Britons Voted World’s Worst Tourists

[MOBIUS]

It is certainly true that a lot of Brits are real beer drinking yobs - you see them all over Europe for a start!

But that is a minority usually, there are plenty of Brits like me who are constantly embarrassed by their antics.

However in Europe in many cases they tend to stick to their own 'patch'...

I mean, if places in Spain and Greece for example didn't want these people (who incidentally spend a lot of money!), they wouldn't put up wall to wall tacky meat market nightclubs, 'English' bars and cafes serving badly spelled 'English Breakfasts'...

There's whole parts of the Costa del Sol, or Greek islands like Ios etc that have been turned into nothing better than a sunny version of Essex on the W/E.

Face it, cash poor countries like Greece encourage our yobs to despoil their pristine beaches etc by catering to their every need...

As for Japanese, they're only annoying when they're in large groups and hog everything to themselves - the trick is to either let them pass, or keep ahead of them. Or you can follow them around and laugh at them cos they are so funny! I remember taking a picture of nothing in particular with my digital camera (so I wasn't wasting film) and they swarmed over and started clicking away wasting film.

They're quite sweet and naive on their own and anyway, a pack of Japanese is far better than a pack of school kids any day!

As for Americans...

Generally speaking of course - never have I seen a more stupid, ignorant and naive nationality as tourists...

No wonder everyone loves them as tourists - they gullibly pay top dollar everywhere they go. No wonder they think it's expensive in Europe, they're getting ripped off and they don't even know it!

By far the funniest was the coach tour in Tangier, visiting the carpet sellers during off season paying the full asking price for something that every idiot knows you can barter down to about a quarter of it's original price...

Then there's the dumbass in Venice who couldn't understand why an Italian in Italy couldn't speak English very well! "Whaddya mean you cain't speak American - what kinda country is this!!?" ROTFLMAO!

Oh another nationality pet peeve - Italians.

Why is it when they're on holiday they have to be loud and obnoxious and push into people? You can spot them a mile off with their stupid dayglo 'Invicta' daypacks...

[Sikander]

Well I never thought the Americans would place so highly I must admit. Of course if my girlfriend and I are any indication perhaps we aren't so bad. We don't drink much, we don't go on tours, just travel around like normal people. Everywhere we went (except for the NL, sorry) one of us spoke the local language well enough to get by, and we found the prices very competitive and correspondingly spent freely.

I ran into the Japanese horde in France in particular. The best method in dealing with it was to cross the street and go somewhere else. Do no make the mistake of getting into a store with the horde, you don't stand a chance of getting out unmolested.

One thing that I noticed about the Brits is that they are instantly recognizable by their accents even when they are speaking German etc. They speak loudly too. Here in the U.S. they tend to be pretty decent tourists as long as they are not too aggressive. Unfortunately I think the lack of a language barrier here tends to draw some of the morons who wouldn't normally travel so far afield.

We get a lot of Europeans here in Boulder because this area is a climbing mecca. These folks tend to be eco-tourists, so they don't really step on my toes much. They do tend to be a bit impressed with themselves, though this is a trait common to tourist climbers of all nationalities.

Generally alchohol, parsimony and large groups tend to the factors that annoy people the most, with insularity being another big negative.

[Space05us]

Japanese tourists are annoying because the come in such huge numbers, but they are usually polite and well-mannered.

Japanese tourists are very well mannered, as are most asians that I've met, but they don't talk to anybody that isn't in thier group which is HUGE. When they laugh they laugh in unison which is scary as all hell.

German tourists are cool! at least the ones that I've met, they like to talk to people and they're funny!! but they complain about expensive things.

British tourists should just shut up. no offense but you guys are annoying. (at least your tourists are) They don't like spending money either. and very offensive to the natives.

Canadians are just Americans with funny accents I see them so often there's no point in calling them tourists.

Austrailians. I've seen 1 in my whole life. He seemed nice enough.

American tourists. They walk slow, look at everything, ask too many questions, take too many pictures, and Spent LOTS of $$Money$$! gullable too. most are anyway.

The French keep to thmeselves and blend in very well, you wouldn't know they're French unless you get them to talk.

Irish same as English except funny.

edit: I live in Alaska. (thougth I would clear uyp any question before they arise)

[Jaguar]

You think the French can blend in well? I've recognized French people without hearing them speak pretty consistently...


I think Japanese tourists are funny. They videotape every moment of their trip, and travel around in giant groups.

[Space05us]

maybe you get a different brand of French people

[Alexander's Horse]

British tourists moan and complain about everything.

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
British tourists moan and complain about everything.

Bloody Sydney - what a dump! Homeless everywhere, rats in cinemas, cockroaches the size of your hand, no warm beer... Moan, whinge...

[King of Rasslin]

I can't see how anyone would like beer at all, much less warm beer.

[Richard I]

+5!!!!

[frostycreep]

-44

[Deathwalker]

No way are British that bad. I've seem much worse.

[Dauphin]

Is there a poll for most hospitable nations?

I have a feeling that we just export all our undesirables, like we did in the past. Heck MOBIUS is currently in Sydney.

[Roland]

Coming from a tourist heavy city/region.....

- english and scandinavians: mostly here on skiing holidays which turn into drinking holidays; you usually see (and HEAR) them at the apres-ski only

- germans: very mixed, some are loud and annoying roaming the city in phalanx-like formations (those always sound like coming from saxony), others are very low key.

- americans: usually polite, some even make desperate attempts at the language only to find out that usually we don't really speak the german they (remotely) know. Often easily recognized by their accent and horrible taste in clothing (black trousers, red shirt, blue jacket and a cowboy hat ).

- japanese: scary group dynamics. Not much else to say.

- italians: loud but somehow charming

[red_jon]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
British tourists moan and complain about everything.

Yeah, but we complain about ourselves as well


Did anyone ever see 'tourist trap'? They got Britons, Americans, Germans and Japanese and taped them in the same situations (such as their boat breaking down, helping an old lady find her lost wedding ring and even returning to the hotel to find their national flag burned).

The boat one was interesting. The Germans were very shrewd and realised they were set up, even finding the hidden camera (though they mistook it for a microphone).
The British laughed and joked about the situation and were the only ones to rescue themselves.
The Americans sat and waited to be rescued (I think, I don't remember that one much).
The Japanese sat and complained about how it wouldn't have happened in Japan.

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by King of Rasslin
I can't see how anyone would like beer at all, much less warm beer.

*Whooshing sound as the light banter/sarcasm/irony flies cleanly over Rasslin's empty cranium*

Dear me Rass, I knew you were a plank but now I realise you don't even have a sense of humour...

And you don't even drink beer - poor, poor Rass

The British laughed and joked about the situation and were the only ones to rescue themselves.

Yeah, I like that quality about us of making light of what's thrown at us and soldiering on...

Must be that famous 'stiff upper lip' nonsense...