35 Locals Open Up About Which Weird Habits Of Tourists Enrage Them The Most

In the first half of the 19th century, British Thomas Cook arranged the first organized tourist trip to a neighboring town, eventually becoming the founder of the world’s first travel company. Since then, tourism has become incredibly popular, and for many countries, it’s literally the main source of their budget income.

But in recent years (and global tourism volumes have recently recovered to pre-COVID levels), an opposed trend - restricting tourism - has become increasingly popular. Spain, Italy, and France, for example, are now actively debating legislation restricting mass tourist arrivals. Why is this actually happening?

First, the problem is that the infrastructure of many countries is completely unsuitable for accommodating thousands of people, as they are moved from place to place within a matter of days. After all, many houses in Venice or Barcelona were built thousands of years before the very concept of Airbnb even emerged, and these ancient architectural masterpieces simply can’t withstand the influx of tourists.

Second, the very behavior of people in other countries often doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Even if they always try to be restrained and polite, the cultural standards and traditions of different countries sometimes clash, and what is perfectly normal in one country can be absolutely irritating in another.

Want a personal example? Okay, even if you don’t want to - here it is. So, I’ve lived my whole life in a fairly large seaside city with numerous old architectural monuments in the historic center, and in the summer, I was always irritated by tourists who walked from the city beaches to their hotels, literally in swimsuits and flip-flops, without even bothering to put on some clothes.

No, to them it seemed perfectly reasonable - after all, many hotels are a couple of dozen minutes’ walk from the beaches - but to me, it always seemed incredibly disrespectful. Why? I don’t actually know. However, for me, it never went beyond a couple of angry Facebook posts.

Well, for example, the residents of Venice, irritated by the “inappropriate” behavior of many tourists, have been actively lobbying for increasingly stricter rules of conduct for tourists in their city for decades now. They’re probably right, after all, what do you think?

A separate story concerns the different cultural norms in restaurants. For some, loud conversations at the table are complete nonsense, while others can’t imagine a good meal without boisterous convo. In some cultures, burping after a meal is considered a sign of respect for the host and the chef, while in others, it seems completely gross.

Finally, attitudes vary widely even regarding something as simple as tipping. While in the US or Canada it’s a must and literally expected of every customer, in Japan or Korea, for example, leaving a tip can even provoke an awkward situation for both the customer and the staff.

In any case, the best rule when traveling to another country for the first time is to always learn as much as possible about the local traditions. Or at least, even if you’ve gotten yourself into trouble with some “inappropriate” deed, don’t insist that this is the only way to do it!

Well, we’re not even mentioning here some outright violations of behavior rules - like what happened, for example, a couple of years ago in Yellowstone Park, where some random guy was spotted walking across a protected off-limits zone in his flip-flops, apparently collecting hats that had fallen from visitors’ heads into the off-limits area, and thus causing obvious environmental damage.

However, if you remember a similar example of how tourists’ behavior irritated you in your home country, or if you yourself have somehow gotten into trouble while abroad, why not share your experience in the comments? Perhaps your story will serve as a valuable warning to someone… or just a good laugh - why not after all?