Being a polite tourist
August 1st 2009 08:45
Category: No Category
Over the years while travelling we've met all sorts of people. People who talk too much, people who don't like to socialise, people who spend every cent getting drunk, people who buy too much souvenirs, people who make a point of becoming extremely fluent in the local lingo and people who don't bother to try. All of these are very normal, since back home, we have the same types of people at work, at schools and even, at home.
However, what makes me annoyed are people who are simply rude, especially towards local waiting staff, hotel staff and anyone who may be "of service" to them.
Often, there isn't a please, no thank you, no smile and completely no manners. Behaviours such as throwing their credit card across the table instead of handing it over nicely, those who yells "Oi!" instead of "excuse me", those who do not listen to instructions on a tour and later expect things to be done for them when things go wrong.
Yep. I am sure we've all met one.
We all get upset when tourists come to our own countries and do not respect the local manners, so shouldn't we expect ourselves to be at least polite when we visit other people's countries? Yes, in some places people are lucky to have a job to be able to serve you your dish or to clean your room, however that does not make them less important than we are in the world. Even if it is too hard to learrn the local language (although, just a couple of words can make a big difference locally) at least a 'thank you' in English is understood mostly.
Why can't people just be nice and respectable tourists?
However, what makes me annoyed are people who are simply rude, especially towards local waiting staff, hotel staff and anyone who may be "of service" to them.
Often, there isn't a please, no thank you, no smile and completely no manners. Behaviours such as throwing their credit card across the table instead of handing it over nicely, those who yells "Oi!" instead of "excuse me", those who do not listen to instructions on a tour and later expect things to be done for them when things go wrong.
Yep. I am sure we've all met one.
We all get upset when tourists come to our own countries and do not respect the local manners, so shouldn't we expect ourselves to be at least polite when we visit other people's countries? Yes, in some places people are lucky to have a job to be able to serve you your dish or to clean your room, however that does not make them less important than we are in the world. Even if it is too hard to learrn the local language (although, just a couple of words can make a big difference locally) at least a 'thank you' in English is understood mostly.
Why can't people just be nice and respectable tourists?
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