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One of the reasons people travel is to see new places and meet new people. There is an opportunity to see another way of life and experience cultures that are different from our own. We want to bottle up our experience (or capture it on video/image) and take it home with us to share with others. But, how often have you stopped to wonder if you’re crossing a line with the people that call that place home?
Be Respectful
Before visiting any location some care should be taken to understand what the local norms are. If you’re visiting a conservative culture don’t pack your short shorts and spaghetti tanks, even if it will be scorching hot. When visiting religious sites, take time to plan ahead of time to dress appropriately. Do a little bit of research on local customs of interpersonal interaction and social taboos. This can go a long way to make sure you’re seen as a welcome guest instead of an invading tourist.
Curb Your Desire to Photograph Everything
Photos are an important part of traveling, you want to remember your trip. However, before you take a picture, and especially before you photograph people and children take a step back. Put yourself in the shoes of your subject. Would you want someone photographing you without your permission? If there’s a scene you really want to capture, or someone engaging in an activity that you’d love to remember, ask them first. Even offer them (if it’s a trades person, shopkeeper, etc) a small amount of money in exchange for the picture. If photography is really important to you, and you’re visiting a country that you don’t speak the language fluently, learn how to ask if it’s ok to take a picture before you go. Really a little bit of courtesy goes a long way.
Be on Your Best Behavior
We’ve all experienced situations where there’s been a raucous group of people in a hotel, on a train, or in another public setting acting obnoxious. Being on your best behavior goes along with being respectful. Alcohol has a way of bringing out the worst in people, so keeping your consumption in check is one way to help this. It’s also no secret that when traveling exhaustion and nerves fuse short quickly. It’s not ever good to go off the handle at those in service positions trying to assist you. Stay well rested and be as patient as possible so that you don’t end up looking like the spoiled, demanding visitor.
These are just a few of the ways visitors can respect locals while traveling. Do you have other suggestions? What is some of the worst behavior you’ve seen while traveling?
great post, yeah we can always tell vacationers down here in Florida because of their awful and disrespectful behavior.
What a great post and so very needed. We have our fair share of tourists in Florida and some think they own the world. It is so annoying to meet those that want to feed the gators. Learning about the rules and Forest laws are very beneficial and keeps us all safe.
These are great tips and things I haven’t really considered. The one about curbing the desire to photograph everything really speaks to me because I love taking photos of while on vacation but definitely wouldn’t take pictures of people and property without permission.
This is a great post and it is very important while you are traveling to be respectful of the locals! Some tourist over step their boundary’s sometimes.
Good tips and reminders of how behavior affects locals. I think staying well rested is the most important. It helps to keep travelers from being crabby
You are totally right. Respect is the key. I hate to see how people litter without any consideration for the others. Love your tips. Thanks for sharing.
Of all places I realized how important this was in Hawaii. I’ve been to all the islands, but Molokai was especially unique, they are a very small and tight community there and they welcome tourists but on the grand scale they are private. Talking to the locals, they have their reasons and only through conversation and respect can you come to understand.
I strongly agree about taking care not to get people in shots, unless they are distant (and unrecognizable) or they agree.
Great tips for traveling, but just in general too!
Those are good tips. Everyone should consider them a guest while on vacation and behave appropriately.
These are all really great tips on how to be a respectful tourist when traveling. It’s sometimes hard not to get carried away in your excitement of being someplace new.
Very interesting post! I’ve never researched appropriate clothing for different areas but I figure if someone doesn’t like how we dress, they can look the other way. But then again, I’m pretty conservative and usually shocked by how others dress where we visit.