# How do tourists annoy you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320 "2010-07-28T16:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/1 "2010-07-28T16:10:48Z")
Inspired by this thread, though it did turn into a trainwreck with appalling swiftness. 🙂 [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12736551&posted=1#post12736551](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12736551&posted=1#post12736551) Do you live in a major tourist destination? And if so, what do tourists do that annoys you? I’m curious about what peeves the folks in other major tourist centers (I’m in DC), and I figure this thread might even be useful - hey, I’ll know not to do these things if I’m ever in your neck of the woods. I’ll kick this off by referencing my post in the other thread: > [@](#): > > I don’t mind tourists that much, but I wish they’d put more effort into learning how the city works before they visit. Sometimes, it seems like they don’t even try. For example - when I go to NYC, I make darned sure I’ve got a subway map loaded on my iphone, and I try to plan out my subway trips before I enter the system. I load a lot of cash on my metro card (sorry, I forget what you call it), in order to ensure that I’m not fumbling around in line. And perhaps most important, I _move_ when I’m on the escalator, or in a crowd. > > I’m sure I still manage to annoy the locals, but at least I’m trying. Tourists in DC often seem not to try at all. Case in point: they love trying to load the _absolute minimum_ on their farecards for any given Metro trip. They can do that, because every Metro station has lengthy tables listing the fares from your station to any other, at both rush hour and non-peak times. But it takes time to find the fare on the list - and once you succeed, of course you then need to get _back_ in line once you’ve exhausted your farecard in order to buy another. > > This is how tourists save a few bucks on family vacations that surely run into the many hundreds of dollars, when they could save themselves (and the rest of us) so much time and aggravation by simply tossing $20 or $30 on their farecards at a go. That’s plenty to get you anywhere you’re likely to go on a weekend trip. For that matter, I think Metro even sells unlimited travel weekend passes for precisely that purpose. > > But tourists hate to do that. Instead, they spend minutes at a time trying to puzzle out the very lowest fare they can pay, and buy tickets for each and every trip on an as-needed basis. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/2 "2010-07-28T16:15:35Z")
Tourists are annoying as shit. Thankfully, I left LA for a vast, frigid shithole that nobody bothers to visit. They’re slow, chronically confused, stop in the middle of busy sidewalks to wade through their fanny packs to wind up their disposable camera so that they may photographs the goings on of a real life big city. Outta my way, jerks, I have places to go. Of course, those are only the obvious ones. I’m sure I’ve sat next to many a tourist on the train, or passed them by on the street, without noticing because they weren’t engaged in stereotypical touristy behaviors. I guess that’s what we’re talking about here, though, right? The stereotypical ones? Because I don’t care if you’re just visiting, walk at a normal pace, and have figured out the miracles of transportation like everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/3 "2010-07-28T16:18:54Z")
NYC-er here. Dear Tourists, if you’re taking a picture in the middle of a crowded public area, don’t get offended and yell if someone walks between you and the subject of your photographic desire. First, you’re using a digital camera. Just push the damn button again. It’s not like you’re wasting film. Second, not everyone on the sidewalk has the time to wait patiently off to the sides as you frame the perfect shot, adjust your settings, adjust your settings some more, pull out the camera manual, and then, **finally** , take your picture. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/4 "2010-07-28T16:50:20Z")
Chicago tourists at the train station: Hi, I like tourists, really. I also think it’s neat that you’re choosing Amtrak to travel the country. However, for the love of all that’s good and holy, please do not stop immediately at the top of the escalator. Yes, I know there’s a lot of cross-traffic. See, you’ve hit rush hour, and those are Chicago workers eager to get back to their homes after a long day at work. Anyway, the problem with stopping at the top of the escalator? Yeah, see, I’m another worker who’d really like to get home, except you’ve stopped in my path with your luggage, and the escalator is propelling me smack into you. So **move it** before I feel compelled to plow straight through you and undoubtedly give you the impression that I’m a rude local for not wanting to trip on the still-moving escalator stairs and probably hurt myself pretty badly. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/5 "2010-07-28T16:56:43Z")
How do tourists annoy me? …by stating that they are not tourists and are not into all of that “touristy” sh\*t. Backpackers are really bad for that. \*disclosure…I’ve done my fair-share of backpacking ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/6 "2010-07-28T16:56:49Z")
In Arizona Visitors in RVs, please learn that we have a state law that requires you to pull over and let people pass you when they are backing up behind you on a two-lane road (so long as it’s permitted and safe to do so). We have many mountain roads that twist and turn and until the highway department gets around to making them all flat and level (damn their hides) please realize that you aren’t moving near the speed limit but the rest of us would like to do so. In normal life I like tourists and delight in sharing interesting things about this place. On the highway, behind them, especially if on the motorcycle, I might get cranky. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/7 "2010-07-28T16:57:29Z")
What few tourist we get out here in the Hinterlands generally make the mistake of expressing the opinion that rural, small town life in one of the “flyover” states consists entirely of cow tipping, shooting at road signs and cruising past the Dairy Queen. It’s true but you still shouldn’t say it. Maybe now that the Huskers have joined the Big 10 and we’ll get the chance to stomp Michigan into the turf on a regular basis, we can start to shake some of that. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/8 "2010-07-28T17:00:53Z")
Where I live has a picturesque, much visited old town but I cannot single out tourists for much of the annoying behaviour - most of what annoys me is that I want o go from A to B and there are a lot of able-bodied people who simply don’t get a move on, in my way. Most of them locals, I don’t doubt. The annoying touristy behaviour that I observe almost everywhere concerns taking photographs. The person taking the photograph being wilfully slow and stupid about it, and the persons being photographed chattering with each other while slowly arranging themselves into a group. In both cases, instead of efficiently attending to the business of photographing and posing. Any problems with framing and the best posing can be quickly solved by taking multiple shots - megabytes are cheap, for God’s sake! Also annoying: both photographer and photographee with their backs to walls, i.e. you cannot pass behind either of them. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/9 "2010-07-28T17:14:54Z")
I’m in DC as well. My biggest unmentioned peeve is the tour buses. I hate getting stuck behind one of them in Old Town Alexandria or Capitol Hill. The streets are narrow and weren’t designed for cars let alone those monstrosities. Just to add insult to injury they will stop in the street and block traffic unless you can get around them. Luckily, both places have a grid system of streets so I can just make a turn and get away from them. With the exception of the tour buses, I don’t mind the tourist. They tend to stay near the Mall, and I can avoid going through there most of time. We just avoid the museums in the summer and visit in the winter. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/10 "2010-07-28T17:15:58Z")
My hovercraft is full of eels? \ ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/11 "2010-07-28T17:25:15Z")
I, like most in Las Vegas, love tourists - it is our bread and butter for many who live here and the more the better. Actually, tourism numbers are not horrible even with this economy. (People don’t gamble as much, but they keep coming in droves!) That said, we are lucky that 99.99% of all tourists stay on The Strip or Downtown - where locals rarely go. I would venture to guess few locals run into to tourists at all, unless they work in those locations. I do admit you would often see drivers with rental cars coming from the airport who had no clue - either they were bad drivers at home as well, or just really, really nervous about driving on a freeway in a large city. But if you have to drive in that area, you get used to it quickly and are prepared for idiots driving 35 MPH as they enter the freeway and have blinkers going in all directions as they frantically look up, hoping to see something that will point them to their hotel. My guess is that many are also coping with a minimal understanding of English. On those rare occasions where I do wander The Strip with friends or out-of-town visitors, it is quite easy to create a long lists of complaints - but hey, if I don’t like hanging around tourists, then I shouldn’t be going there! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/12 "2010-07-28T17:27:49Z")
I used to work at the Smithsonian on the National Mall. My office was in the old Arts and Industries building right next to the Castle. (Imagine having your regular work office in the middle of Disneyland.) It wasn’t too bad in the winter, but during the summer everyplace in the vicinity was swarming with tour-ons (rhymes with “morons”; this signifies the more oblivious tourists we’re talking about, not the well-prepared ones who know where they’re going and what they’re doing, who I don’t mind). The most annoying thing is that they’re all moving _slowly_ and \*in random directions. \*Crowds on the sidewalks in New York aren’t so bad because most people know where they are going, and are hustling along in a particular direction. When I had to get from one museum to another for a meeting it was like being in a game of Asteroids, trying to avoid or get around drifting clots of humanity moving in every direction. The question from tourists that always gave me pause (generallly asked at the top of the stairs at the Smithsonian Metro stop) was “Where’s the Smithsonian?” I’d have to explain that just about every building they could see besides the Capitol was part of the Smithsonian, and that they would have to be just a little more specific. You would think they would do at least a little bit of research before their visit. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/13 "2010-07-28T17:31:14Z")
I used to live in Las Vegas. We could quite frequently spot the tourists…they were the ones who were on foot, in the middle of a busy street, looking like they’d never seen a light bulb before. I’ll grant that Las Vegas has some pretty uncommon features (including the slots in the laundromats), but most tourists seemed to have switched their brains off when they got into Vegas. Also, not everyone in a particular town/area has the same tastes, or is there to work for the primary industry. I live in Fort Worth now, and while I love it, I don’t like country music and I don’t like football. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/14 "2010-07-28T17:32:13Z")
Yes, Santa Barbara has ocean on the one side and mountains on the other. They are both really pretty, that does not mean you need to drive slow as hell to look at them. I have places to go, like school or work, I don’t want to be stuck behind you while you look at things when you’re supposed to be driving. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/15 "2010-07-28T17:33:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I used to work at the Smithsonian on the National Mall. Oh. My. God. How could you manage to go home after work? I think that I’d just make arrangements with a food delivery service, and just live there. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/16 "2010-07-28T17:43:36Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Oh. My. God. How could you manage to go home after work? I think that I’d just make arrangements with a food delivery service, and just live there. I used to commute by Metro to the Dupont Circle station. While not a lot of fun, it wasn’t nearly as bestial as commuting from the Bronx to Manhattan by subway used to be when I lived in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/17 "2010-07-28T17:51:01Z")
I’m thinking that a lot of the tourist behavior that drives me batty isn’t from tourists per se, but from clueless people who happen to be tourists. The person who stops at the top of the escalator in Chicago? That’s the same guy in Breaux Bridge, LA that who chats with his friends in the middle of the aisle at WalMart. The lady who stops on a busy sidewalk every 5 seconds to look at the tall buildings? That’s the same woman in Enid, OK driving 35 mph with her blinker on. The person who scowls at you for blocking her photograph in front of a busy office building? That’s the same self-entitled jerk in Pecos, TX who talks on his cell phone while in line at the local Dairy Freeze. And I agree with other here: I’ve never understood why you’d spend time and money to visit a place and not do just a little basic research before you went there. I guess these are the same people who visit Mexico without learning to say Please and Thank You in Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/18 "2010-07-28T18:11:38Z")
Another native DC person here, and I can pretty much echo all of the complaints I’ve seen so far. This is made worse by the fact that I work very close to the mall so I have no real way of avoiding the throngs of clueless tourists. Recently there was an column printed in the Washington Post that I think should be required reading for everyone coming to DC. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/18/AR2010071802736.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/18/AR2010071802736.html) > [@](#): > > Hello! If you are reading this column, it’s because you’re a tourist visiting Washington. > > Your hotel concierge may have handed this to you. Or your cabdriver. Or perhaps it was a resident of Washington, who encountered you on our acclaimed (although, frankly, not quite as acclaimed as it used to be) Metro system and, concerned for your well-being, thrust it into your hands. > > So, what’s this all about? Let’s just consider it some friendly advice designed to make your stay in Washington more enjoyable – for us. It’s a little something I call “Rules for a Tourist in Washington, D.C.” > > 1. Stand to the right. Even though it doesn’t always seem like it, Washington is part of the United States of America. And in the United States, we drive on the right and pass on the left. That’s an easy way to remember what to do on the escalators of our Metro system. Do not clog the escalator like a blood clot in an artery. Stand to the right so we may carefully climb past you. Hey, we have a train to catch! > > 2. Get out of the way. The rules of physics apply as inexorably in Washington as they do where you come from. That means two objects may not occupy the same space simultaneously. When the escalator deposits you on the platform, please move aside so that others may complete their escalator ride. > > 3. Let people off the train before boarding. When the train arrives and the doors open, there will probably be people on it who want to get off. Let them. You may then board. But don’t tarry just inside the door. Keep moving. This makes room for others. > > 4. The train is not a piece of gymnastics apparatus. Yes, those silver poles look like something from the Summer Olympics, but they are not to play with. They are to hold on to. Resist the temptation to entertain your buddies by seeing how many chin-ups you can do. Do not allow your child to spin on them, no matter how cute you might think it looks. > > 5. Single file, please! Our sidewalks might seem wide, but, frankly, we’ve noticed that you’re kind of on the wide side, too. And when five or six of you line up side by side you resemble a phalanx, an impenetrable Macedonian battle formation. We can’t get past you on the way to our meeting with the president or, more likely, to the Starbucks. > > 6. Keep it moving. Perhaps you come from a part of our great nation that moves at a slower pace. We don’t do that here. The wheels of commerce and government turn constantly. We have places to go, people to see, taxes to raise, coffee to drink. Bills don’t turn into laws by themselves, ya know! We don’t expect you to be as hyperactive – after all, you’re on vacation. We only ask that you not stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk. If you must caucus with your fellow touristi, please move to the side so we can get past you. > > 7. Drive carefully. There might come a day when we all laugh about how you can’t negotiate a traffic circle. Or how one-way streets flummox you. Or how you stop in the middle of the street to look at your map or snap a photo of the Lincoln Memorial. But that day isn’t here yet. If you think you might be a hazard to others, consider parking your car and walking. > > 8. Dress appropriately. We know it’s hot here in the summer. We understand why the ladies among you might be tempted to wear a belly-revealing halter with spaghetti straps and cotton shorts that say “CHEER” across the butt and the gentlemen a mesh tank top, cutoffs and flip-flops. But, please, that is inappropriate attire for many of Washington’s attractions: Arlington National Cemetery, the Senate and House, our war memorials. Show some respect. > > 9. Enjoy your stay. I mean it. You could have chosen to go anywhere, and you came here. Thank you. (And if you have suggestions on how we can improve your stay, let me know: [http://kellyj@washpost.com](http://kellyj@washpost.com).) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/19 "2010-07-28T18:21:16Z")
I’ve lived in Florida and Arizona so I’m familiar with snowbirds. The #1 complaint is the, “We don’t do it like that in \.” In Phoenix, I hate the camera toting people blocking the hiking trail while they take pictures. They’ll always pick the narrowest part of the trail to stop and take pictures of them in front of a cactus. I’m off on Wednesdays, so I like to go grocery shopping that day. But, Wednesday is senior day so I can’t go during the winter. It is easier to pass a constitutional amendment than for the elderly to pick a loaf of bread to buy! Of course, the decision has to be preceded by an hour of whining about the price. The Arizona Cardinals aren’t a joke anymore. Still, way too many sports bars have the Packers, Bears, and Vikings on and not the Cardinals. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320/20 "2010-07-28T18:23:40Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > I’m thinking that a lot of the tourist behavior that drives me batty isn’t from tourists per se, but from clueless people who happen to be tourists. The person who stops at the top of the escalator in Chicago? That’s the same guy in Breaux Bridge, LA that who chats with his friends in the middle of the aisle at WalMart. The lady who stops on a busy sidewalk every 5 seconds to look at the tall buildings? That’s the same woman in Enid, OK driving 35 mph with her blinker on. The person who scowls at you for blocking her photograph in front of a busy office building? That’s the same self-entitled jerk in Pecos, TX who talks on his cell phone while in line at the local Dairy Freeze. > > And I agree with other here: I’ve never understood why you’d spend time and money to visit a place and not do just a little basic research before you went there. I guess these are the same people who visit Mexico without learning to say Please and Thank You in Spanish. This is it exactly for me. Whether or not you’re a tourist, if you’re in a 5000-square acre park with bicycle/walking/running/skating/dog walking/stroller pushing paths, it’s a good idea to step off the trail to look around at the scenery. Really, the trails take up a very small percentage of the park’s acreage; please leave them to people and things that are actually moving. Meanwhile you can admire the scenery from the very pleasant grassy areas. Likewise for sidewalks - please step to the side rather than stopping abruptly in your tracks to look at the view of whatever. I also agree with the concept of preparation. Chartering a sailboat on San Francisco Bay and showing up wearing high-heels, a tank top and carrying a purse with a small dog in it is not the best idea. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-tourists-annoy-you/548320.md?page=2)