It's time again for the now-annual Expedia survey results on the world's best and worst tourists: and the French have done it again. Done it again on the wrong end of the scale, that is, because the survey says:

French travelers are the biggest skinflints, the worst tippers and the least able or inclined to speak foreign languages. They also finished next to last in terms of their politeness and behavior.

Ouch. At the top of the list were the oh-so-polite Japanese, again, followed by English, Canadian, German and Swiss tourists. In some interesting individual categories, the Japanese were named as the least likely to complain and the Italians won the best fashion sense gong, while Americans, Italians and Spanish scored the top three spots in the "loudest tourists" section.

Keep this info in mind when choosing your travel companions in the future and you might end up having a better trip.

Related Stories:
· French Tourists Still the World's Worst [Time]
· World's Worst Tourists: The French Who Only Speak French [Jaunted]
· Japanese Tourists Are the Best [Jaunted]

[Photo: lecercle] ]]> amandak 2009-07-15T17:34:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/30/5655/67650

We’ve had the Aussies picked as bad tourists before, but we didn't really expect their own government to start complaining--now we're reading articles slamming "whingeing, irresponsible, cut-rate Australian tourists" who are costing the country a fortune.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia has said that this year will probably be the first time that the country reaches a magic "double thousand". They mean that more than 1,000 Australians will die overseas and more than 1,000 of them will get arrested. Not bad for a population of only 21 million.

The biggest problem, it seems, is the expectation Aussies have that the local Australian embassy will bail them out of whatever problems they get into, regardless of the travel advice or warnings given. It's probably not just the Australian government who doesn't want to spend millions getting their citizens home when they've walked into a risky spot. Don't say we didn't warn you, mate.

Related Stories:
· Aussies Abroad: It's An Ugly Picture [The Australian]
· World's Worst Tourists: Drunken Aussies on Japanese Slopes [Jaunted]
· World's Worst Tourists: Aussies Recklessly Emit Carbon [Jaunted]

[Photo: dourodou] ]]> amandak 2009-03-30T11:46:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/5/21114/0858

The Japanese truly are an overly polite people. Remember back in April, they decided to limit tourist access to Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Fish Markets? The new rules were that tourists had to show up before 6.15am and were meant to be confined to one designated spot during the big tuna auctions.

This obviously didn't work out. The poor fishmongers and tuna auctioneers have still had to put up with a blitzkrieg of camera flashes and tuna-touching tourists--not what you want if the tuna's headed to a classy sushi restaurant.

From December 15, tourists will be banned entirely from the early morning auctions, a decision that's probably quite fair. But the Japanese are still too polite to ban us forever, so it's just for a month--perhaps after that any tourists who've completed Fish Auction Etiquette 101 will be allowed back in.

Related Stories:
· Too Many Foreigners Forces Ban on Tourists [Mainichi Daily News]
· We've Annoyed the Tsukiji Fishmongers Too Long [Jaunted]
· Other Things To Do In Tokyo [Jaunted]

[Photo: esp22] ]]> amandak 2008-12-05T09:05:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/8/64347/6037

We've debated for years about who to call the World's Worst Tourists. Germans? Brits? Aussies? All of the above?

This week, the international incident award goes to Spain the UK*, whose citizen dove into the moat around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Even better, the guy proceeded to flail around like an obnoxious gaijin:

The middle-aged man jumped into the water, climbed the palace wall and splashed water at police who tried to catch him from a row boat.

Oh, yes, it gets better...]]> ced138 2008-10-08T09:30:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/20/64440/3881

Ever felt guilty for flying to your vacation because of all those carbon emissions your plane is pumping out? Unless you're Australian, there's no need. According to a recent Sydney Morning Herald opinion, because Australia's so far away from pretty much everywhere, and because Australians really love to travel, then Aussies who fly to Europe or America are really doing a pile of damage to the planet.

Scoffing Aussies might be sobered by this fact: A Sydney to London return trip emits about 9 tons of carbon dioxide per passenger, which is the same amount this passenger would use in two years of eating, driving, heating and air-conditioning at home.

Add to this the fact that you always bump into Australians wherever you travel overseas--they really are everywhere--and you can see the problem. Do Aussies have to start staying home now? Maybe. But wouldn't the bottom drop out of the global beer market if traveling Aussies weren't there to prop it up?

Related Stories:
· Are Australian Travel Junkies Destroying the Planet? [Wired]
· Globetrotting Boomers Fly in the Face of Carbon Reality [Sydney Morning Herald]
· World's Worst Tourists: Drunken Aussies on Japanese Slopes [Jaunted]

[Photo: :ray]]]> amandak 2008-08-20T09:33:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/23/6544/85108

This won't be the first time we've mentioned how Britons have "rows" instead of arguments. American Express did a survey about the current vacation habits of the British, given the so-called credit crunch, but discovered that most of them don't care about that at all--and think much more about holiday rows.

The stats show that almost half of the survey respondents argue about how much stuff is being crammed into suitcases before the trip even begins; two in five have arguments stemming from getting to the airport on time (or not).

The cost of a vacation and the kind of accommodation are also issues that induce quite a few arguments amongst traveling Brits, according to the survey. The biggest problem seems to come from people in Yorkshire--one in five have to turn around to pick up something they left at home.

Related Stories:
· Arguments More Concern Than Credit Crunch [Opodo]
· World's Worst Tourists coverage [Jaunted]
· United Kingdom Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: davescunningplan]]]> amandak 2008-06-23T10:15:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/4/132147/1184

Travel company Expedia surveyed 4,000 hoteliers around the world to find out what they thought of the world's tourists. The Japanese were named the most popular guests earning high marks for "tidiness." Chinese, Indian and French tourists earned the lowest marks on the list. The French were specifically cited for being too "fiscally conservative." Ouch!

We always thought Americans had a reputation for bad behavior abroad, but US tourists were near the middle of Expedia's rankings, tied with the Thais in 11th place. Guess the hotel staff surveyed haven't had too much contact with American exchange students.

The British are also known for poor conduct while traveling, and they were named the world's worst tourists in both 2002 and 2007, but this year their standing has improved by leaps and bounds. The Brits were tied with the Germans as the second most popular guests on Expedia's list. Must be saving all their bad behavior for the London Underground these days.

Related Stories:
· Survey: Hoteliers Pick the World's Best Tourists [Budget Travel]
· World's Worst Tourists: The Bad, Bad British [Jaunted]
· World's Worst Tourists coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: St Stev]]]> Hunter Walker 2008-06-04T16:00:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/