Let’s face it: Most Americans who’ve traveled have been guilty of being an embarrassing tourist, regardless of whether it was their intention. The stereotypes range from hilarious to cringe-worthy.
1: Everything Old Is Marvelous
Americans aren’t used to seeing truly old architecture, given that the United States has less than 300 years of history. So, gawking at old architecture is understandable. The issue lies when American tourists want to touch everything old they see and squeal every time they see something old that’s new to them.
Needless to say, this can grow tiring to the locals who have to dodge tourists’ arms as they point to everything old they see.
2: Being Obnoxiously Loud
The United States praises people who are outgoing and chatty. This can come off to locals as Americans being too loud. In some cases, American tourists are straight-up obnoxious with their loud and attention-seeking ways, especially if they’ve had a few drinks.
3: Rocking Knee-High Socks
Monkey see, monkey don’t. Knee-high socks are an easy and harmless American tourist stereotype. White socks are the classic stereotype, but some Americans go wild with wearing socks with flip-flops.
When in doubt, study the local population and other tourists. It’s unlikely you’ll see them in knee-high socks, so follow suit unless you’d like to buck the trend.
4: Expecting Everyone to Speak English
Just because English is considered a universal language doesn’t mean everyone can speak it. Some Americans resort to embarrassing tactics to get their message across, including shouting and angrily acting out the message they want to convey.
5: Getting Rowdy Over Baseball Caps
Americans love sports, but they’d be wise to keep their opinions about opposing teams to themselves if they don’t want to stand out. Similarly, hollering enthusiastically about a shared favorite sports team with a stranger based on their baseball cap can cause an embarrassing scene.
6: Overly Cheerful
I’ve had personal experience with people from other countries commenting about how annoyingly cheerful Americans are. While some parts of the world are raised to have upbeat, smiley personalities, it can seem intimidating and obnoxious to cultures where an introverted personality is praised.
7: Utter Confusion
Perhaps it has something to do with English being a universal language, but Americans have a knack for looking perplexed when their meal or service isn’t what they expect despite it being as described. The fish’s head is served with its head attached to its body? Forget it.
8: Being Agreeable
The British tend to be among the people who believe that Americans are too agreeable. For people coming from cultures that value directness and a healthy debate, American tourists who go along with everything said to avoid upsetting someone can annoy other nationalities to the core.
9: Refusal to Learn the Metric System
Few locals will fault tourists for slipping out a number in miles instead of kilometers. But many Americans’ lack of effort in learning the metric system frustrates them.
Americans have the advantage of being able to travel nearly anywhere in the world with fewer language barriers than many. The least they can do is learn the world’s most widely used measurement system.
10: Traveling Heavy
No, I’m not referring to body weight. Although surprisingly, the United States isn’t among the top 10 heaviest countries in the world. Instead, Americans are notorious for traveling with tons of luggage.
Traveling with a lot of bags has its place in certain circumstances. But drawing attention to oneself about it at an airport or expecting hotel staff to be at their beck and call can be embarrassing to fellow Americans around them.
11: They Want Diet Everything
Americans aren’t among the top 10 heaviest countries in the world, but they’re the most obese nation among high-population countries. Yet ironically to many locals observing American tourists, they make tons of special requests for their meals to keep the calories down.
12: Waiting to Be Seated
Most Americans don’t have a wait-on-me attitude. However, it can appear that way to some foreigners, for Americans are notorious for arriving at the entrance of a restaurant and waiting to be seated. The problem? It rarely ever happens. Choosing one’s seat is normal in many countries.
13: Asking for Western Food
It doesn’t get much more embarrassing to Americans than a fellow citizen who makes a fuss about a restaurant not serving Western food. And, no, not all countries douse everything with ketchup. So, keep your cool if restaurants don’t have ketchup.
14: Phone Belt Holster
News flash: Belt holsters scream American tourist. While using a phone belt holster is a harmless American stereotype, the issue is that belt holsters make life easier for pickpockets. So, using a belt holster in a crowded area can make you stand out as an American without basic street smarts.
15: Making Eye Contact
Most Americans don’t mean any harm by making eye contact with strangers they pass on the street. However, receiving eye contact can feel intimidating depending on the culture and where a person falls on the introvert-extrovert scale.
16: They Believe There Isn’t a Restroom
Many countries use the letters “WC” to indicate a bathroom. But some Americans aren’t accustomed to knowing what this means. WC is a British term meaning “water closet,” which came about in the 19th century when locals built rooms around their new indoor toilets.
17: A Constant Need to Tip
The fact that some countries view tipping as rude dumbfounds Americans (and makes some envious). The dumbfoundedness is a two-way street. To locals, the fact that American tourists don’t know how rude tipping is in their culture perplexes them.
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