Who are the world's worst tourists?

[MMM]

Originally Posted by clairebear

I always thought British tourists would be amongst the worst. Apparently we're loud and get drunk a lot.

And I know that a lot of Brits expect people in foreign countries to speak good English...

That's interesting. British tourists I have met in Japan and the US were never obnoxious, and were always polite and easy-going. Now British TEACHERS I knew in Japan, especially in the British-style pubs...that was a different story.

[mercedesjin]

Originally Posted by DJnohara

mercedesjin: Yeah, there are different cultural standards for what is rude, some some may not know (Unless you're doing them all without realizing? :S ). But thats why I think if you're traveling abroad (especially to a country like Japan) you really need to do your research before you go.

I agree that it's important to research, but as I was telling MMM, I think that there's a lot more to a culture than can be expressed in a guidebook or a website. There's bound to be something that a guidebook/website can't or doesn't express about cultures and impoliteness.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

First, I read that article on Yahoo and I didn't see any references to where this survey was being taken. I didn't see anything said about the survey being taken all over the world. It didn't give a list of specific countries. If I missed it, please point it out.

I read a couple versions of the article. The polling happened last month.

Carried out last month by TNS Infratest, the study asked 40,000 hotels worldwide to rank tourists from 27 countries based on nine criteria, from their politeness to their willingness to tip.

French take title as 'world's worst tourist' in survey

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

Moving on from that, though... How can someone make an effort to not be rude in another culture if they don't know about that culture?

Why would you travel to another culture and not make an effort to not be rude? That seems like a foreign concept to me.

If you have no interest in that culture, why would you go there?

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

If you're going to say that there's information in things such as guidebooks, I personally don't think those are so helpful. I can go out and buy a guidebook to how to act in Japan. I can learn not to sneeze in public and to slurp my noodles. Guidebooks don't teach a person everything about that culture, though. Guidebooks can't teach a person how to act in a culture - not as well as being born and raised into that culture. So while a person can think, "Make an effort to not be rude," I think there's a strong possibility that a person may or may not know what is rude - because, like I said, ideas of politeness vary from culture to culture.

The question is, tourists from which country make the least effort not to be rude. The answer is in the first post.

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

One last thing: maybe you can say "it seems that MOST of the French," because it's not best to make generalizations like that.

I think that is implied in what I said. I didn't say "Every French person" I said "The French". Surveys like this are generalizations, but it doesn't mean EVERY French tourist is bad. If I say "Americans like cheeseburgers" it is a true statement, but doesn't mean EVERY American likes cheeseburgers.

[mercedesjin]

Originally Posted by MMM

I read a couple versions of the article. The polling happened last month.

Carried out last month by TNS Infratest, the study asked 40,000 hotels worldwide to rank tourists from 27 countries based on nine criteria, from their politeness to their willingness to tip.

French take title as 'world's worst tourist' in survey


Why would you travel to another culture and not make an effort to not be rude? That seems like a foreign concept to me.

If you have no interest in that culture, why would you go there?



The question is, tourists from which country make the least effort not to be rude. The answer is in the first post.



I think that is implied in what I said. I didn't say "Every French person" I said "The French". Surveys like this are generalizations, but it doesn't mean EVERY French tourist is bad. If I say "Americans like cheeseburgers" it is a true statement, but doesn't mean EVERY American likes cheeseburgers.

Okay, thanks. I'll make sure to check it out.

I think you may have misunderstood the statement I made. I didn't say that people can go to another country without caring about what is rude or not. I meant to say that a person might not understand what is rude or not.

I read and reread the article. I doesn't say that "the French make the least amount effort." It says that the French are the worst tourists. It's an article that stereotypes and attracts readers who easily believe these kinds of surveys without questioning it - without raising questions such as, "Who gets to decide that they're rude?" and, "What if the tourists don't have the resources to understand another culture?"

"The French" is the same as saying "every French person." It's a generalization based on a person's nationality. Saying that Americans like cheeseburgers is also a generalization. It's like saying, "Americans are idiots for voting Bush in for a second term." It's a generalization because not everyone wanted Bush back into office. Saying that the French are rude and don't make an effort is a generalization and a stereotype because I'm sure there are French who do make an effort, and who are extremely polite. Words like "most" and "some" need to be added, because - according to the English language - saying "the French" means every single French person.

[Sinestra]

Usually im not one for believing in and or promoting sterotypes but on this matter i can agree with this poll. I live close to Washington DC which is of course a huge tourist spot given its the capital of the US and whenever im down there especially in Georgetown at restaurants or bars the French are pretty damn rude. I see it every year and yes they are frugal when it comes to tips. A friend of mine works at Sequoias a very upscale bar and restaurant near the water front and she says French tourist rarely if ever leave tips are rude to the wait staff and are very demanding. Popular clubs in DC and Chinatown the same thing very rude very pushy towards women

*Note these are my personal experiences*

I cant really say much though i have gone abroad with some friends before and was ashamed of how they acted in foreign country as an American. I wouldnt think all French people are rude just the ones i have happened to see. Its not fair to base the entire population on a few that travel abroad. But this goes to show you are representative of your country when you go abroad whether you want to be or not.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

Okay, thanks. I'll make sure to check it out.

I think you may have misunderstood the statement I made. I didn't say that people can go to another country without caring about what is rude or not. I meant to say that a person might not understand what is rude or not.

I read and reread the article. I doesn't say that "the French make the least amount effort." It says that the French are the worst tourists. It's an article that stereotypes and attracts readers who easily believe these kinds of surveys without questioning it - without raising questions such as, "Who gets to decide that they're rude?" and, "What if the tourists don't have the resources to understand another culture?"

"The French" is the same as saying "every French person." It's a generalization based on a person's nationality. Saying that Americans like cheeseburgers is also a generalization. It's like saying, "Americans are idiots for voting Bush in for a second term." It's a generalization because not everyone wanted Bush back into office. Saying that the French are rude and don't make an effort is a generalization and a stereotype because I'm sure there are French who do make an effort, and who are extremely polite. Words like "most" and "some" need to be added, because - according to the English language - saying "the French" means every single French person.

I agree with you that a person might not understand every part of a culture before visiting it. People certainly make mistakes. I think hotel workers are the perfect people to ask for surveys like this, because they surely see it all. In 2009 I think it is hard to say people don't have the resources to get the information they need to not be considered rude. It doesn't mean they have to blend in seamlessly into another culture, but the basics are surely available.

Making generalizations and stereotyping are two very different things. Generalizations allow us to say things like "Americans are idiots for voting in Bush" because we KNOW not all Americans voted for Bush. "Japanese food is about subtle flavors." This is true, but not all Japanese food is about subtle flavors. In this article they say "The French don't go abroad very much." Do you read that as "Every single French person doesn't go abroad very much"?

Without generalizations it would take forever to communicate ideas because we would have to put caveats on every statement. I had my years PCing my language as to not offend anyone, and those years are behind me.

[Barone1551]

mercedesjin: I kind of get where your coming from with who gets to decide who is rude. But this is a poll from around the world, at popular tourist destinations and hotels. Some of these places may stereotype the french but its hard to ignore when everyone says they are the worst. Its a poll from everywhere and this is the consensus. I do agree though that it is up to the person to decide if they are rude or not, and everyone has a different perspective of what rude is.

Now from my personal experience, I'm not to sure. I have net rude and polite people from many different countries. But I can agree, or at least I don't disagree with some of the choices on the list. For the most part when I see Japanese people abroad they are very easy going and having lots of fun. They do tend to be quiet though so this could help. And I always see, (or at least it seems like it) the Japanese making an effort to speak English to people even if they know very little English. And I can agree with the French one becuase in my personal experience I have met some very rude french people. I saw them as rude becuase they were very brash, and didn't really make an attempt to adapt to the culture. And I have actually seen a group of french people speak only in french while trying to buy something. The cashier had no idea what they were saying, but they kept speaking in french and were actually getting angry becuase the lady could not understand them. Now I understand this is not a way to base the actions of a country on the whole.

I have seen many rude and polite tourists. From my experience those are just the ones that stand out. I have seen many rude British tourists, but also many polite ones. From what I have seen the result changes drastically when a family is involved or not. Meaning when there are kids the group as a whole seems to be more polite in the culture. And I was actually surprised to not see the US on there anywhere. Maybe its becuase it is my home country and I can notice easier when someone is being rude but some of the worst tourists in my experience have been American. Now this could be just from my personal experience but I know many Americans who get angry when foreigners don't speak English in the US. But these same people go to another country and make no attempt to speak the native language, and even go as far as to expect them to speak English.

As I said this is just my personal experience and I'm not trying to speak for or judge any country as a whole. Every country has their good and their bad.
Most of my "research" happened in Florida, which is a big tourist location. Its actually interesting, you could go to Disney world and see all these cultures in action and decide for yourself. lol

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Barone1551

And I was actually surprised to not see the US on there anywhere. Maybe its becuase it is my home country and I can notice easier when someone is being rude but some of the worst tourists in my experience have been American.

The Americans managed to redeem themselves, however, winning the title of best tippers, for a final placing of eighth-best tourists.

Kiwis stingy - but French worst - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

[Barone1551]

Originally Posted by MMM

The Americans managed to redeem themselves, however, winning the title of best tippers, for a final placing of eighth-best tourists.

Kiwis stingy - but French worst - Life & Style - NZ Herald News

Ah! I missed that part. Yes, I wont disagree with the loudest part. I can also see the tipping part. I don't have a ton of experience with tips, as far as getting them, but I have given quite a few. I also don't know other countries standard of tipping. But I know when I was in Japan, the first few times I ate at a restaurant I went to tip and had to be reminded not to give one. This was the same at the bars, Im accustomed to giving a dollar here and there to the bar tender. But this is a really hard one I think because some countries don't tip at all, and the standard of tipping is different everywhere. When we had Japanese exchange students at our school we always had to remind them to tip, and how much. And even which places to tip at. You obviously don't tip someone at subway, but you do at a sit down place.

[honoraryjapanesegirl]

Dude...wasn't this an artical on the Yahoo! front page?
Yahoo!
~HonoraryJapaneseGirl~