You are in the middle of bustling New York City for the first time. As sky-high office buildings engulf your vision, you hear taxis beeping through crowds, and you notice the subway fly by, emerging from an underground tunnel.
Tourism at Its Finest
You whip out your huge DSLR to get a professional photo that will forever document this moment, and before you know it, cars are honking at and people professionals covered head to toe in business attire walk by, nearly trampling you. As it turns out, you stopped directly in the middle of the crosswalk as the light changed, and hadn’t realized. Maybe the Big Apple isn’t quite for you.
Truthfully, most of us have been tourists at some point in life. Whether on a family vacation, a romantic weekend getaway, or simply visiting a friend out of state, heading out of one’s comfort zone is a good way to, well, annoy locals.
Survey Says
According to a study conducted by Livingsocial and Madala Research, there are 10 nationalities of tourists that stand out as the worst. Maybe it is due to cultural differences, or maybe it is due to lack of manners, but the results are in; are you guilty?
10. Britain
Forget the regal, royal family. Britain’s tourists are listed among the worst in the world. In fact, most are not interested in royal affairs. According to Business Insider, “British citizens are infamous for their bawdy bar behavior all around the world” (BI).
9. Spain
The land that brought us horses and the Spanish language, all while discovering much of the new world, is comprised of the 9th most notoriously bad tourists. Please, keep the bullfights (and every other type of fight) outdoors!
8. Germany
Germany, the rest of the world will gladly take your beer, bratwursts, pretzels and cheese. However, your tourists can stay home. It’s nothing personal against Germans, it’s just that the nation “[garnered] many votes as the worst-behaved nation” (BI). We commend you on the Cup, though.
7. India
Thank you for providing the world with amazing spices and teas. We will forever appreciate your introduction of curry and naan bread. Unfortunately, India also provides the world with some of the worst tourists around!
6. Korea
An-yeong! While, all around the world, people appreciate the sweet and savory flavors of Korean BBQ, the people of the world can’t say the same for tourists from this country. Maybe cultural differences are to blame.
5. Russia
Russian culture is very unique—so unique that Russian tourists aren’t very popular across the globe. According to Forbes, “the Russian language is not as polite as English, so when Russians translate directly from Russian to English, it can sound rude to an English speaker even if they don’t mean it to” (Bender). Understanding that it’s not intentional makes them much more tolerable tourists, of course.
4. Japan
To the leading innovators of technology, we thank you for your contribution of outstanding electronics. Despite the fact that Japan leads the world in technology, they are also close to leading the list of notoriously bad tourists!
3. France
Bender partially defends France, stating that he has “always found Parisians to be just as rude to each other as they are to foreigners” (Bender). Well, that almost makes us feel a bit better.
2. China
As with most, cultural differences and manners might be the true culprit here. For example, in many Asian cultures, looking directly into the eyes of an elder is considered very rude, whereas other countries find it rude to avoid eye contact!
1. United States
That’s right, Americans! You are certainly not guiltless! Known for stealing hotel robes, towels and more hotel items, Americans lead the race of the worst, most notoriously horrible tourists around!
Bad Tourists
No one seems free of blame. We have all been that obnoxious tourist at one time or another. Our best advice: study the culture of the place you are headed to, learn kind words and use your manners to your best ability, no matter where you come from. Happy traveling!
