Top 5 most annoying tourist traits as voted by US city dwellers

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

A new study has uncovered the most annoying tourist habits according to the residents of various tourist traps across the US.

A new study has uncovered the most annoying tourist habits according to the residents of various tourist traps across the US. Asking for directions, blocking the sidewalk to take photos and not tipping appropriately are among the most irritating habits.

The study was conducted as part of ongoing research into how Americans interact with tourists in their cities. 3,216 people, all of whom were aged 21 or over, were quizzed into what they thought of the tourists in their city and what they like to do when they are a tourist themselves. The respondents were split evenly between New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC and Orlando.

All respondents were asked ‘Do you ever find tourists annoying?’ to which 63% of respondents stated that ‘yesโ€™ they did and 37% said ‘no’, they donโ€™t find tourists annoying. All respondents who said they find tourists annoying were then asked ‘What trait do you find most frustrating about the tourists visiting your city?’ and provided with a list of possible answers. They were able to select all that applied.

The top 5 most annoying tourist traits, according to each city, are as follows;

New York โ€“ Asking for directions (40%)

San Francisco โ€“ Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to take photos (35%)

Chicago โ€“ Not tipping appropriately (32%)

Washington DC โ€“ Walking too slowly so that they can look at everything (27%)

Orlando โ€“ Asking you to take their photo (26%)

In order to turn the tables on these respondents, they were then asked to state if they indulge in the behaviors that they find annoying, when they are a tourist in another city, state or country. Over a quarter (76%) confessed that ‘yes’, they are guilty of these same habits when travelling, while only 24% stated that ‘no’, they steer clear of these frustrating tourist traits.

All respondents that said they didn’t find tourists annoying were asked to share their thoughts on travelers visiting their city. When provided with a list of possible responses and told to select the one that most applied, the majority of respondents agreed that ‘tourists remind me how great my city is’ (28%) and that they โ€˜like speaking to tourists to hear about their travels and share insider knowledgeโ€™ (21%).

George Charles, spokesperson for CouponCodesPro.com, said the following:

“We’re all guilty of finding tourists annoying when we feel it affects us, especially if we are in a rush to get to work or go about our daily lives, however most of us are also guilty of being those frustrating tourists when we’re off on our own travels. We’re constantly so busy throughout our day-to-day lives that tourists become a nuisance when asking for directions or help or stopping to take photos, but it’s important to remember that, without tourists, the economy of our towns would suffer, with knock-on effects for local business. They chose to vacation to the beautiful cities we are lucky enough to live in. Perhaps this should be a reminder of what is on our doorsteps, so we take a moment out here or there to look around us and appreciate our cities.โ€

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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