It seems like perceptions of good and bad tourists could be influenced by particularly memorable experiences with bad tourists rather than a reasoned assessment of "good" and "bad" tourists from each nation.
When I traveled as a child, my parents were always concerned that we were well-dressed, quiet, and polite wherever we went. As an adult, I've always tried to blend in wherever I went. (Which never seems to work in Mexico - something about being 6'4", blond haired, and blue-eyed gives me away as a foreigner).
A few years ago, my wife and I traveled to London for a conference and Paris for fun for a couple of weeks. In both cities, we were asked for directions multiple times by people from those nations. Evidently, we were doing a reasonable job of blending in.
|