>Usually explained by a different time of week/year/month
I hadn't thought about that and checked the dates of the photos I took on both trips. Coincidentally apparently I was there within a week of exactly 10 years apart!
Many big holidays don't coincide every year on the same date in Gregorian calendar, and in a few places I lived such that central landmarks can be absolutely flooded on particular days of week because it's a tourist destination or for religious observances.
Not to say you're wrong, maybe there's more tourists, but from experience it can be misleading.
Not to say you're wrong, maybe there's more tourists, but from experience it can be misleading.