Reuters Life!
Worldwide, the French are now ranked as the worst tourists finally taking the crown (of thorns) from the stereotypcial "Ugly Americans."
PARIS, France – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at 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 out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"It's 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. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 percent of French people did their traveling at home.
"So when they're on 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 tourists 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 at the top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans. But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on vacation.
(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; editing by James Mackenzie)
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