Recently, two researchers Shaheer and Neil Carr made notes on tourist behavior. They analyzed comments on social networks about issues that tourists easily cause local people to lose sympathy after each holiday.
Shaheer and Neil Carr hope that their research can contribute to creating a friendly environment for both locals and tourists. Below are 5 of the 13 most offensive behaviors that tourists can easily hate and avoid while traveling.
Lack of local cultural knowledge
Tourists who do not respect local values are offensive.
According to Shaheer and Neil Carr, these types of people often ignore the culture and regulations of the places they visit. In addition, there are people who behave in a way that is not sensitive to local customs and practices. To prove this, the two researchers give a typical example of tourists visiting the Ground Zero memorial in New York (USA).
Many visitors come here and automatically see this place as a tourist destination instead of a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ismael and Neil advise visitors to learn about the history and local customs of the place they are visiting.
Noisy, disorderly
Noisy tourists often disturb others.
Loud people affect the lives of those around them wherever they go. Among the social media comments Ismael and Neil surveyed was a London resident who recounted his own unpleasant experience with visitors to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
"They just came there to walk around and didn't mind taking selfies during church services. Not only me, many other locals also felt this seemingly harmless action was offensive," this person commented.
Noisy, unruly tourists are the dark side of tourism, a problem for many destinations. Many popular tourist destinations such as Venice are also trying to develop regulations and codes of conduct in public places to reduce this tourist pollution.
Take a photo
Tourists take photos without paying attention to their surroundings.
Taking photos is an indispensable activity in every trip. However, there are types of tourists who travel just to take photos without caring about other factors. There are even tourists who disregard safety, regulations, and local customs to take a set of photos. Obviously, those tourists can easily become a thorn in the eyes of the locals.
Shaheer and Neil Carr’s research cited examples of tourists taking selfies at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and those taking photos of locals without their consent. Not only that, many tourists also “disturb” wildlife, affecting trees and the surrounding environment just to take a photo.
Littering
Visitors should refrain from littering in public places.
In places with a developed tourism industry, waste is inevitable. Even famous tourist destinations in Europe such as Paris cannot avoid a group of tourists spitting everywhere, even urinating and defecating in public. Many destinations have introduced strict regulations and sanctions to prevent these unscrupulous tourists. In Spain, tourists will be fined if they urinate in the sea.
Ignoring the safety factor
Tourists ignore safety factors that will affect people around them.
Tourists who ignore instructions and signs not only put themselves at risk, but also the local people. Shaheer and Neil Carr said that a tourist once went to Yellowstone National Park (USA) and let his child ride on the back of a bison to take pictures despite the danger.
This stubborn lack of knowledge resulted in the father being hospitalized immediately after being kicked by the cow. There was even a tourist who deliberately ignored the warnings of the tour guide, leaning out of the Jeep to approach a lion in Tanzania.
