A look inside Arizona’s new-age MECCA: How Sedona became a haven for LA hippies and influencers – with three MILLION visitors annually flocking to crystal shops, ‘healing’ red rocks and birthing caves… what an ANTI-tourism campaign of angry local residents

Arizona’s Sedona town, once a sleepy town surrounded by natural beauty, is so plagued by tourists that an anti-tourism campaign has been launched to prevent large numbers of visitors from ruining the lives of its 10,000 residents.

In an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle Headlined “It’s Beautiful Here in Sedona, So Stay Away,” Arizona native Tom Zoellner describes the city’s rise as a mecca for West Coast hippies.

Top attractions include ‘healing’ red rocks, a vagina-shaped ‘birth cave’, wellness retreats and an award-winning spa loved by Gwyneth Paltrow.

He further notes how new age spiritualism has spiraled out of control and “after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city government and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce entered into a joint agreement to stop advertising the city ​​in glossy national travel magazines. ‘

However, he explains that the “experiment has not delivered the expected peace” and Instagram-happy tourists continue to descend in their thousands, resulting in clogged paths and roads.

According to the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, Sedona’s 10,000 residents are now exposed to an average of three million visitors per year and just over 8,000 per day.

It says that while welcoming visitors “has been a Sedona tradition since the 1950s,” residents in recent years “say that the economic benefits of tourism — and the traffic congestion and overcrowding that sometimes comes with it — should be weighed against the consequences for our society. environment, community character and lifestyle.”

Along with locals, visitors have also expressed their concerns about the large number of visitors.

In one TikTok, Kyle, passing by @KyleGoesOff online, explains how he stopped in Sedona during an American road trip but wasn’t happy with what he found.

In the clip, he explains that the “small town is surrounded by red rocks” and that it is home to “plenty of UFO sightings, but the hippies have moved on and in their place are passive-aggressive New Age LA girls on a spiritual journey to the 100th century. crystal shop in the area.’

As he strolled through the shopping street, he even found a store that sold aura readings for dogs.

Summarizing the place, he says, “It was crazy beautiful and we found a few places where we could hide from everyone, but ultimately spiritual tourism is not the vibe here.”

Many viewers agreed with Kyle’s sentiments, with one commenting, “I hate Sedona and what it has become.” I also hate what Tucson has become. I will be leaving Arizona in the next few years.”

Another mused, “Californians and tourists have ruined Sedona. I grew up before it was cool and [it] was phenomenal.’

Kait Simek also uploaded a clip to TikTok showing traffic to Sedona, while another creator known as @somewheresouthwest captured a queue on one of the hiking trails.

On Tripadvisorone New Jersey reviewer simply labels Sedona a “tourist trap.”

They wrote after their 2022 visit, “We had fond memories of Sedona 40 years ago. We were unfortunately disappointed in February 2022.

‘For the most part it has become a busy tourist trap. Our interest was mainly in the galleries and specialty shops.

‘There are certainly many of them, and some of them of very high quality, especially in the charming village of Tlaquepaque and near the ‘Exposures’ gallery as you enter the city from the south.

‘But the center of the city is a busy mix of pizzerias and Western souvenir shops.

‘Parking in the center is very difficult despite the city’s efforts. Hotels are way too expensive. Several owners of better stores lamented the changes that had occurred over time.”

Florida tech entrepreneur Sherlock Holmes tells DailyMail.com he’s a big fan of Sedona and “still loves going,” but he’s also noticed a change in recent years with gridlocked roads and a “growth of the hippie community.”

“The vortexes in Sedona, thought to be swirling energy lines, have become too much of a money maker for the hippie community,” he revealed.

‘My last trip there was definitely much crazier and super busy with tourists.

“I noticed many locals were selling homes to retire elsewhere given the rapid increase in prices and popularity.”

To get away from the hustle and bustle, Sherlock recommends checking into one of Sedona’s luxury resorts if your bank balance allows it.

Some of his favorite luxury hotels include the Enchantment Resort, Seven Canyons Golf Club and the L’Auberge de Sedona.

Another of the city’s top resorts is Mii Amo, home to a state-of-the-art spa endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow.

About the wellness center, she previously said, “The menu offers everything from psychic massage to a Sedona clay wrap, to reiki and lymphatic drainage.

‘Meanwhile, spiritual treatments include meditation, hypnosis and past life regression. It’s like three years of therapy in three days.’

Sherlock says one of the most popular spa treatments in Sedona is healthy healing, and on his last trip his wife Jo tried a session.

He explained that the treatment took place “in what looked like someone’s backyard with drums and tepees.”

When asked what needs to be done to solve Sedona’s tourism problem, Sherlock suggests “infrastructure expansion.”

In the meantime, Sedona’s tourism department has launched a Resident Quality of Life initiative to “reduce the impacts of tourism on residents (including noise, air and light pollution). [and] to enhance the quality of life of residents.’

Commenting on the issue, Michelle Conway, the president and CEO of Sedona’s Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau, said azcentral.com in April: ‘We actually believe, believe it or not, in less is more when it comes to tourism.

‘We would prefer there to be fewer people, but that could also be staying longer and spending more, because that means less traffic on the streets, less litter on the paths.

“It means our residents are happier and can still go to their favorite restaurant or not take 20 minutes to get home.”