Rude Tourists – Personal or Cultural?

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  • #1712

    Dorothy R.
    Participant

    During a safety briefing on a snorkeling tour boat in Hawaii, we were surprised when a Japanese woman and her mother carried on a loud, animated conversation near the front of the room, even though the instructor was clearly presenting a lecture and his English-speaking audience was clearly listening intently. Were the situation reversed, we would not have done so. Was this event personal (just a case of rude people), or cultural (folks from a crowded country acting as they would at home)?

    User Detail :  

    Name : Dorothy R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 60, City : Kerrville, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Retired Editor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #18975

    Katie28955
    Participant

    Ok, I lived in Florida for fourteen years, so I’ve seen more tourists than most people ever will. You will always, always, ALWAYS have rude people in this world. A-L-W-A-Y-S. They come from all over the world, in every size, shape, and color. It’s too bad they can’t be banned from travel until they’ve learned to behave better, but them’s the breaks. However, for every loud, obnoxious tourist, there are, I guarantee it, at least ten others who are polite, quiet, and perfectly willing to simply drink in the sights. These lovely people slip under our radar, and it’s only the awful ones who stick in our memory. Now, that being said, are you completely certain that the women were just being rude? Perhaps one of them had lost a hearing aid or had a bad case of swimmer’s ear (hey, you were going snorkeling, right?). Sounds far-fetched, but you never know. Or they could have been having the day from hell and were just taking it out on each other. Vacations tend to bring out the worst in people.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Katie28955, City : Lexington, State : KY, Country : United States, 
    #37364

    Marko
    Participant

    I would bet on the ‘personal’ option. Rude people are just found in every culture, every country and every city. It really is a personality thing. Most of the time most people tend to behave well, but at certain times and points they may appear to be rude for several possible reasons – maybe because they are tired, fatigued or under stress, or if they are in a hurry. Then again, some people might just simply be like that 🙂 So, probably not a cultural thing 🙂

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    Name : Marko, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 30, City : Jyvaskyla, State : NA, Country : Finland, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 
    #41327

    Jean-Frederic
    Participant

    Wherever you go, foreigners are loud. Two factors contribute to this. First one is perception. A foreign language will stand out compared to the language you expect in the country you’re in. If a national is loud in his country, it is less noticeable. Second factor is excitement. Just as you want to tell everyone when you’re in love, foreigners are enjoying their trip and secretely desire to let everyone know. It’s rather unconscious, and it really means: ‘Hey everyone, I’m not from here but I’m Looooove your country.’

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    Name : Jean-Frederic, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 30, City : Paris, State : NA, Country : France, Occupation : Executive, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #34829

    Laurie
    Participant

    From what I read about 10 years ago, part of the Japanese culture is that it’s not important to make a good impression when you’re a tourist in another country. I don’t know if this is still part of the culture.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Laurie, Gender : Female, Age : 56, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, 
    #27451

    Laurie
    Participant

    I have read that Japanese people (who are very polite in Japan), think it is OK to be rude when they are visitors in other countries, because it ‘doesn’t really count.’ I don’t know if all Japanese tourists are like this. Also, citizens from different countries each have their own traditions on how to act when they are tourists.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Laurie, Gender : Female, Age : 56, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, 
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