Don’t be the drip of the trip.
Party-fouling your vacation is an easy crime that’s frequently committed, according to a master of etiquette — who’s urging tourists to act with tact, rather than tackiness, while traveling.
“Self-awareness, courtesy towards others and a decent level of humility, are three foundational pillars to living a life of substance and class,” Jo Hayes, of EtiquetteExpert.org, told DailyMail.
She warns that missing the mark makes offenders seem “rude,” “common” and “classless.”
“Unfortunately, many people do drop the ball in one — or, perhaps, all — of these pillars, especially when on holiday, when they’re perhaps in a more relaxed mode, feeling they ‘deserve’ to chill out and focus on themselves for a while,” Hayes said.
No vacationer sets out to be famous for being an ignoramus — and yet they so often do.
From reserving lounge chairs by the water then disappearing for hours, to packing on inappropriate PDA in shared spaces, inconsiderate stunts often ruin a getaway for innocent victims forced to contend with the bad behavior.
Fed-up residents of sightseeing hotspots, such as a Barcelona, Spain, and Venice, Italy, are now fighting (in some cases, literally) back at ill-mannered visitors who fail to respect local customs and boundaries.
Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice — where a dope recently dove off of a building into a canal — has unapologetically called uncivilized trippers “imbeciles,” and vowed to gift them with “certificates of stupidity” for their tasteless escapades.
So, to avoid receiving the “stupid” designation at choice destinations, Hayes urges voyagers to valiantly avoid these common unforced on-the-go errors — here, in her own words, is her advice.
Causing loud convo commotion
“We get it. You’re on holiday with your friends (or family), and you want to let your hair down and have enjoy yourself. Great. But, so does everyone else. And part of said enjoyment means not being exposed to obnoxiously loud chatter from fellow tourists/ holidaymakers.
This applies to sun loungers by the pool in resorts, dining in restaurants, travelling on planes and public transport, waiting in queues at tourist attractions and all other places where one is in close proximity with other humans.
Carrying on a loud conversation, so as to be easily heard by, and a distraction for, those around you demonstrates a distinct lack of self-awareness, disrespect for others, and general level of commonness.
I can assure you, those around you aren’t impressed by your verbosity or ‘gift of the gab’. They’d rather enjoy their morning coffee and paper in quiet.”
Being a jerk to hotel staffers at work
“A well-mannered person treats everyone with respect — from a pauper to a Prime Minister.
Clicking your fingers for the restaurant waitstaff, making demands, and failing to smile, say please and thank you doesn’t come across as high-class. In fact, the opposite. It looks like you haven’t been taught manners (and possibly haven’t).
Kindness, charity and respect, at all times, in all things.”
Creating an audio overload
“I cringe speaking this aloud. I honestly cannot believe that a portion of the human population actually does this.
In what world are you living, dear people? No one around you wants to hear your music, your phone conversation, your social media audio, or your general phone notification dings/pings/rings.
Especially when they’re on holiday and trying to unplug/switch off from technology.
It’s supremely disrespectful, discourteous and dare I say, supremely selfish. It sends a clear message to the world that one hasn’t been taught the ins an outs of digital/phone etiquette. (And, again, a great level of self-awareness is at play here).
Earbuds. This is what they’re made for you. Your audio is for your ears and your ears only.
This applies for humans of every age. Parents, if you have children with an ipad, they must, must, must have headphones. And, no, low volume doesn’t cut it.
Any level of loudspeaker audio is annoying for those around you.
Phones on silent — those dings and pings are super-irritating for those around you, and send cortisol levels spiking for many people — including for the person making the noise.
But, unfortunately, the lack of self-awareness means they’re often not even plugged into what a cortisol spike feels like). Audio on headphones when around other people. Period.”
Trashing local traditions
“This is a big one, anywhere in the world, but especially for tourists travelling throughout Europe.
Churches and other religious sites, demand a certain level of decency and decorum, out of respect of the sacredness of the site.
Modest dress (covered shoulders, long skirts/pants, enclosed shoes), quiet conversation (or silence), and discrete behaviour (no running, no shoving, no photos/use of phones) demonstrates respect for the place you’re visiting and the people who live [and] work there.
The modest dress standards, and discrete/respectful behaviour also applies generally across many European towns and cities — not just in the Churches and religious sites.
Nothing shouts ‘low class tourist’ more than someone who brazenly trots around these places in inappropriate clothing, cleavage showing, midriff, spaghetti strap tops, short shorts or miniskirts, snapping selfies, shooting a video for their TikTok reels in a place where they most definitely shouldn’t.
Also, caveat — these churches will likely turn you away if you try to enter with inappropriate attire.”
Donning indecent duds
“Of course — churches and religious sites demand modest, respectful clothing. But immodest clothing in other places — cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, when lounging in or walking through the resort lobby or in resort corridors, is inappropriate and ‘bogan’/ low class.
Respect for oneself and others means covering up, and dressing for the occasion.
‘Sure, a bathing suit with your towel around your waist is fine for the beach/pool.
It’s not okay for approaching the resort front desk, lounging in the lobby, or taking your seat at the restaurant for lunch.
Cover up — a flowy dress, a long shirt, shorts, appropriate shoes (no flip flops outside the beach/pool area!).”
Stinking drinking
“While some may be tempted by the open-bar mimosas available from 8am at their all inclusive resort, I offer a stark word of warning. Don’t. (Or, be very, very careful).
“I would personally suggest avoiding any alcohol before midday, as a general ‘life rule’.
But if/when you do decide to partake in an alcohol beverage — be it midday, 6pm cocktails, or a wine at dinner — go easy, moderation, and stay far, far away from ‘drunk’.
Do you really want to be seen as a booze-head? One wants to avoid, at all costs, being the guest who’s stumbling through the lobby, talking/laughing too loudly (and disrupting other guests), and just generally being obnoxious.”
Constantly taking pics and flicks
“Of course, you’re on holiday, visiting amazing places, seeing cool things — all of which add up to many insta-worthy stories and reels.
Good for you — take a few pics, shoot a few vids, but don’t turn the resort’s pool area into the set of ‘Sally’s Greece Adventure’.
I can assure you, your fellow guests, and staff, won’t be impressed. Too much personal preening, overdoing the pics, videos, ‘presenting to cameras’ comes across as rather vulgar and vain.
No one really cares if you’re an ‘influencer’ with 50K followers — the other guests just want to enjoy their book, watch their children swim, and have a relaxing chat with their friends — without being subject to Sally doing ten takes of ‘Day 3 of the Adventure’ on the lounger next to them.
Blaring janky jams
“This is closely tied in with number three, but deserves a separate mention.
Blasting music — on your phone, a speaker/amplifier — at a level that can be heard by others is not ok.
It will quickly have you labelled ‘guest from hell’ — among hotel staff and fellow guests.
Dear human, what planet are you on? Do you really think the families enjoying a relaxing morning on the pool deck want to listen to the latest release from your favourite artist? I can tell you, they don’t.
I’m astounded that anyone would think this is ok — and yet, it happens on a fairly regular basis, all around the world.
This also applies to hotel rooms — ensure your music/TV/any audio is at a moderate level, and not able to be heard by those in rooms adjacent to yours.
And for anyone subject to noisy guests nearby, don’t hesitate to alert hotel staff to tell them to turn the music down [or] off.”
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