# tourist hating **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754 "2003-07-24T23:31:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/61 "2003-07-27T00:59:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Audrey Levins \* > **They think that _any employee_ on the Riverwalk is there solely to give them directions and help them out; I’ve had countless numbers of tourists walk into my bar just to get directions to another bar. Or walk into my restaurant just to get directions to another restaurant. I used to work at a steakhouse, and people would walk in and ask for directions to other steakhouses. I’m sorry, but that’s intensely rude. Particularly when it isn’t, “I’m sorry to bother you, but would you mind telling me where X is?” Nope, it’s "I’m late for a dinner appointment at X; _where is it?_"** I don’t see any problem with this at all. Just because you’re employed means no one’s allowed to ask you directions? A bar I used to hang out at was down the block from a much more popular bar, and people would come in all the time to ask for the other bar. I thought it was kind of funny, but no one else thought it was interesting enough to even remark on. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/62 "2003-07-27T01:09:23Z")
I gotta admit - I am hatin’ on tourists. They just BLOCK my valuable path - especially where I work. I wanna clip 'em upside their head. Tourists are the ones looking up. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/63 "2003-07-27T04:02:20Z")
**Chula** and **missbunny** what I had in mind when I posted is a bit of humor relating to being a tourist out of the country for the first time. Really, I wasn’t nearly as bad as most Americans I saw in Europe, you could pick them out a mile away. The experiences I related were all taken with a smile on my face, I wasn’t one of those Americans that thinks he’s in Disneyland when he’s out of the country, or thinks the whole world needs to kiss his feet because he is an American. I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of person that enjoyed my travels overseas immensely and I look forward to going again some day. I guess I wasn’t clear about the tone of my posts, sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/64 "2003-07-27T04:39:03Z")
I grew up in San Francisco and Sonoma County (California wine country). I’ve seen a tourist or two, and they don’t bug me at all. I love to travel and I try to be as polite as possible, but I’m sure I’ve done stuff that bugged a local before. It all balances out. Besides, without the tourists we North Bay Areans wouldn’t be able to giggle at the horribly underdressed and freezing people walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. “We’re in California! Let’s wear shorts and a tank top!” Hahahaha! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/65 "2003-07-27T04:57:03Z")
**Kyla** , I can vouch for that! And the first time I visited the Bay Area, there was a heat wave of 85 F in the valley. I was visiting my friend’s place in Sunnyvale, and we went to the house and he picked a oranv\ge off the tree in the back yard and made orange juice. So conditions corresponded to my stereotype. The next day when we went over the hills to the ocean, I learned very quickly how unusual that was… ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/66 "2003-07-27T07:30:39Z")
I once overheard a tourist in San Francisco say to his companions: “I’m surprised they don’t have more ice cream places here. It gets _hot_ during the summer.” I wonder if they ever figured out why I broke down into hysterics on the spot 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/67 "2003-07-27T10:42:18Z")
Born and raised in Brugge, Belgium. Nice, medieval looking town. Lots of history and culture. Lots of things to see, the canals, the Belfrey, the cathedral and church (with the genuine Michelangelo - mother & child). I could go on. It’s a really beautiful spot. It’s also jampacked with tourists _all the time_. We don’t have a tourist season. My town is a tourist attraction. The influx of visitors never ceases. Which makes it the most expensive town in Belgium, even for the locals. Not nice. The local language is Flemish, or Dutch. Not that many people bother to learn our language, so most people living in Brugge have to be able to speak at least 4 languages (Dutch, French, English, and German). A positive aspect, yes, but it’s also annoying. It’s a lack of respect for us that they don’t even bother to learn how to say “thank you”, or “please”. Prices of real estate are the highest in Belgium, again because of tourism. Which is why i’m not living there. We’ve got horse-drawn carriages. For locals living in Brugge, the noise on the cobblestones from early morning on, is, to say the least, disturbing. I agree that we should cater for tourists, as they bring in the money. It’s something different all together when a whole town is taken over by tourists, and it prevents the locals from going about their business. The whole year around. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/68 "2003-07-27T11:02:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > \*\*Mostly, I never cared for how tourists seemed to have a knack for getting themselves lost, injured, or killed doing something they shouldn’t have done. And of course they rely on local police, fire fighters, and lifeguards to come to their rescue. Every so often you heard of tourists exploring a little too close to the volcanic vents, hiking off trails alone and without cell phones, or swimming on beaches though there were signs warning about the strong currents. \*\* You missed part 2. After they die their families try and sue the state because the signs mentioning the dangers of falling rocks, collapsing rock benches (big recently solidified lava planes that can crumble) or dangerous sea currents weren’t garrish and obtrusive enough. But that’s nothing limited to tourists in Hawaii. But other then that I generally like tourists and look where I live. They’re all around me. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/69 "2003-07-27T11:52:38Z")
**Declan** asked: > [@](#): > > Their licience plates dont start with either the letter O or Q do they ? Quite often they do, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/70 "2003-07-27T12:10:00Z")
Tourists in San Francisco are fun, in a mean-spirited sort of way. Seemingly 80+% automatically correlate California with “hot and sunny”. Unfortunately for them, this is not usually the San Francisco reality ( it _is_ the reality elsewhere in the Bay Area, but then the BA is bizarre in its profusion of distinct microclimates - driving a couple of miles can mean a 25 degree temperture shift ). So you invariably have large numbers of tourists milling around in prime tourist spots, even in the summer, freezing their asses off while wearing shorts ( undoubtedly the only thing they packed ) in the fog. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![parlo\_americano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@parlo\_americano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parlo_americano)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/71 "2003-07-27T13:51:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Elysian \* > \*\* They are destroying the environment. > > Let me elaborate on this last point. Tucson especially is a delicate environment, where the ecosystem is balanced precariously on the brink of destruction. We **don’t have water**. Yet these IDIOTS expect us to pour millions of gallons of water over their stupid useless golf courses every summer, and they expect to grow their own grass on their condo’s lawn. The water situation is truly terrible. The mesquite are dying all over the town because their roots can’t reach the water in a drying aquifier. > > Swarms of people descend from everywhere in the north to little vulnerable Tucson, and suck the water out of her like so many pleasure-seeking vampires. They take cacti home with them in cute little pots and gush about how much they like it there, it’s so beautiful! > \*\* That’s a really important point. So many people expect to go somewhere and have it exactly like home. They have grass in minnesota and so there’s no reason it shouldn’t grow in Tuscon. I don’t understand why people want to travel for hours to a place where they know nothing about, have no idea what the locals could be doing there other than being part of their vacation, and where they want to leave with a piece of it kitsch or vital peices of the environment. ---
**Author:** ![parlo\_americano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@parlo\_americano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parlo_americano)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/72 "2003-07-27T14:05:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ccwaterback \* > \*\ ***Chula** and **missbunny** what I had in mind when I posted is a bit of humor relating to being a tourist out of the country for the first time. Really, I wasn’t nearly as bad as most Americans I saw in Europe, you could pick them out a mile away. The experiences I related were all taken with a smile on my face, I wasn’t one of those Americans that thinks he’s in Disneyland when he’s out of the country, or thinks the whole world needs to kiss his feet because he is an American. I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of person that enjoyed my travels overseas immensely and I look forward to going again some day. > > I guess I wasn’t clear about the tone of my posts, sorry about that. \*\* Okay that’s nice that you weren’t “as bad” as the other tourists, but what’s with this comment about it not being Disneyland? Does that mean you’re a jerk to the poor kid behind the counter because it’s only Disneyland? I just wanted to point that out because even though we think we are bending over backwards to be polite and open to new things, doesn’t mean that the other person sees it that way. It’s nobody’s great honor to serve you. It could really, truly “be a pleasure serving you” if you treat them with respect and appreciate the work they are doing for you. You not trying to understand them is disrespectful. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/73 "2003-07-27T14:53:16Z")
I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate tourists, but one of the things that drove me nuts about living in a tourist town (Williamsburg, VA) was that so many people seemed to think it was OK to make random conversational remarks to total strangers on the street. Now, I have no problem with legitimate questions, like asking somebody for directions or the time. I’m talking about people who would address some completely mundane observation to me when they didn’t know me from Eve, without so much as an “Excuse me,” and then repeat their remark at top volume if I didn’t come up with a response quickly enough. Maybe it’s a regional thing, and this _is_ acceptable wherever they come from, or maybe they just lose their sense of personal boundaries when they go on vacation. Regardless, it’s annoying. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754/74 "2003-07-28T16:15:36Z")
At least in Williamsburg (and some of these places, I’m sure), the tourists are contained. They won’t go more than 20 feet away from the officially sanctioned “historical area” except to go to Applebee’s or one of the 20 other chain restaurants. When I lived in W’burg, it mean I could, for example, go to some fine eateries less than a mile from downtown and be undisturbed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tourist-hating/190754.md?page=3)