Pet Peeves 101: What Not To Do As a Tourist

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A new survey by money-saving website CouponCodesPro.com has unveiled the top five most annoying tourist traits for locals in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Orlando.

The website surveyed 3,216 people aged 21 and over. Roughly 63 percent of respondents said they found tourists annoying. These respondents were then asked, “What trait do you find most frustrating about the tourists visiting your city?”

Here is what they had to say. 

New York City: Asking for Directions (40 percent)
Four in 10 New Yorkers (or about 810 respondents) said they were most annoyed by tourists asking for directions.
That’s quite the pet peeve, considering New York City is one of the top tourist destinations in the world and travelers are bound to ask for directions to some of the city’s top attractions and sites.
On the other hand, it’s understandable why locals in NYC would feel this way. It’s a bustling city and it’s incredibly competitive, meaning locals generally are trying to do more and have a long list of “To Dos” each day. They are trying to make it or rise above the competition in a city that boasts a population of more than 8,405,000 (as of July 2013, per NYC.gov).
Then again, while New Yorkers may never come in contact with these tourists again, they aren’t exactly making it a welcome environment for travelers, which could hurt business overall.

San Francisco: Stopping in the Middle of the Sidewalk and Taking Photos (35 percent)
If you’ve ever lived in or visited San Francisco, you know that people are basically packed into the metropolis like a can of sardines.
San Francisco’s population as of 2013 was roughly 825,000—which pales in comparison to New York City—but it’s also a very small area to house that many people, let alone the tourists.
In a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area came in third in the U.S. in average density, behind New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana. But in population-weighted density, which measures the metro areas with 5,000 people or more per square mile, it came in second to the New York area (12,145 per square mile).
That’s obviously a substantial number. So, while stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and taking photos may not be a big deal to some locals, it can basically cause a pedestrian traffic jam in Downtown San Francisco.

Chicago: Not Tipping Appropriately (32 percent) 
In Chicago, it’s pretty simple: Tourists apparently don’t tip enough.
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of National Travel and Tourism, Chicago was the No. 9 U.S. city when it came to international arrivals in 2013. That could have something to do with it. Some international travelers still don’t know what to tip in the U.S., or they simply find it absurd to tip that much (as TravelPulse highlighted in Tipping 101: Breaking Down a Global Controversy).
Given servers basically rely on tips these days across the board, working in a U.S. city that comes in No. 9 in international tourism may not be as beneficial as you may think. Obviously, you want more people to come to your restaurant, but if they are hardly tipping at all then it doesn’t do much good, either. 

Washington DC: Walking Too Slowly, Looking at Everything (27 percent) 
More than one in four locals in Washington D.C. (27 percent) said they were most annoyed with tourists walking too slowly so they could look at everything.
It makes sense in the nation’s capital. Politicians and businessmen need to get from Point A to Point B quickly. On the other hand, this is the nation’s capital, after all. That means tourists are naturally going to take a lot of pictures, particularly of sites such as the White House, the U.S. Capitol and national monuments and memorials.
So, while tourists may come to D.C. to learn about “The Land of Opportunity,” they also may get a first-hand look of what striving for those opportunities looks like…while virtually getting trampled in the process.

Orlando: Asking You to Take Their Photo (26 percent)
“Hey, can you take our picture next to Mickey Mouse?”
For many locals in Orlando, they’ve heard this question way too many times.
In fact, 26 percent of Orlando residents are tired of taking photos of tourists.
At a place that houses a variety of theme parks and attractions, including Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando, it’s a given that locals will receive their fair share of photo requests. If you are a photographer who specializes in portraits, you probably welcome it. If you aren’t…not so much.
But, again, these same tourists add to Orlando’s thriving economy. They are an integral part of the city’s makeup. Without them, Orlando would be just another city in Florida, instead of the No. 4 U.S. city for international arrivals in 2013.
While it’s important for tourists to keep these pet peeves in mind, it’s also important for locals to understand that they are annoyed with the same things that they do when they travel. For example, in the survey, respondents were also asked if they indulged in the same types of behavior that they disliked from tourists. A whopping 76 percent of respondents answered, “Yes.”
Ideally, we can all work together to understand certain cultures’ pet peeves while these same cultures should probably be a little more lenient.
George Charles, spokesperson for CouponCodesPro.com, said via a release:
"We're all guilty of finding tourists annoying when we feel it affects us, especially if we are in a rush to get to work or go about our daily lives, however most of us are also guilty of being those frustrating tourists when we're off on our own travels. We're constantly so busy throughout our day-to-day lives that tourists become a nuisance when asking for directions or help or stopping to take photos, but it's important to remember that, without tourists, the economy of our towns would suffer, with knock-on effects for local business. They chose to vacation to the beautiful cities we are lucky enough to live in. Perhaps this should be a reminder of what is on our doorsteps, so we take a moment out here or there to look around us and appreciate our cities.”