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As a frequent reader of r/europe, Americans have FAR from the worst reputation for tourists within Europe, it's not even close. At least among larger countries

As a frequent reader of r/europe, Americans have FAR from the worst reputation for tourists within Europe, it's not even close. At least among larger countries, they might actually have a better than average rep.

giantg2 3y ago
I'd love to see the research behind that. I don't know where Americans rank, but I wouldn't guess we rank high.
- TulliusCicero 3y ago
  From what I've read: American tourists in Latin America fucking suck, but the ones that go to Europe or Japan are largely fine. Anyway, it's easy to find threads about tourists on r/europe or r/askeurope: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/6zq6lu/which_foreign_tourists_have_the_worst_reputation/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/6zq6lu/which_for...
- alistairSH 3y ago
  Personal experience from travel in Iceland, Peru, UK (mostly Scotland), and Italy. Obviously generalizations and anecdotes, so take with a grain of salt. Americans often stand out. Look more "touristy" - wearing shorts, goofy bags, unstylish footwear, etc. Most likely to ask "what do you do?" (for a living). Not rude, but can be more boisterous/social than some others. Chinese - tend to travel in large tour groups. Frequently dressed poorly for conditions (Jimmy Choo shoes while touring Icelandic waterfalls). Disembark from buses and race to get a selfie before the rest of the crowd. Not purposefully rude, but the sheer number/concentration of them makes them stand out. Europeans are generally don't stand out. Usually dress the least obviously touristy. Usually happy to make chit-chat, but less likely to initiate than US-Americans. And stupid people come from all backgrounds. While in Iceland, there was an Asian fellow who insisted on sticking his hand into the geysers, despite warning signs in ~8 languages. Same trip, some German teens ran out onto an icy lake, despite signs warning of falling through the ice. And at the big waterfalls, there were people from all races/nationalities jumping fences to get better shots for their Insta feeds. My personal pet peeve is people who litter or otherwise ruin natural beauty. And again, they come in all shapes, sizes, colors, creeds, etc.
  - kelnos 3y ago
    > Americans often stand out. Look more "touristy" - wearing shorts, goofy bags, unstylish footwear, etc. Interesting. When I travel, I usually dress the same out in public as I do at home (well, modified for the local weather, anyway). Usually that means jeans, t-shirt, and possibly a hoodie and/or jacket if the weather is cooler, with fairly plain sneakers or perhaps a nicer shoe, depending on how much walking I expect to be doing. I tend to not carry a bag with me unless I'm going to or from an airport or train station. If I do need a bag, it'll usually be a backpack or shoulder bag, something I would use at home for a similar purpose. I do expect that there are a lot of us who inexplicably dress differently when traveling, but I wonder if your assessment of American tourist dress as "goofy" or "unstylish" is just that the styles that are popular over here aren't popular where you live and where you've traveled and seen American tourists. I really don't get why some people drastically change their wardrobe when traveling, though.
    - alistairSH 3y ago
      I’m American, from DC metro. Shorts are a big one - far more popular in the US than abroad. Particularly cargo shorts, which are goofy no matter who you are. ;)
willsmith72 3y ago
Better than who out of curiosity?
- kjkjadksj 3y ago
  Probably british youths on holiday, they are pretty notorious. This demographic of american is just as bad but can only afford to get belligerent domestically in florida or south padre isle during spring break, much less afford a flight to europe.
  - TulliusCicero 3y ago
    Exactly, shitty American tourists are staying within America or going to Mexico/nearby Latam countries.
    - kelnos 3y ago
      Right, and this is why I believe American tourists (in general) have a much worse reputation in Latin America than in Europe.
      - seattle_spring 3y ago
        I think the Americans with bad reputations tend to stick to tropical climates and beaches. The type of place where tourists are probably just sunning themselves or getting drunk. Interestingly enough, I recently went on a short trip to Cozumel, MX. It wasn't my choice, I was just going to see some family who had planned their vacation there. I've been to more than 20 countries and boy oh boy was Cozumel my least favorite place abroad. Felt like the whole island was tailor-made to rip off or outright scam tourists arriving via cruise ships.
        rrr_oh_man 3y ago
        That is exactly the sentiment that I was trying to convey with my, admittedly a bit controversial, statement above.
AcedCapes 3y ago
It would be interesting to see some kind of data on this. I have a mutual friend that does tours in Europe. This was his and his worker's sentiments as well. Talking with them we thought there may be a lot of self-filtering going on in his situation. He does historical tours and those seem to attract a less rowdy group.
rrr_oh_man 3y ago
I don't dislike US-Americans. Very far from it. Most US-Americans that I have encountered (both abroad and stateside) are a lovely bunch, great tippers, and have a distinct happy-go-lucky attitude that is hard to find anywhere else. The crux: When a place gets popular with a certain tourist demographic (through Instagram, Tiktok, whatever) there is an inflection point where the place / experience starts to become commodified, expensive, and bad. Similar to an influx of large amounts VC money in that niche community app that you used to love.
- cactusplant7374 3y ago
  I like how the first thing you mention liking is Americans giving you extra money.
  - rrr_oh_man 3y ago
    Why 'me'?
- kelnos 3y ago
  > US-Americans You can just say "Americans". It's a well-recognized demonym, everyone knows what it means, and no one is going to be confused and think you mean someone from one of the many other countries in North or South America. And it's not some sort of "injustice" that the US "stole" the term American to refer to solely themselves. It's just... not a big deal.
  - rrr_oh_man 3y ago
    > It's just... not a big deal. Says the thief? ;)
rurban 3y ago
Untrue. Coming from a tourist nation, the 3 worst traveller's countries are China, Russia and the US. There are statistics in Austria, and the US is not leading at all, rather China has a lead over the other stupidly annoying traveller's. Behind them are the special cases, like the not-tipping cheap Dutch, the unable-to-drive rich Arabs (car rentals require special insurance rates for them), and the drunken hords of Brits and Swedes invading party towns in the south of Europe.

giantg2 3y ago

I'd love to see the research behind that. I don't know where Americans rank, but I wouldn't guess we rank high.

TulliusCicero 3y ago
From what I've read: American tourists in Latin America fucking suck, but the ones that go to Europe or Japan are largely fine. Anyway, it's easy to find threads about tourists on r/europe or r/askeurope: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/6zq6lu/which_foreign_tourists_have_the_worst_reputation/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskEurope/comments/6zq6lu/which_for...
alistairSH 3y ago
Personal experience from travel in Iceland, Peru, UK (mostly Scotland), and Italy. Obviously generalizations and anecdotes, so take with a grain of salt. Americans often stand out. Look more "touristy" - wearing shorts, goofy bags, unstylish footwear, etc. Most likely to ask "what do you do?" (for a living). Not rude, but can be more boisterous/social than some others. Chinese - tend to travel in large tour groups. Frequently dressed poorly for conditions (Jimmy Choo shoes while touring Icelandic waterfalls). Disembark from buses and race to get a selfie before the rest of the crowd. Not purposefully rude, but the sheer number/concentration of them makes them stand out. Europeans are generally don't stand out. Usually dress the least obviously touristy. Usually happy to make chit-chat, but less likely to initiate than US-Americans. And stupid people come from all backgrounds. While in Iceland, there was an Asian fellow who insisted on sticking his hand into the geysers, despite warning signs in ~8 languages. Same trip, some German teens ran out onto an icy lake, despite signs warning of falling through the ice. And at the big waterfalls, there were people from all races/nationalities jumping fences to get better shots for their Insta feeds. My personal pet peeve is people who litter or otherwise ruin natural beauty. And again, they come in all shapes, sizes, colors, creeds, etc.
- kelnos 3y ago
  > Americans often stand out. Look more "touristy" - wearing shorts, goofy bags, unstylish footwear, etc. Interesting. When I travel, I usually dress the same out in public as I do at home (well, modified for the local weather, anyway). Usually that means jeans, t-shirt, and possibly a hoodie and/or jacket if the weather is cooler, with fairly plain sneakers or perhaps a nicer shoe, depending on how much walking I expect to be doing. I tend to not carry a bag with me unless I'm going to or from an airport or train station. If I do need a bag, it'll usually be a backpack or shoulder bag, something I would use at home for a similar purpose. I do expect that there are a lot of us who inexplicably dress differently when traveling, but I wonder if your assessment of American tourist dress as "goofy" or "unstylish" is just that the styles that are popular over here aren't popular where you live and where you've traveled and seen American tourists. I really don't get why some people drastically change their wardrobe when traveling, though.
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    I’m American, from DC metro. Shorts are a big one - far more popular in the US than abroad. Particularly cargo shorts, which are goofy no matter who you are. ;)

willsmith72 3y ago

Better than who out of curiosity?

kjkjadksj 3y ago
Probably british youths on holiday, they are pretty notorious. This demographic of american is just as bad but can only afford to get belligerent domestically in florida or south padre isle during spring break, much less afford a flight to europe.
- TulliusCicero 3y ago
  Exactly, shitty American tourists are staying within America or going to Mexico/nearby Latam countries.
  - kelnos 3y ago
    Right, and this is why I believe American tourists (in general) have a much worse reputation in Latin America than in Europe.
    - seattle_spring 3y ago
      I think the Americans with bad reputations tend to stick to tropical climates and beaches. The type of place where tourists are probably just sunning themselves or getting drunk. Interestingly enough, I recently went on a short trip to Cozumel, MX. It wasn't my choice, I was just going to see some family who had planned their vacation there. I've been to more than 20 countries and boy oh boy was Cozumel my least favorite place abroad. Felt like the whole island was tailor-made to rip off or outright scam tourists arriving via cruise ships.
      - rrr_oh_man 3y ago
        That is exactly the sentiment that I was trying to convey with my, admittedly a bit controversial, statement above.

AcedCapes 3y ago

It would be interesting to see some kind of data on this. I have a mutual friend that does tours in Europe. This was his and his worker's sentiments as well. Talking with them we thought there may be a lot of self-filtering going on in his situation. He does historical tours and those seem to attract a less rowdy group.

rrr_oh_man 3y ago

I don't dislike US-Americans. Very far from it. Most US-Americans that I have encountered (both abroad and stateside) are a lovely bunch, great tippers, and have a distinct happy-go-lucky attitude that is hard to find anywhere else. The crux: When a place gets popular with a certain tourist demographic (through Instagram, Tiktok, whatever) there is an inflection point where the place / experience starts to become commodified, expensive, and bad. Similar to an influx of large amounts VC money in that niche community app that you used to love.

cactusplant7374 3y ago
I like how the first thing you mention liking is Americans giving you extra money.
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago
  Why 'me'?
kelnos 3y ago
> US-Americans You can just say "Americans". It's a well-recognized demonym, everyone knows what it means, and no one is going to be confused and think you mean someone from one of the many other countries in North or South America. And it's not some sort of "injustice" that the US "stole" the term American to refer to solely themselves. It's just... not a big deal.
- rrr_oh_man 3y ago
  > It's just... not a big deal. Says the thief? ;)

rurban 3y ago

Untrue. Coming from a tourist nation, the 3 worst traveller's countries are China, Russia and the US. There are statistics in Austria, and the US is not leading at all, rather China has a lead over the other stupidly annoying traveller's. Behind them are the special cases, like the not-tipping cheap Dutch, the unable-to-drive rich Arabs (car rentals require special insurance rates for them), and the drunken hords of Brits and Swedes invading party towns in the south of Europe.