This guest post is by Christopher Elliott, a consumer advocate and author
of “How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler”
(National Geographic). This column originally appeared in USA Today.
Tourists can be absent-minded and obnoxious, and
they often leave their common sense at home.
How annoying are travelers? A recent survey by
the online travel agency Agoda breaks it down by behavior:
- Noisy travelers (57%)
- Travelers glued to their devices (47%)
- Those insensitive to cultural nuances (46%)
Why are travelers so loud? Yes, there's the joy
of discovery. You can't help but gasp the first time you stand at the South Rim
of the Grand Canyon and stare into the abyss. Or when you catch a glimpse of
the Alps, the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal.
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| Headphones or ear buds can signal that you don't want to talk at the moment. |
But there's more going on here. It feels almost
as if everyone's hearing aid has a low battery, and they're yelling at each
other. It's a uniquely touristy behavior, for which there's no rational
explanation.
And it's also the meaningless and seemingly
endless dialogue.
"The chatter could be talking a lot because
of nerves," explains Jacquelyn Youst, founder of the Pennsylvania Academy
of Protocol, an etiquette school. "That's particularly true on planes,
where you could be seated next to a nervous traveler."
Her advice: "If you are sitting next to a
chatty traveler, put in your earbuds." This is the universal sign for 'I
do not want to be disturbed.'"
And if you're not on a plane, then move away
from the disturbance.
Power down that phone
 |
| Taking pictures with a smartphone is common, but sometimes just look and enjoy the scenery. |
On vacation, device addiction is an
embarrassment. I've seen kids staring almost catatonically at their screens at
America's favorite tourist attractions, from the Statue of Liberty to the
beaches of Santa Monica, California.
Learn the language, s'il vous plaît
Taking the time to learn even a few words in the
local language can go a long way when you're traveling to change you from a
walking stereotype into a welcome guest. Consider Arlene Englander's experience
when she visited Germany with her husband.
"We'd both listened to some Pimsleur CDs
from the library for an hour a night for three weeks, so we could actually have
brief conversations in the language," says Englander, a clinical social
worker from North Palm Beach, Florida. "I've never seen people so thrilled
by our efforts as the Germans were."
On the flip side, you can easily offend someone
if you insist on speaking English all the time. It's difficult to understand
how off-putting an "English-only" attitude can be until you master a
second language – and hear what they say about you behind your back (falsely
believing that you can't understand them).
The fix: In the run-up to your trip, devote a
few minutes a few times per week to an online language learning program like
Babbel, Duolingo, Memrise, Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone. Try any of them and
you'll find language instruction has come a long way from the days of reciting
verb conjugations. These apps use different types of quizzes to teach you basic
vocabulary and sentence structure. Odds are at least one will suit your
learning style.
Avoiding linguistic faux pas can not only make
you a more welcome traveler but also increase your enjoyment of the places you
visit.
Break these other bad travel habits
Consider curbing these patterns while you're at
it:
Failing to plan: Tourists are often disorganized. "A checklist is a simple
way to save a ton of mental energy – and ensure you never forget
anything," says Jimmy Hayes, a frequent traveler who co-founded Minaal, a
bag and accessories company. He recommends using project management software
like Trello or Asana to build a packing checklist. "You can even build
multiple checklists, based on destination or climate," he adds.
Not reading the instructions: That can lead to serious consequences. Consider what happened to
Paul Warren, who runs an e-commerce business in Redington Beach, Florida,
during a trip to France. When he needed to refill his rental car, he didn't pay
attention to the fuel type. "I put the wrong grade of fuel in the car at
the gas station, just before getting on a major toll road," he recalls.
The engine sputtered and stopped shortly afterward. (Tip: Use Google Lens to
translate text you don't understand without having to type it in.)
Limiting yourself to tourist traps: Why does everyone flock to the same attractions? This may be the
single most annoying thing travelers do. They read the same online reviews,
crowd into the same restaurants, visit the same attractions. But just a little
research online or at your local library will reveal there's more to see out
there. Much more.
Photos from free sources
Photos from free sources
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