the world's worst tourists LOL

[Zeno Lorea]

I was in Paris once and saw this. A large woman in a disneyland t-shirt, shorts, socks and sandals. Yelling at the waiter. DONT YOU SPEAK AMERICAN?
From that point on I told people I was from canada, lol.

Someone working at the Quai d'Orsay museum shop once told a story about an American tourist pointing at a reproduction of one of the museum's many Picasso paintings from his "blue period", asking if they also had it in pink...

For Europeans, this is typical of American ignorance. To me it is typical of how Americans believe everything is possible.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

The Brits are the most hated tourists as rated by EU members.

The big kicker is all the Bucks and Hens parties that now want to fly off to the EU for the weekend out of UK ports. Apparently this isn't something the Europeans understand.

Oh but we DO understand those parties. However, in some parts of northeastern Italy it is bad manners to throw empty beer bottles at fivehundred-year-old stained glass church windows, you see. Especially, in fact, during a wedding or funeral.

 

[unloadonme]

Is this what passes for good manners in Italy then?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWgHDPxPf_A&feature=fvst[/ame]

 

[palemale]

I live in NYC, and can't say I've ever encountered rude tourists, either American or foreign. While traveling in Europe, the most obnoxious tourists I've encountered have been Germans. Rude, pushing and arrogant. I have always found British tourists to be polite and respectful, except for the drunken boors. So I guess for the Brits, their bad reputation comes from a small segment of their society. Never had any bad vibe from tourists from South America, France, Italy, Spain, Asia. American tourists are often loud and embarrassing (I am American). Everyone mistakes the Canadians for Americans, except for the young Canadians with the Maple Leaf on the backpack. Aussies have been fun and friendly. I got a kick out of the older Belgian couple I met in Europe who told me they visited NYC, and there were no Americans there.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

Americans are loud, polite, helpful and respectful. Which is why they usually get a culture shock among those secretive, rude, indifferent Europeans.

No, they just think they are. They are the ones who are being rude and they don't even know it.
There's nothing secretive about Europeans in Europe, unless you made your mind up you were going to ignore everything they do and say, because you think you know better.

As for their "total lack of cultural insight", that's the best thing about Americans: open eyes and an uncluttered mind, to quote Gandhi.

I wonder what Ghandi said when he found the mind stayed uncluttered.
People with Down Syndrome have their eyes wide open too.

They know what they don't know and are willing to learn and rethink.

...and yet the fact that European restaurants don't normally serve huge hamburgers and diet coke never ceases to be a revelation to them.

Europeans are full of preconceived ideas they are unable to shed. Especially the idea that America can learn more from Europe than Europe from America. We can both learn.

I never said that a country like France -which is one of the mightiest countries in Europe- can hold a candle to the US economically or militarily. That's not the point of this thread. This is about cultural sensibilities of tourists.

 

[Zeno Lorea]

Is this what passes for good manners in Italy then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWgHDPxPf_A&feature=fvst

Nope, this is our textbook example of a rude and corrupt despot. Merkel chose to ignore his behaviour while bringing attention to its awkwardness. Brilliant.

 

[Corny]

I know the sort of people you mean, but I don't think for one minute that the majority of Britons are like that.

Well this is not about the majority. It's about tourists. And it's about the bad tourists - that's usually the one that the people remember

From that point on I told people I was from canada, lol.

Oh I have experienced that very often. Once I met two guys in Düsseldorf once in a pub, and they told everybody they were from canada. We had a similar way home, so later when we were leaving I asked them how it came that they have that very noticeable southern american accent, and don't sound like canadians and all. Well they weren't, they just wanted to escape the prejudices and political discussion (that was shortly after the start of the Afghanistan war .. probably even more understandable, because during that time the former president did make a lot of people dislike america as a nation).

 

[Zeno Lorea]

I never said that a country like France -which is one of the mightiest countries in Europe- can hold a candle to the US economically or militarily. That's not the point of this thread. This is about cultural sensibilities of tourists.

I never talked about economy or war either. Only about the good and bad manners of foreign visitors.

 

[Paul1977]

Having lived in a number of European countries and also for a good while in the USA, I would say that the US American is by far the worst. Apart from the fact that most of them really ARE virtually illiterate, they are also collectively naïve, violent and arrogant.
What always amazes me is the immense difference between them and their neighbours, the Canadians, who are amongst some of the most civilised and sociable people i've ever come across either in their own country or out of it.

 

[Apollo]

Having lived in a number of European countries and also for a good while in the USA, I would say that the US American is by far the worst. Apart from the fact that most of them really ARE virtually illiterate, they are also collectively naïve, violent and arrogant.
What always amazes me is the immense difference between them and their neighbours, the Canadians, who are amongst some of the most civilised and sociable people i've ever come across either in their own country or out of it.

It's amazing how only the Americans who think that Americans are the worst tourists in the world. While Europeans think otherwise.