Travel taboos: how not to be an obnoxious tourist - wherever you're from
Chinese tourists may have made a few headlines recently but bad behaviour is truly a global phenomenon
From the recent naming and shaming of four Chinese tourists for causing a ruckus at Bangkok airport, to the regular reports of bad manners (and worse) during “golden week” holidays such as the National Day holiday, people from China have earned a reputation for being travel pests.
Defecating in the streets, taking sneaky naked snaps in airport toilets and waiting for a plane wearing only their underpants are among the complaints Thais have made against Chinese tourists this year alone. Local feelings against visitor misbehaviour are so strong, the Thai tourist board has started producing etiquette manuals – in Putonghua.
But the Chinese are not the only terrible tourists in the world. In fact, such nuisances can be found in all corners of the globe, whenever international travellers forget to pack their common sense. Here’s how not to behave when taking a break.
Keep it covered
This is definitely the year of the naked selfie. Thanks to websites such as Naked at Monuments and the My Naked Trip blog, which encourage travellers to bare all at famous world monuments and post the results online, there has been a recent surge in foreigners flashing their privates across the globe. Naked at Monuments has compiled a list of the top sites at which to pose in the buff, with the Great Wall of China appearing in the top three: “Getting naked here is easy, as long as you go through in the afternoon and avoid the tour groups,” reads the advice.
