World's best tourists

[jesseps]

Australian tourists may be generous and polite but their dress and reluctance to eat local food lets them down, according to international hoteliers.

 

That's why Australians are ranked only number six by hoteliers asked who they think are the world's best tourists, and who put the Japanese at number one.

 

More than 4000 hoteliers were questioned in the inaugural Best Tourist Survey by online travel company Expedia.

 

Among the topics probed were tourists' behaviour, manners, generosity, willingness to learn the language and try local cuisine and their propensity to complain.

 

Japanese tourists took out the top overall place, followed by the British and Germans in joint second place, and the Canadians in third position.

 

Australians were ranked in joint sixth place with Swedes, and were singled out for their generosity and politeness, coming in at fourth place in both categories.

 

But they were in the lower ranks for dress standards and effort to eat local cuisine.

 

The French, Indians and Chinese were considered the worst tourists among the 31 nationalities, while Americans were considered the least polite.

 

Expedia.com.au managing director Arthur Hoffman said Australians had to dress better and make an effort to try more local cuisine in order to rank better in next year's survey.

 

The world's top tourists, according to hoteliers

 

1. Japanese

 

2. British/Germans

 

3. Canadians

 

4. Swiss

 

5. Dutch

 

6. Australians/Swedes

 

7. Belgians

 

8. Norwegians

 

9. Austrians/Danes/ Finnish

 

10. New Zealanders

 

(Courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald)

[MTLskyline]

I always thought that Germans were probably the worst tourists...

 

When I went to England a few years ago everybody thought I was American.. Constant jokes about Boston Tea Party, American-style food, etc. I told them I was from Canada, and they replied with "How's the weather in Toronto this time of year?"