Tourist numbers in Europe this summer returned to almost pre-Covid levels. It’s undeniable that travel is in demand right now, but it’s also revealing that the two to three year hiatus of not being able to travel abroad has equated to many forgetting how to be respectful tourists. This northern hemisphere summer was dubbed as the ‘summer of bad tourists’. From carving initials in ancient sites to defacing temples, it’s been hard to watch common decency and respect being left at home. And while not all cases are as extreme, simple things like not using manners or refusing to tip can leave locals resenting tourists. So, if you’ve ever wondered ‘am I a bad tourist’, here are the signs that point to yes.
Now, we’re not saying you have to ask every person in your landscape shot to move out of the way. But if you’d like to take a profile shot of a local then you need to ask for permission, rather than assuming they will be ok with it. They are people, not props.
In Australia, tipping is not mandatory. But in other countries it is. It’s usually built into the waiters wage and directly impacts their pay cheque. It’s important that tourists respect what the minimum percentage of the total bill is considered to be a tip in the country they are in and match it or better it.
This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many tourists leave ice cream wrappers and empty plastic bottles on the beach. It’s never ok to litter, whether at home or travelling abroad.
Especially late at night. When you’re having a good time with friends while holidaying it’s easy to forget that not everyone around you is on holiday. Locals that live in tourist hotspots should not have to listen to obnoxious shouting at all hours of the night.
We all saw the stories of the teen tourist carving their name in the Toshodaiji Kondo temple in Nara and the English tourist etching their name in the Colosseum. Please, for the love of history stop doing this. These sites have been carefully preserved for centuries with countries pouring millions of dollars into restoring them so that locals and tourists alike can enjoy them. Nobody wants to see your initials etched in a love heart with the initials of your European fling on an ancient site.
Yes, we’re probably all a little guilty of this and we need to do better. We know you want to capture the perfect shot in front of the Trevi Fountain for IG, but so do thousands of other people. After a minute (we’re being generous here), time’s up. Move along and let someone else shoot their shot. Also, if you ask a stranger to take a photo of you and they take just one, do not ask them to take more. They’re holidaying, they don’t have time to be your personal photographer.
There is no need to ever take an image in a public space in the buff. Whether it be atop a mountain or, even worse, in a religious or sacred site, there’s no excuse for it. It’s disrespectful to fellow tourists and more importantly to the locals. Keep it in your pants, people.
While no one ever expects a tourist to learn a language for a couple weeks abroad, a quick Google will pull up translations of simple greetings like ‘hello, goodbye, please, thank you’ in a matter of seconds. Locals will appreciate the effort, plus it’s fun to speak a different language.
No, you can’t enter another country and expect to be fed the food you have back home. If you’re a picky eater it won’t hurt to have some pre-bought snacks in your bag for emergency situations. But giving different food a try is all part of the travelling experience, tasting new flavours and food is our favourite part. This obviously excludes people with allergies and intolerances.
Unless you have someone filming you and can nail it one take, it’s a no from us. Firstly, it’s rude to take up valuable photo-op real estate in front of landmarks for more than one take. Secondly, if you’ve set up a stand to record you, don’t get upset when people ruin your video by walking in front of the camera. And lastly, who needs witnesses to messing up dance routines over and over again. Save it for your living room.
Elephant riding in Thailand? Not ok. Help an animal sanctuary bath an elephant in Thailand? Go for it! We’re not saying you can’t get up close and personal to native wildlife, you definitely can, but in an ethical way. With tourists becoming more aware and unaccepting of animal cruelty, many tour operators are creating ethical experiences for tourists to partake in so we can have the best of both worlds.
