The most annoying habits of tourists

Dec 13, 2011 9:50:27 AM

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Are you embarrassed by the antics of your fellow tourists, or guilty of some travel sins yourself? It’s hard to get a handle on the etiquette of a new place, but sometimes travellers leave the locals quietly narked. From fumbling at the ticket barriers to walking the streets starkers, here are some top peeves about tourists, as nominated by city bloggers.

London

‘Trying to touch in on London’s Oyster system using a paper ticket.
Matt Brown, Londonist.com

Bewildered tourists in Tube stations are a pain for some Londoners. Photograph by Neil Setchfield

Barcelona

‘Tourists on [pedestrian mall] Las Ramblas and the surrounding parts wearing only what they had on in the sea.’
David Brydon, barcelonasights.blogspot.com

Bikinis and shorts: perfect for a beach but cover up on Barcelona’s streets. Photograph by Dallas Stribley

Copenhagen

‘Tourists show up at The Little Mermaid statue and are disappointed at how small it is. Given that she’s called The Little Mermaid, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise.’
Timothy Anderson, thecopenhagenreport.blogspot.com

The Little Mermaid: her dainty size is a mighty surprise for some tourists. Photograph by Wayne Walton

Mumbai

‘Calling the Gateway of India “India Gate”, which is a different monument, in Delhi. Mumbai already resents Delhi because it gets more government funding. To take our iconic monument and call it by a Delhi name, sacrilege!’
Deepa Krishnan, mumbaimagic.com

It’s Indian, it’s a gate, but don’t you dare call it the India Gate. Photograph by Richard l’Anson

Moscow

‘Tourists are easily seen because of their smiles. It annoys most Muscovites.’
Olga Borte, see-you-in-moscow.com

Tourists. Why are they so happy, wonder some Moscow residents. Photograph by Brent Winebrenner

Rome

‘They forget it’s a modern city. While looking for the ‘authentic Roman’ experience, tourists accept poor service and bad manners when they should say ‘basta‘ [enough]!’
Erica Firpa, moscerina.com

Demand impeccable service in Rome, the locals certainly do. Photograph by Will Salter

Want to defend your travel style, or share your own irritations? Let us know in the comments!

This is an excerpt from an article originally published in Lonely Planet Magazine.

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Comments

14 December 2011 1:40AM indianinaformerlife Report this comment
Charleston, SC, USA Many tourists believe that the Old Market Place was where enslaved people were bought and sold. Not at all true!! It started as a farmers' market and has been turned into a tourist destination.
14 December 2011 3:23PM vasenka Report this comment
Why do people staying in 5 star hotels act so rude and angry...?
Well...I guess if you're paying $500 per night for a room you'd be angry too...
Also...just repeating LOUDER a request in English will not get a better result if the person doesn't understand English...
14 December 2011 8:41PM qleyo Report this comment
Walking on a busy street and then stopping dead in your tracks, perhaps to take in some site or picture!
Or worse taking multiple shots of a picture when polite passers by are waiting to avoid not interrupting your photos! Grinds my gearsssss
15 December 2011 1:39AM camo159 Report this comment
In Cairns, Australia many tourists think it is perfectly acceptable to ride their bicycles in the middle of the road... Trust me this is not something locals appreciate and don't be surprised if they beep/attempt to push you off your bike/yell and abuse you...
16 December 2011 1:44PM teasweet Report this comment
In Bali, tourists who should've stayed on the water because of what they're wearing walk into banks, malls and some even dare to ride their vespa..Would they do the same back home, I wonder..
19 December 2011 6:01AM hanabananachan Report this comment
Seattle, Wa Tourists ALWAYS expect there to be rain. And when it is lightly misting they take them out and start going crazy. IF you are a local, you NEVER carry an umbrella. We love our rain.
19 December 2011 12:33PM zoemac Report this comment
Don't be surprised it's raining when you're in New Zealand - we don't get to have a lush green country by magic you know!
19 December 2011 8:53PM neupaneaj Report this comment
Farangs in wife beater tank tops, baggy cotton shorts and flip flops (you know who you are) in bars around downtown BKK.
Mall tourists in BKK (you also know who you are)in heavy clothing and dizzyfying dose of CK, Armani perfumes
20 December 2011 3:20PM fieldgate Report this comment
The sad is that LP works hard on finding new features only to promote their sales in a catchty way, by stereotyping the stereotypes. Sadly, it's not much about travel.
22 December 2011 11:30AM stiofan75 Report this comment
Walking through Las Ramblas like that! Where do they stick their wallets? :)
2 February 2012 12:30AM pbrown4774 Report this comment
I think it is counterproductive to focus on the pet peeves of locals regarding tourists. You could just as easily have done an article on rude locals and the way they treat supposed "guests" in their city or country. It's not realistic to expect people visiting your locale to know everything about the transit system, local customs, etc. How about lightening up a little. You might just be the next "clueless tourist" in their country.
2 February 2012 4:12AM jan_p Report this comment
It's true what you say about Moscow. Especially on the Metro, most everyone has a "sour puss." But when I asked for directions, folks were friendly and helpful. And when I made friends, they were very hospitable and were excited about showing me their city. Jan Polatschek
2 February 2012 5:20AM gorn Report this comment
That's ridiculous. Londoners annoyed because tourists don't understand the Tube system, Indians annoyed because tourists call it the India Gate and Muscovites annoyed because the tourists smile. If true, those people will be annoyed at anything. Are people really so intolerant or are writers simply running out of things to say?
2 February 2012 9:39AM meg14 Report this comment
In Canada, many tourists from Europe expect to find feathered indians. You, the first nations also live in 2012! And by the way, Montreal is really hot in the summer, it's only cold in the winter, and even then, it's getting milder every year...
8 February 2012 4:35PM joaop Report this comment
meg14, an interesting climate peculiarity. Montreal, Toronto, Chicago or New York have continental climate. It's the same climate of Beijing, Seoul, northern Japan or Vladivostock. It's not really at a high latitude, like Glawgow, Dublin or Stockholm in Europe. This means hot summers and very cold winters.
8 February 2012 4:39PM joaop Report this comment
Pernonally I find a bit annoying to see tourists going to Amsterdam for instance, wanting to take a picture of the locals and the locals shouting: No Pictures! Respect our privacy! The same tourists in a poor non-european country, in a similar situation start to argue in an arrogant manner: Why can't we take a picture of you?! We'll do it in a soft way or in a hard way! What are you hiding anh?
6 March 2012 11:44PM purplepixie0001 Report this comment
When you travel, remember to respect the culture of the host country and try to appreciate the architecture, weather, cuisine, customs, etc that the locals are proud of. Learn some of the language and history beforehand. No-one likes to feel like an animal at the zoo when tourists gawk at you normal way of life.