European survey gives high marks to U.S. tourists

[Dark]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Maybe we're not as ugly as we think. In a new poll, nearly two-thirds of American travelers said we're perceived more negatively in other countries than we were five years ago. But another poll commissioned by the same organization found a big surprise: In a survey of 1,500 European hotel managers, Americans were ranked second, behind the Japanese, as the world's best tourists.

In the poll, conducted in April by the online travel site Expedia's German branch, Americans were seen as the most likely to try to speak a foreign language and the most interested in sampling local food.

We came in third, behind the Japanese and British, as the "most polite" tourists, and third, behind the Japanese and Germans, as "best behaved." And - we're sure this has nothing to do with how the hotel managers view us - Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders.

snip

Some of the other findings: Russians were seen as the least polite travelers, followed by the Israelis and French. The stingiest tippers: the Germans, followed by the French and Israelis.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/19/TR8TRGM5T.DTL

[Socal31]

1. Countdown to an American bashing its own people in....

5...4....3...2....

[ret5hd]

12. oh the irony...and you don't even see it.

:rofl:

[treestar]

15. Whine, whine, whine - I guess it's better to bash someone else?

[Hieronymus]

2. It's BushCo that Europeans dislike so vociferously.

[Jemmons]

10. That and the cocky attitude that many americans display here -

apparantly for no reason.

Its also clear to many here that while not all americans love Bush, a lot of people must have voted for him TWICE!

[sandnsea]

3. Maybe different folks are traveling since 9/11

Maybe the ugly American is staying home.

Or, maybe they think everybody hates them so they're over-compensating and end up acting normal as a result.

[Dark]

6. Well, a lot of conservatives, I bet, have stopped traveling abroad to those sissy pansy ass commo

European countries.

So the Europeans run into only the normal Americans.

[On the Road]

19. Bingo -- That Must be It

[autorank]

4. We're pretty decent tourists. But, we've got a fashion gap!

"We came in third, behind the Japanese and British, as the "most polite" tourists, and third, behind the Japanese and Germans, as "best behaved." And - we're sure this has nothing to do with how the hotel managers view us - Americans were ranked far and away as the world's most generous tippers and biggest spenders.

On the other hand, Americans were seen, by an overwhelming margin, as the shabbiest dressers, the most likely to complain and the second noisiest. Who's louder? Only the Italians."

We complain politely yet loudly...but they take pity on us because we're the "shabbiest dressers." OMG! A FASHION GAP. What is that about. No more of those damn imported clothes. We have a fashion gap? Maybe we could have a "Great American Make Over Day" or something to catch up. Classes like "Why it's wrong to wear both suspenders and a belt." Little nuances like that.

It's nice to be nice but it's really much better to look good;)

[Dark]

5. I agree. Let's queer eye every straight guy in the nation!

I don't know what to do about the noise though. . . maybe free earplugs for the europeans?

[whirlygigspin]

7. my 2cents

Last winter I was in Thailand on holiday... tons of Israeli's, they were fabulous!
Life of the party, as it were. Love the French tourists too, they seem to travel with their children more...lots of Danes and Swedes who seemed to congregate on one end of the beach, still the only negative I saw were some older single German men hanging on to women way too young for their age, maybe they're lonely...I hate to generalize, but that's what I saw.

[12string]

8. I believe the saying goes that

"You are only as old as the women you feel.",or
something like that.

[fasttense]

9. You made me spit out my coffee 12string.

Welcome to DU and great saying.:hi:

[treestar]

16. Stupid saying

You're as old as you are. A young woman deserves a young man.

[SayWhatYo]

18. What if they don't want a young man?

I know a few women who love older men. And no, as far as I could tell it has nothing to do with money.

Come to think about, I find some women in their late 30's and early 40's to be attractive....

[goondogger]

13. Simple rule when in Europe

Khakis = American
(same goes for shorts)

[cobalt1999]

14. Last month I was in France

Lots of MEN were wearing capri style pants. :puke:

So much for their taste in clothing. I'll take my Khakis over that any day. The Italians know how to dress well though.

[Rydz777]

21. You're right. The Italians still maintain good standards of dress -

and in other matters as well. Cutting a "bella figura" still counts there. I see dressing like a slob as a form of pollution of the environment and I appreciate it when people try to dress to some standard of cleanliness and appearance.

[cobalt1999]

11. I rarely see the "stereotypical" American tourist

and I travel a LOT. The Hollywood "Vacation" family, I've found is a rarity, but highly visible when it does make an appearance. In conversations with locals, I was surprised at how much the Europeans rip on each other (I guess a long history of fighting each other in wars will do that though).

[Bacchus39]

17. Europe is not the only destination

I travel mostly in latin america. I never found any particular animosity directed my way. From what I've seen Europeans are pretty shabby dressers there too. Although, Americans tend to wear shorts making them a dead giveaway.

[mainer]

20. Americans abroad are a different kind of American

Wherever I've traveled, the Brits are among the worst -- too many are young, drunk and rowdy. It's all because of low-cost fares between the UK and the European mainland. It encourages young men, esp. footballers, to hop a plane and party wildly in Spain or Prague.

Americans, on the other hand, consider their vacations in Europe as rare and special events, and are known for being generous tippers and interested tourists. I've been treated kindly everywhere, although cab drivers are quick to engage me in political discussions and ask why the hell we voted twice for Bush.