A recent survey associated with the LivingSocial platform aimed to establish who the travelers believe to be the worst tourists. The Americans won by large and surprisingly, even the majority of U.S. respondents voted for themselves.
Tourists often succumb to stereotypical behavior, frequently associated with their nationality. Members of the tourism industry used to wonder who the worst travelers are and today, there is an answer.
The LivingSocial platform together with Mandala Research conducted an online survey during February 2012 asking just that. Over 5 600 respondents participated, featuring UK, U.S., Australian, Canadian, and Irish nationals.
Apart from their opinion on the nature and qualities of tourists, they also voted for their ideal holiday destination and shared their experiences. Even though the majority of those who responded were U.S. citizens, the survey revealed that in public opinion, the worst tourists are Americans.
Of those who own a passport and do travel, the majority of Americans are proper globetrotters and admit they visited at least 4 countries outside their continent. However, a surprising 39% of these also admit that they stole something from the hotel during their visit.
The survey also compared the number of days holiday makers tend to take while on their holiday, Americans are happy with only 16-day holidays, while Australians enjoy a full 27 days, the Irish 28, the British 23 and the Canadians 21-day vacations.
When it comes to destinations, the majority of respondents consider the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, the Eiffel Tower of Paris and the Pyramids of Giza as the most appealing places. For domestic tourism within the U.S., the Disney World, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon attract the most.