The most annoying tourist behaviors (by country)

Methodology

Saily commissioned a survey focused on annoying travel habits, with respondents in 17 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US. The sample size in each country ranged from 800 to 1,501 respondents aged between 18 and 74.

The questions covered three main topics. First, respondents were asked about the antisocial travel and vacation behaviors they engaged in themselves. Next, they ranked the tourist habits they liked the least in others. Finally, people reported how likely they were to confront annoying travelers or let bad behavior slide.

This data will help you blend in a little better on your next trip. If you understand what annoys people in the countries you visit, you’ll be able to avoid conflict and awkward moments — and make friends wherever you go (or at least not get chased out of the pool).

Global results

Let’s start with the global results of the survey, combining all the responses into a single dataset.

Top 10 most common annoying travel behaviors worldwide

According to our data, these are the habits most people admitted to indulging in while traveling to and from a vacation destination:

1. Talking to strangers: 47%

2. Taking shoes off on a plane or other transport: 28%

3. Hogging both armrests on a plane or other transport: 20%

4. Standing up as soon as the plane lands: 19%

5. Clapping when the plane lands: 18%

6. Engaging in overly affectionate public displays: 16%

7. Reclining an airplane seat too far: 16%

8. Snoring loudly: 15%

9. Watching videos at full brightness on a device in a dark space: 14%

10. Having phone or video calls on speaker: 13%

Remember, these aren’t necessarily the most annoying behaviors people display while traveling — just the ones people were willing to own up to.

Although talking to strangers was by far the most common answer, it was also the habit people consistently found the least annoying in others. Let’s look at those results next — the 10 bad travel habits people across the world hate the most:

1. Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front: 52%

2. Playing music or videos without headphones: 47%

3. Arguing loudly: 46%

4. Talking at full volume: 46%

5. Coughing or sneezing without covering mouths: 46%

6. Having phone or video calls on speaker: 46%

7. Reclining seats too far: 45%

8. Bringing and eating smelly food: 41%

9. Taking up extra seats with bags and belongings: 40%

10. Chewing or eating food loudly: 34%

It’s easy to spot the pattern here. Noise comes up again and again in these results — no surprise, given how much of our travel happens in a sealed cabin at 30,000 feet. After a few hours, even a mild annoyance can become a major problem.

What annoys people most on vacation?

So far, we’ve talked about the bad habits you might fall into when you’re on the move — but what happens when you reach your destination? Wherever you go in the world, these are the behaviors that are likely to irritate locals and fellow travelers alike, ranked by how many respondents listed them as the most annoying:

1. Leaving trash on the beach: 56%

2. Speaking loudly in public: 42%

3. Letting children run around unsupervised in public: 42%

4. Playing loud music in public: 39%

5. Claiming pool chairs with towels for hours without using them: 35%

6. Being late for the start of a tour or bus departure: 31%

7. Holding up a crowd just to get the “perfect” shot: 27%

8. Peeing in the sea, lake, or ocean: 24%

9. Taking photos where it’s not allowed: 22%

10. Stopping suddenly in crowded spaces to check a map or take photos: 19%

Unsurprisingly, the more people identified a specific behavior as annoying, the less likely they were to admit to that habit themselves. Only 4% of respondents said they left trash on the beach, and just 7% owned up to playing loud music in public places — the two worst offenses in most people’s eyes.

While traveling: Results by country

The list below shows the most disliked travel behavior reported by respondents in each country. To appreciate the results, imagine all of these taking place on a cramped, long-haul flight:

• Australia: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (50%)

• Brazil: Talking at full volume (55%)

• Canada: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (48%)

• France: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (45%)

• Germany: Having phone or video calls on speaker (48%)

• Italy: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (52%)

• Japan: Arguing loudly (51%)

• Mexico: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (55%)

• Netherlands: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (51%)

• New Zealand: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (57%)

• Poland: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (66%)

• Spain: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (52%)

• Sweden: Playing music or videos without headphones (72%)

• Switzerland: Having phone or video calls on speaker (58%)

• Taiwan: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (59%)

• UK: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (48%)

• US: Letting children kick, grab, or climb on the seat in front (41%)

We have a clear winner! For people from 12 out of the 17 surveyed countries, the most annoying thing a fellow traveler can do is let their kids kick and climb on the back of someone else’s seat. But what happens once you’re off the plane?

On vacation: Results by country

The most hated tourist behavior in all 17 countries is leaving trash on the beach. While that makes a lot of sense, unanimous results don’t make for great reading. That’s why the list below shows the second-place results — this is the behavior that respondents in each country found most annoying, after littering beaches:

• Australia: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (42%)

• Brazil: Talking loudly in quiet places (49%)

• Canada: Talking loudly in quiet places (40%)

• France: Talking loudly in quiet places (41%)

• Germany: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (41%)

• Italy: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (48%)

• Japan: Talking loudly in quiet places (45%)

• Mexico: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (41%)

• Netherlands: Talking loudly in quiet places (38%)

• New Zealand: Talking loudly in quiet places (42%)

• Poland: Playing music in public spaces (60%)

• Spain: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (47%)

• Sweden: Claiming pool chairs with towels for hours without using them (53%)

• Switzerland: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (46%)

• Taiwan: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (54%)

• UK: Letting loud children run around unsupervised in public (37%)

• US: Talking loudly in quiet places (39%)

Once again, we have one annoying habit that leads the rest. Eight out of the 17 groups said the vacation habit that most annoyed them (aside from leaving trash on the beach) was allowing kids to run around without supervision. Seven others said talking loudly in quiet places was the second-most annoying behavior, but most of them also had unsupervised children in a close third place.

Which nationalities don’t put up with annoying tourists?

The survey also asked people from each country how likely they were to intervene and ask someone to stop behaving in a way that annoyed them. What we found didn’t really shock us.

The US is the country where a tourist is most likely to get in trouble for annoying behavior, which fits the stereotype of Americans as straight talkers. That said, the number of people willing to always ask someone to stop an annoying behavior was still just 20%, while 27% said they would never risk that kind of confrontation. At the other end of the spectrum were people in northern Europe and east Asia, who were the least likely to accost tourists or fellow travelers.

It’s worth being aware of how reluctant most people are to voice their discomfort when someone around them is being inconsiderate. Just because the person in the next seat hasn’t said anything about you taking your shoes off mid-flight doesn’t mean they’re happy about it!

When in doubt, search online

Next time you go abroad, remember the results of our survey, and maybe you’ll get along a bit better with both locals and fellow travelers. If you’re ever in doubt about what is and isn’t annoying to people in a particular region, though, it’s always a good idea to double-check. With a reliable internet connection, you can research local customs and preferences as you go.

The easiest way to stay online when you’re abroad is with an eSIM app. With Saily, you can avoid sky-high roaming fees without having to buy a new physical SIM card — just download the Saily eSIM app and get a data plan with a duration and allowance of your choice to connect the moment you land.

Wherever you go, Saily will keep you connected so you can keep the locals on your side. Just don’t leave your trash on the beach — the Saily app can’t help you with that one.