tourist hating

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#21

Tourists are fond of doing really annoying stuff. Examples.

Tourist goes into the subway. Tourist, not being very familiar with the subway system (New York’s is very huge and complex, after all) decides to check his map. He does this, of course, by immediately and suddenly stopping at the very top of an extremely long flight of stairs, not realizing that there are about 500 people two inches behind him who now have to avoid pushing his sorry ass down into the netherworld.

Tourists like to walk on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, so do many natives who have to get places. Tourists, though, act as if they’ve never seen a tall building, hot-dog stand or bum in their entire lives. So they walk like fucking snails, while we important people have to weave back and forth through the slow-moving throngs in order to get anywhere.

Tourists ask stupid questions. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m happy to give directions on the street or the subway to anyone if they are trying to get somewhere, but what the hell am I supposed to say to someone who asks “So does this subway connect to Boston’s subway?” in all deliberate seriousness?

If they’d just stay the hell out of my way and continue to pump billions of dollars of money into the local economy without annoying me, I’d be a happier man.

#22

I hate Tourists who don’t learn ANY of the local language prior or during travels

They use the “Say the same thing twice just louder” method:

<stage whisper>"Now John, I don’t think he speaks English… "

<outside voice>“COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE US DIRECTIONS TO THE CASTLE? DIRECTIONS. DUH-REC-SHUNS.”

<normal voice> Hmmm he doesn’t know how to get to the castle.

Like they’re even going to understand the answer if it’s not in English. Move on, look at a map, or get a tour guide.

This could all have been avoided if beforehand they had looked up the word for Castle and the word for where.
Wo Schloss? Donde?/Dove?/Ou?
Either say it or point to it on a piece of paper. Then the person can point you in the right direction.

Words tourists should know if they are travelling in a country with another language

I would like…
Please
May I
Thank you
Where
Numbers 0-10
ticket
Yes
No
Doctor
And the word for at least one foodstuff they would eat.
That’s basically what you need to walk around a foreign city.

Americans say the french are rude but I’ve always met very helpful people. I try speaking French slowly focussing on pronouncing the important words and they listen and answer using handgestures and speaking slowly. It’s obvious I’m trying to communicate instead of shouting a language at them they don’t understand.

#23

There’s a problem with this. Have you ever worked in retail? Lots and lots of people acting stupid, treating you rudely, and generally behaving as though your only purpose were to cater to their every whim, all because “I’m the customer and I pay your salary.” Now imagine having to deal with that all day, everywhere you go, and you’ll see that ‘they deserve more respect because they contribute a lot to the economy’ isn’t going to be met with much enthusiasm from the folks who live in tourist destinations.

And I personally get ticked off by them for the same reasons as Space Vampire. Nothing like trying to fight the “all foreigners are rude, noisy, obnoxious, etc.” stereotype after a pack of tourists who fit it to a T have just stampeded by.

#24

er pronounce Hawaiian (or Japanese, or Chinese, or…) names. That made giving directions a pain. And tryi

#25

Holy crap. How the hell did that happen?

Phooey. Here’s what I wrote:

I’m from Hawaii. I don’t hate tourists. But some things they did bothered me.

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.

Granted, some residents are stupid enough to do the same things, but more often it was a tourist who decided to test how quickly a hammerhead shark reacts to being poked with a sharp stick.

The rest of the list is pretty stupid and petty: I didn’t care for how tourists tended to meander slowly and stand in the middle of walkways as they decided what to do next. I didn’t care for how tourists seemed compelled to wear their most garish, outlandish clothing, as though they thought they’d fit right in in Hawaii with their lime green and orange floral print shirts and straw hats. I didn’t care for how they could never pronounce Hawaiian (or Japanese, or Chinese, or…) names. That made giving directions a pain. And trying to give directions to a person whose map has a lot of pictures but only six streets for the entire island wasn’t much fun, either.

I know other people felt that Hawaii was pimping itself out for tourist dollars-- creating a false but pretty and marketable Hawaiian experience because it needed the money for schools and social programs. I know others objected to Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures being exploited. Some felt that it was wrong to cater so strongly to tourists and place the wants and needs of the residents on the back burner. I personally have minor objections along those lines, but I think those objections are more accurately against tourism rather than tourists.

IMO, most Hawaii people don’t hate tourists. They acknowledge the reliance we have on their dollars, but don’t blame them for any of the state’s financial problems. Most are just as likely to think the thieves who prey on tourists are as horrible as anyone else. And I think on some level they envy tourists and their clear enjoyment of Hawaii as a vacation destination. As residents, it can be difficult to not regard Hawaii as just another ordinary town.

#26

I work in London. Slap bang in the Centre pretty much - Holborn.

For those of you thinking “where the hell is Holborn???” think Covent Garden instead.

Now i’d like to say first off that i have no problem with tourists as people - they are generally pretty friendly and good on them for going abroad and expanding their horizons.

If i notice a lost tourist or if i’m asked a quesiton or asked for directions then i am happy to help and always will - it helps them and i end up happy because i’ve done my “good dead for the day.”

But…

(there’s always a “but” :slight_smile: )

what i can’t stand is exactly what Colibri refered to. This is their failure to realise that London isn’t just a tourist attraction its also a working City.

This means that whilst they may well have all day to wander aimlessly and take their time over things - other people don’t.

I guess what i’m saying is that i don’t hate tourists but i do hate some of the things they do. This includes:

  1. Walking very slowly side-by-side or in big groups down narrow paths.

  2. Stopping randomly and without warning on said paths because they’ve “seen something interesting.”

  3. Taking ages to order food.

  4. Taking ages to get cash out of the cash machine.

  5. standing around in the middle of busy tube stations at rush hour causing mayhem.

ARGH!

#27

Tourists in Florida drive too slowly, complain about the traffic congestion (which they contribute to), complain about the heat, humidity, insect life, lack of regional foods to which they are accustomed, and about the fact that things are not done “the way we do it back in” wherever the hell they are from. Plus, a certain specific group of tourists seem to be convinced that everyone who lives in Florida is somehow a servant and that we should be everlastingly grateful that they deign to honor us with their presence.

#28

Don’t hate tourists, though I am bemused at times at their antics.

One peeve of mine is that here in the DC area, tourists seem to come in busloads, i.e. school tours, senior tours, etc. I have worked near the museums in L’Enfant Plaza, where there are a few restaurants. Invariably, I would go to get lunch on my luxurious 30 minute break, and AN ENTIRE BUSLOAD of tourists would be in line in front of me. Not so much their fault, though, as there aren’t that many restaurants near the mall (well, there are, but not enough that tourists can find/walk to).

#29

When I’m at work, I don’t mind dealing with tourists. But when I get off work, I want to stop dealing with them. I’ll happily answer dumb tourist questions at work, but don’t bug me when I’m not working. I don’t want to give you directions or recommend a good bar. And it’s damn annoying to be stuck driving behind someone who feels the need to look at every single leaf. Yes, they change colors! Yes, they’re beautiful! Now get the lead out!

And as whistlepig pointed out, economics is a big issue. The tourism industry is one of the biggest employers here, but jobs in the tourist industry usually don’t pay well. Job benefits? Hah! Plus, the tourists drive up property values, making affordable housing a real issue.

The thing that annoys me the most is the way our local government bends over backwards to accomodate tourists. The city of Asheville will happily spend thousands of dollars to attract out-of-towners to a downtown festival, while simultaneously cutting funding to local non-profits, refusing to repair city infrastructure or hire more police officers, etc. Locals can feel like second-class citizens. It often feels like our needs come behind the wants of tourists.

#30

I live in Orlando, land of Mickey Mouse, Universal Studios, Sea World and a lot of other tourist attractions.

What i don’t like about tourists is they think EVERYONE IS ON VACATION!! They putz around the roads often stopping in the middle of the road to look at a map. Or sometimes they stop at signs and think it is a picture opportunity just because it says “Welcome To Orlando”. They park in the gas stations and fill their tanks up and instead of moving their car to the store entrance they leave it at the pumps. Then they proceed to the store where they have to buy every souvenier known to man. It’s a friggin 7-11 !!!

I say “If it’s tourist season, why can’t we shoot them?”

#31

I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I am not, nor have I ever been, Amish or Mennonite.

In addition to the things already mentioned - causing congestion, forgetting that not everyone is on vacation, and so on - many of the tourists there are just Not Clear On The Concept. Some seem to believe they are in a place like Colonial Williamsburg, where people are being paid to put on costumes and put on a show for them. Others just don’t grok that some of us folks in ordinary garb are in fact locals - that not everyone who lives there is Amish or Mennonite (or, in fact, that some Mennonites dress in ways that don’t really stand out). Far too many know little of the way of life they’ve come to gawk at - they figured watching Witness was research enough - but by the act of gawking, they are slowly destroying it.

The topper? My mother was actually scolded by a tourist at Kitchen Kettle Village when the tourist found out she was a local (they’d been comiserating about the crowds): “But you could come here any time! Us visitors are only here for a few weeks a year, why don’t you come back later?” Oh, if only it were true that tourist season lasts “a few weeks a year” :rolleyes:

Now, I live in Norway, and if I want to enjoy the beauty of my adopted homeland, I have to share it with the tourists. Some of whom are fantastic people. But I could definitely do without the litterbugs, the people who expect to drive campers large enough to have their own postal code down narrow switchback roads, the stampedes of bus tourists who have only sixty seconds to get a perfect picture of that waterfall and gawd help you if you’re in their way…

#32

Another DC resident here. DC is definitely the destination for field trips and mass tourist busing. I don’t have many complaints about tourists, but they can get irritating.

  1. Don’t freaking stop in the middle of the sidewalk to look at a map while there’s a bunch of people behind you! And don’t take up the whole thing walking 5 abreast at about a half mile and hour.

  2. See that giant sign at the start of the escalator that says “Walk left, stand right?” That’s instructions. Walk left, stand right. Not stand side-by side looking at a map while people who are trying to get to work have to ask you to move. Several times since you have decided to ignore me the first couple of times I politely, say “Excuse me.” Jerks.

That’s about it really. I don’t do the touristy stuff so I don’t really come into contact except for my morning commute.

#33

I grew up in Fairfax Co., VA (think 3 mi. from D.C.), spent 14 years in Dallas, TX and have now lived in Charleston, SC for 14 years. I NEVER hated tourists until I moved here though. Granted, the snail crawl on the sidewalk (not to metion the random, abrupt stop) is pretty annoying, but what I really hate here is that everybody, regardless of age, shape or any other aesthetic consideration, think it is their God given right to walk through our city and neighborhood streets wearing skin-tight short shorts, tanks tops, un-covered-up up covered swim suits (even bikinis and I’m not talking about anyone who could even remotely be considered “cute” in one). Message to our tourists, please remember that some people actually live here, and, more importantly, eat lunch…have some common decency, please, or at least mercy.

#34

I live in Nevada. Tourists pay my taxes so I don’t have to. Thank you! :slight_smile:

Welcome to the Comstock! Now learn to use Turnouts.-- Popular bumper sticker round my parts

#35

Sorry about the extra “up”. While some swimsuits are up up, we’ll not go there and it was a typo.

#36

Another Florida resident checking in. The reason I moved to North Florida, from South Florida… is that there’s more locals here and fewer reasons to be a tourist. Still, with two major universities in my town and the Gulf of Mexico nearby, we get our share. Frankly, I’m pretty grateful for all the tourists who come to Florida, and especially grateful to the locals in the high-tourism areas like Orlando, who have to put up with their shenanigans. They pay my taxes, so I don’t have to.

A couple other examples about why tourists can be annoying:

For one, they pull some dangerous stunts in the name of getting a good Kodak moment. If you are visiting this state and spot an alligator… please do not feed it. It’s a dumb thing to do and dangerous to anyone who lives within a couple miles of the gator’s territory. They are aggressive animals and all tourists should assume that any body of water in Florida (natural or man made: this includes water holes at golf courses and hotel swimming pools) could have a gator in it. If you can’t see (the water is murky), don’t swim there.

Do not go sharkfishing at dusk while you are standing on the beach, with dozens of little children swimming all around you. Charter a boat and get the hell away from the rest of us, if you want to catch a shark. I’ve laid on my towel and watched tourists reel in shark after shark right on the beach… just feet away from where sharkbait (children) are splashing in the water. Didn’t you people see Jaws?

So you’ve loaded your boat up on the trailer and drove for two days to get down here for some fishing and beaching and fun? Great. Welcome to Florida. Do not stand on the trailer while someone else backs the trailer in or out of the boat ramp/put in area. I’ve seen boats break loose and people have been killed that way. Know the boating laws in this state. Know the fishing laws and limits. Get a fishing license. And for Og’s sake… don’t drink while boating or jet-skiing. If you rent a boat… please know how to operate it.

One more thing: no wake means “NO WAKE.” There’s a reason for No Wake signs… it keeps the delicate Manatee population from being shredded by your careless tourist propellers.

Probably my biggest peeve is abuse of the nature down here. People leave litter, mistreat the creatures, destroy the flora and generally, when on vacations, seem to leave their brains at home.

Tourists shouldn’t be on a golf course if they can hear lightning or know a thunderstorm is within 10 miles. They shouldn’t load up their beach bags with live seashells (little slug-like critters, or hermit crabs in side)… drive for a day, then leave 'em dumped in a trash bin at a rest stop on I-75. Why did you just murder the mollusks? Couldn’t you find some unoccupied shells to take home?

Oh, and if you’re here between June and November and the hotel staff tells you there’s a hurricane coming… please go home. We have our own lives, families and properties to protect and worry about. No you don’t get a refund, because we can’t reschedule the hurricane to fit your vacation more conveniently.

Finally, with the stupid questions. The reason I don’t have a tan is because I work for a living, inside a building. I am not on vacation 24/7/365, just because I live in this state.

You’ve seen the beach. Now go home.

#37

And the most important thing: WHERE’S THE BATHROOM?

#38

Las Vegas local here. My bigest problem is how they drive. I can’t recall the number of times I have seen rental cars, or out of state cars cut across 3 lanes of traffic at 75MPH to take an exit. Seen people backup an off ramp because it was the wrong one. Well I’m guessing thats the reason, maybe they enjoy driving in reverse on the wrong side of the freeway.

Once saw someone in the left hand turn lane, make a U-Turn. No big deal right? Except he made the U-Turn to the right, and went the wrong way down the street for half a block to get to the casino entrance he missed. This was on Las Vegas Blvd. also known as “The Strip”, he must have had to dodge at least 20 cars while making this manuver.

Many peope above talked about turists stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look at something. Here the problem is people stopping in the middle of the road. We have several shows that are put on in front of the casinos. When ever one of these shows start (usually every 30 minutes) you can guarentee that at least one person will stop in the middle of the street get out of the car, and go watch the show with lasts anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

I dodge downtown as much as I can, and just live with the problem. As gatopescado said they pay our taxes for us.

#39

Nobody is forcing you to cater to the tourists’ tastes. You are free to have nothing but “botiques” (feh, anybody too ignorant to spell “boutique” does not deserve to be a snob) and bistros. I see no indication that the tourists are threatening violence. It’s really simple: If you want to remain whores, keep catering to the tourists. If you want to be “true to yourselves”, you have the freedom to stop whoring yourselves.

#40

As individuals, tourists are fine. It’s those large groups I can’t stand.

You know the kind. They travel in packs, lead by a tour guide holding a loft an umbrella (or a stick with a ribbon tied to it) as they dash from one monument to the next. They’re typically in giant groups that leave no room on the sidewalk for anyone else–you can’t walk around them without stepping into the street.

These are usually the kind of tourists that even svendescribed: they’re more interested in shopping for tacky souvenirs or eating at McDonald’s than they are in actually learning something about the monuments that they’re visiting. You get the feeling they’re just biding their time, filling out a quota of what somebody told them are the “must see” sights, but not really interested in learning anything about the local history or traditions.

Now, I’ve been in large tourist groups and I’ve lead groups (of students) myself. However, even within those groups, I’ve seen the “group tourist”-type predominate, and as a result have found that I prefer travelling on my own or with just a couple of friends. I’ve found my travels far more fulfilling for both myself and the hosts of the city/country I’m visiting.