Tourism Taboos

Five Worst Traveller Types

In March 2008, some friends and I decided to spend our spring break aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines' new flagship, the Gem. It was an all-around solid time, and if not for the absurd false advertising that proclaimed how "all-inclusive" the accommodations and perks would be, I would even say it was a great time. Ultimately though, my lasting impression of the cruise was one of un-tethered gluttony and excess.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with a little self-indulgence. That's what a vacation's for. A necessary intermission to the long, drawn-out play that life can sometimes be. But this was something different. It was as if all the worst stereotypes of Americans were on display. The sight of massive herds stampeding towards the buffet room as if compelled by narcotics, pushing and shoving their way to food that was in plentiful supply, holding plates stacked a mile high, left me feeling dirty. When ten days had passed, and the ship was ashore at last, the first breath of New York City I took in may have been the sweetest air I ever inhaled.

What prompted this recollection was an article in Frommer’s called ‘Our Own Worst Enemy: 5 Types of Travelers That Are Killing Tourism’. It's a sobering indictment of the kind of passengers I had encountered on my cruise, and the behavior we all engage in, myself included, on our trips abroad:

"It's not just that the passengers had as many shots at the buffet line as they wanted. It's that the morsels going overboard collectively represented a titanic waste of resources, which must have been more than a little embarrassing for a cruise line (Celebrity) that prides itself on its environmental record. Not only did these passengers leave their manners and common sense on shore; they were also selfish gluttons."

To summarize, five types of travellers that are ruining things for everyone:

1. The Stupid Tourist

"...you won't find a more impressive collection of brain donors than on a cruise... Once these passengers set sail, they belly up to the bar, get blitzed, and act like ... well, drunken sailors. Some of them jump overboard, too... Since 1995, there have been more than 100 documented cases. How many of them involved passengers having one drink too many and then doing their best Kate Winslet impersonation?"

2. The Rude Visitor

"These vacationers cut in line, drive like teenagers and the words 'please' and 'thank you' aren't in their vocabulary... But one city has figured out a better way of punishing the unmannered masses. Bars and restaurants in Venice have three price lists: one for locals, the other for visitors, and a third for rude tourists. So if you're Italian, a croissant and a cappuccino might cost €3.50, but if you order in English, and are impolite, you have to pay seven.

3. The Obnoxious American

"...I love my country. My countrymen? Not necessarily. I've spent nearly half my life overseas, and I've seen some of my fellow citizens behaving so boorishly that I cringed when someone asked where I was from. Obnoxious Americans are loud, demanding, arrogant and insensitive to local culture. I was relieved to learn we aren't the worst. A recent survey found that the French, Indian, and Chinese tourists ranked even more obnoxious than us..."

4. The Absent-Minded Vacationer

"These are the ones who get left behind at the gate because they didn't know they needed a passport for an international trip. They don't call to confirm their flight and miss it because it was rescheduled. They don't pay attention to where they parked their car at Disney World and then wander around the property after dark, hoping to stumble upon their rental... The problem is when you try to blame everyone but yourself. I've seen tourists accuse their travel agents or cruise line of ruining their vacation because they weren't told about a visa requirement. But securing the proper paperwork is solely your responsibility."

5. The Time Traveller

"They call flight attendants 'stewardesses' and ask what's on the in-flight menu. The answer, unless they're sitting in first class, is a glare -- and peanuts. Time travelers are either unaware that the airline industry was carelessly deregulated in 1978, or they're in denial. These passengers don't make themselves look bad as much as they point out how far we've fallen since then. Only the most rabid airline apologist would argue that flying is a better experience today than it was three decades ago. Time travelers are a constant reminder of the sad decline of America's airlines."

In summation, these 5 types of tourist are hurting travel that while difficult to measure, is surely leaving an negative imprint:

"...when that passenger goes ashore in a foreign port and makes all Americans look like xenophobic elitists, it costs us in ways that are difficult to quantify, but no less real. People who make unreasonable demands on the system raise the cost of travel for everyone, because we'll be paying for the army of lawyers the travel company must hire to defend itself from frivolous claims."