Locals From 14 Countries Reveal The Most Annoying Things Tourists Do

If you've ever lived somewhere where a lot of tourists visit, then you know how annoying they can be when they don't respect your local customs and habits. Travel and Leisure talked to people from 14 different countries and asked them what the most annoying thing tourists do when visiting. 

One Italian, for example, complained that "Foreigners are pretty convinced that Italy is a lovely land without laws [...] and they think they can do everything they want. Well, let me tell you a tiny little thing: YOU CAN'T. You can't have a bath in the Trevi Fountain. You can't pee in the streets in the middle of the night. You can't climb the several statues that adorn our historic centres (they were made by Bernini, Canova or Michelangelo you fools, have some respect for our geniuses!)."

A common complaint by people across the globe is about travelers who treat the local poor like tourist attractions to be photographed and gawked at. You can read the rest of the comments over at Travel and Leisure.


While I have some sympathy to the complaints, as a tourist to more than twenty countries, I must point out that tourists go to tourist traps and pump a lot of cash into the local economy. The locals are just being obnoxious or worse xenophobic and racist. I've seen how some locals treat Japanese tourists in Europe. Japanese tourists are very polite if a bit eccentric. They don't deserve the racist treatment that they've been subjected to.

I myself have been treated badly by locals in Paris, London, and Hong Kong. The mere fact that being a tourist is enough to elicit bad behavior from bad people. The best locals are from Japan and Korea. Very accommodating and warm to visitors. Too bad they can barely speak English or I would go back there more often.
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