French tourists seen as world's worst
By phesaru
@phesaru (300)
Philippines
July 14, 2009 12:02am CST
As what i read in yahoo that French tourist are the worst in the world, coming across as a bad foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried our for internet travel agency Expedia
by polling company TNS infratest, which said French holiday makers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"its mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station france info.
"the French don't go abroad very much.Were lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90% of French
people did their traveling at home.
" So when they're holiday they can be a bit stressed,they're not used to things,and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
French tourist are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French,not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service
charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills,can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans
judged the best of the Europeans.
but French tourist received some consolations for their poor performance,finishing third after Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
10 responses
@scififan43 (2434)
• United States
19 Jul 09
Hi, I read that articel on yahoo myself a few days ago. it was very interesting but surlyl not all French tourist are that way. but it is jsut a survey and it may not be toatal acurate.
@meyows (438)
• India
14 Jul 09
Means you just read in yahoo and came to that conclusion right? You never had a visit to France? I think what information you want to share with us is correct. Oh I see. The Japanese ranked top and French got poor performance. Good information I got from you and I add it to my knowledge.
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
14 Jul 09
I was once told a joke about different European nationalities showing stereotypical attitudes. I am an experienced independent traveler. English is my mother tongue language and although I try to learn foreign languages I am not excellent at doing so. I tried to learn Dutch but the local people spoke back to me in fluent English. I learned French for five years and found it easy to practice speaking French in France and other French speaking places. The people the live in Paris can be a bit aloof. The other French people I find are fine. The Germans are the best travelers. We British have poor dress sense and Italians are top of the fashion trends. The Japanese like to go around in groups. They like honor and are really polite.
@jshekhar (1562)
• India
14 Jul 09
Hello friend,
This is a news I was unaware of so thanks a lot for sharing this. I am an Indian and I have met a few French tourists here. Yeah, they did have difficulty with English and Hindi, the two main languages here. but then, I did not find them arrogant or something like that. I do not know about the credibility of the agency carrying out the survey and publishing this report but then, all I would say is that I am lucky not to have faced such tourists here. I hope the French people do take this in a positive way and learn English at least. It really is a universal language and would help them a lot while touring.
@marguicha (230351)
• Chile
16 Jul 09
It is an interesting piece of newa. We don´t get many french tourists to our country but we do get our share of tourist from other parts of the world. In my experience, the worst are the americans. They don´t even try to say hello in Spanish: they expect everybody to speak English and to solve them their problems. An exception to this are the american tourists that come for special activities. We have wonderful skiing when in the US they have Summer. Those tourists, mostly more wealthy, are curiously more modest when asking for help. In those places they have people who speak English but it´s the day to day relation with maids at hotels and the cleaning staff.
@greenline (14838)
• Canada
14 Jul 09
Yes, I have seen that news too. It was amazing. I have been to France, and have some friends too. To me , they are very polite, courteous, friendly. So, are the Japanese too, no doubt at all. Merci beucoup !
@tjades (3590)
• Jamaica
14 Jul 09
I saw the report on yahoo as well but did not spend time to read through it.
As Timothee de Roux mentioned the possible causes for this view of the French people may very well be as a result of their cultural habits. Not traveling outside of their country much and not being used to paying tips.
It takes time for various tourist to adopt to the norms of the international tourism industry so the French ought to be given time to adjust. They may very well become the number one tourist group in the years to come.
I believe they need to study a bit of english though and lose their arrogance towards the language. Afterall we live in a global society and english is the global language.
@LiveLove (443)
• United States
14 Jul 09
I take surveys and statistics with a grain of salt. I don't feel that a few people being interviewed can accurately portray the attitudes of everyone there. I from a very large city and can often see people from various nations who visit. I can say that the French I have encountered home and in France where alright. A man was rude to me in France when I spoke English although I can write,read, and fairly speak the language. But I wouldn't label ALL people from France as rude especially since i haven't me everyone.
@vinslounge (1295)
• India
14 Jul 09
A great work by you girl. Although the survey has given that the French are the Worst toursists, I differ from this opinion. I live in India and there is a place here known as Pondicherry which was once a French settlement in India before we got Independence. Thousands of French people visits Pondicherry every year. But i never have seen even a single person behaving that bad and hence i am not able to accept the fact from a survey that the French are seen as World's worst tourists.
