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40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
TravelAUG 2, 2021

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries

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While the majority of tourists are some of the friendliest, most open, and curious people you’ll ever meet, unfortunately, a small but vocal minority can spoil everyone’s good reputation. When it comes to international travel, not everyone is as respectful to other cultures as the locals would like.
Redditor Bugginette asked people to share the weirdest things they’ve seen tourists do that would be considered disrespectful or inappropriate in their countries. In this case, Bugginette wanted to focus on American tourists. Have a read through some of the non-American locals’ stories below.
Keep in mind that is just a handful of people’s experiences with Americans, dear Pandas. This isn’t to say that all American tourists are uncultured or that visitors from other nations are complete angels. That’s absolutely not the case. So if you’re in the mood for some wholesome compliments about what Americans are doing great to balance things out, check out Bored Panda’s article right over here.
Meanwhile… let’s delve into the shadowy side of tourism and definitely how not to behave when on holiday abroad.

#1

Calling black people African-American despite many having never visited the USA. It’s stupid. Black is not a racist term
315points

#2

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
Claiming that Ireland isn't "properly" Irish, and that the only way to experience "true", "traditional" Irish culture is to visit Boston.
307points

#3

I saw an American father (with young kids in tow) explain to an elderly Japanese man why they just had to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, no way around it...
At the Peace Museum.
In Hiroshima.
305points

At the time of writing, Redditor Bugginette’s viral thread had gotten more than 29.3k upvotes and 74 awards in just 2 days. Some of the responses were completely astounding. It’s hard to believe that anyone could be so rude.

Most of what makes up tourist etiquette is pretty much common sense. Treat others like you’d like to be treated yourself. Behave like you’d want tourists visiting your hometown to behave. Be a decent human being because we’re all people. Don’t shake koalas out of trees. Don’t try to sneak into the Paris catacombs with a bone that you stole. Don’t immediately assume that you can pay everyone in US dollars. It’s fairly straightforward, no?

#4

German here. Never go to visit any concentration camp museum without understanding that in less than 10 minutes your blood will start to boil because of how disrespectful tourists can be. It's unbelievable.
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302points

#5

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
I once got told by an American tourist that I spoke English quite well.
I'm English and this was in England.
300points

#6

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
I overheard the guy standing in front of me in the queue at mc D's having a meltdown:
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T ACCEPT AMERICAN DOLLARS THIS IS A MCDONALD'S!!!"
this was in Poland, Europe.
273points

Professor Christine Vogt, the Director of the Center for Sustainable Tourism at Arizona State University, explained to me that we should do our best to do background research about the local customs and language before embarking on any trip. 

“More than likely that is what draws a person to visit a certain place. The more local knowledge a traveler has, the more a traveler can feel like a local and fit in," Professor Vogt told Bored Panda during an earlier in-depth interview about tourist etiquette.

#7

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
The best one I've heard was the American tourist complaining that they built Edinburgh castle so far from the train station.
258points

#8

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
In Australia, shook a koala out of a tree at a wildlife park
239points

#9

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
Not exactly disrespectful or inappropriate, but certainly weird.
I meet an American tourist that seemed very confused so I walked up to her and asked her if I could help. She told me yes and asked me how to get to the famous alps and cuckoo clock workshops.
….. I had to explain to her that she was in Sweden, not Switzerland.
232points

"Local customs can include how a traveler dresses, eats, uses a cell phone, etc. When a traveler is out in a community such as walking in a downtown area or eating in a restaurant, these local customs can come into play,” she explained what we should all take into account before going abroad, whether it’s for business or for pleasure.

“For example, in Buddhist countries, a woman who has not covered her shoulders or legs may not be allowed into temples or even a restaurant. Learn as many local customs as you can and a few key words to enhance your experience," the professor pointed out to Bored Panda.

#10

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
While interrailing on France a couple of American dudes were very loudly talking [badly] about other passengers (I got my fair share). Apparently they tought nobody could understand them.
Shut them up by talking English to my friend.
225points

#11

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
When I was in France a couple of American tourists tried to sneak out of the Paris Catacombs with a bone they had stolen.
221points

#12

I'm an American but I was visiting England and touring the Tower of London. There was a cannon behind a rope with a "Do not touch or climb" sign.
This American woman lifted the rope and told her kid (maybe 7 years old) to go sit on the cannon so she could take a picture. The KID protested and said the sign said no... The woman said she didn't care, and ordered her kid to do it or she'd ground them.
217points

Professor Vogt also went into detail about what historic sites can do to protect artifacts from tourists who want to steal themselves a souvenir or two. According to her, posting the penalties for stealing, setting up signs that discourage thieving, and using cameras to catch those who break the law are just some of the ways in which to control potential artifact-pilferers.

Something else that such sites can do is setting up a display of all the items that have been returned by thieving tourists over the years, showing that they’ve had a change of heart. According to Professor Vogt, the Petrified Forest National Park in Eastern Arizona has a display just like this one.

#13

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
South African here; Americans tend to have this habbit where they will climb out of their vehicle in the middle of a game reserve, get attacked by a wild animal because they wanted to get closer or try to pet it, and then cry about it.
I thought people that come from the country that has Grizzly bears and mountain lions would be a bit more cautious around wild animals.
Also, the shock they experience when they realise there are cities here and not everyone is living in mudhuts.
216points

#14

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
Not inappropriate, just moronic and facepalm worthy.
Saw an American Karen scream at people in London (UK) at Britain for stealing America's place names.
216points

#15

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
An American tourist orders a turkey dinner at a restaurant, and then flags down the server to let her know that the kitchen forgot the cranberry sauce. The server comes back with it in a small dish. After she finished her meal, someone at the table pointed out that she’d forgotten to use the cranberry sauce that she asked for. She says: “Oh, I don’t like cranberry sauce” So the person at the table follows up with “Then why did you ask the server to bring you some?!” Her answer: “Because it comes with the meal.”
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213points

#16

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
They did the nazi greeting in the middle of Berlin (Germany), not far from the jewish memorial
212points

#17

Where are the kangaroos?
Sir, you are in austria. Not Australia.
206points

#18

40 Ignorant And Disrespectful Things People Witnessed American Tourists Doing In Other Countries
Iceland. We get a lot of tourism when there isn't a pandemic and about half are American. It's mostly just ignorance and the refusal to accept that things work differently here. Also, while most people here speak English to some degree there are a few tourists that are furious about it not being the default language in businesses that aren't even connected to tourism. God forbid we speak our own language at work.
Oh and Northern Lights. There's a ton of people who seem to think we can just flick a switch and have the Northern Lights appear.
202points

#19

My homewtown is famous for each year having a giant hay goat built in the middle of the city, and each year someone, illegally burns it down. It has become culture at this point to burn it down but if you are caught you still go down for arson.
One american who was visiting this town heard of this phenomenon and the fact that it was burnt down each year. Same night he goes out and burns it down, is apprehended by police and becomes the first person since 1966 to be Sentenced for burning the goat. (2003)
201points

#20

I'm French, I was chatting with an American women who was visiting (friend of a friend of a family member). At one point we start talking about the differences between our countries. She said "The USA is the only country in the world with true freedom". I thought she was joking but she was not. I told her "what do you mean? We are also free in France". She looked at me with a condescending smirk and said "Really?" like to make me admit something. I just nodded and left.
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200points
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