Regardless of your view on stereotypes, this much is true: American tourists have made cringe-worthy choices abroad. Find out if you’re guilty of falling into these embarrassing American tourist stereotypes. Some are harmless, many are annoying, and a few are downright rude.
Be sure to leave a comment if you have first-hand experience witnessing an embarrassing American tourist.
1. 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.
2. 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.
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. 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.
7. 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.
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.
6 Non-American Holidays That Americans Celebrate
Are you a savvy enough American to know which holidays the U.S. celebrates that originated abroad? The truth might surprise you.
6 Non-American Holidays That Americans Celebrate
10 Fattest Countries in the World
Can you name the heaviest countries in the world? Find out just how wrong you probably are.
10 Heaviest Countries in the World (Hint: America Isn’t One of Them)
How to Never Pay an ATM Fee Abroad Again (It Works!)
Many Americans are missing out on the easy trick to landing free ATM withdrawals in over 200 countries. Are you one of them? Domestic travelers in the U.S. can save hundreds of dollars on ATM fees too.
Never Pay an ATM Fee Abroad Again With This Trick
21 Travel Bucket List Ideas for Retirees
Stay young at heart by exploring the world with these 21 must-see destinations. Options for travelers seeking active and low-impact vacations.
21 Travel Bucket List Ideas for Retirees
17 Bloggers That Quit Their Jobs to Travel
Do you dream about quitting your job to travel the world? Read the raw and heartwarming stories of travel bloggers who were in your shoes.
Share Your Experience
Do you have first-hand experience witnessing or being an embarrassing American tourist? Tell us about it in the comments.
This article was produced and syndicated by A Piece of Travel.
