-old wisteria plant cascading down its walls on a corner off Kensington High Street. The owner of the townhouse said nobody paid attention to their house until lockdown, and while most people are respectful and friendly, she asks them not to touch the plant because it suffers damage. The owner believes the house was posted by Asian influencers because they get a lot of Japanese visitors, and she detailed that the problem includes people arriving with entire portable changing rooms, couples posing for wedding photos, and groups leaving rubbish or breaking the plant.
Cherry blossom season has intensified the problem, with Stanley Crescent in Notting Hill seeing a flurry of camera-wielding visitors for a famous cherry blossom tree. The annual pilgrimage to this famous flowering tree has transformed Stanley Crescent into an impromptu photoshoot location, with social media fueling the trend and residents expressing frustration. Notting Hill remains a free viewing spot for cherry blossoms, with social media starlets flocking there.
Every spring, this cherry blossom house in London goes viral. And the people who live here, whose street was once quiet and peaceful, might not agree that virality is a good thing.
Videos on TikTok and Instagram show large groups posing for photos, climbing walls, and milling about residential properties. A Londoner on Threads noted that residents might not agree that virality is good due to the nuisance, while a TikTok user posted on March 15 that they came to Notting Hill for cherry blossoms but couldn't deal with the crowds. People on social media suggested living in Notting Hill is a nightmare, with influencers shouting at residents and lacking road sense.
Some suggested homeowners should start charging for photos, while fed-up residents on Lancaster Road started painting their homes black to stop selfie-taking tourists and influencers. Homeowners on Lancaster Road claim influencers stand outside their doors for perfect shots, with multiple outfit changes, and tourists have picnics on their properties. The family's cleaner finds it annoying to confront hordes of people every time she steps out.
Tourists, particularly from Asia, are drawn to these displays, with wisteria attracting Japanese visitors and a spike this year in extravagantly-dressed tourists from Asia, especially Japan. Comparisons have been made to international sites like Himeji Castle in Osaka, which more than doubled ticket prices for foreign visitors to ¥2,500 (£12) from ¥1,000 (£5) as of March 1.
Residents face constant annoyances, but specific measures by authorities to address the nuisance remain unclear, as does the exact number of homes affected. Whether there have been any formal complaints or legal actions taken by residents against the tourists or influencers is also unknown, along with the effectiveness of painting homes black in deterring visitors.