Do all travellers serve as national ambassadors?

Rule Britannia

How many times have you observed a group of tourists behaving in a particular way with total disregard to their surroundings and muttered, "Typical bloody ........ (insert Brits/ Americans/ Aussies/ Germans/ other)". We see other people acting in a certain manner or even dressing in a particular way and can often guess where they are from, merely by the stereotype to which they are conforming.

I have to admit that we often play 'guess the nationality' where, in a popular tourist spot we will sit and watch the crowds go by and try to work out where people are from just by their mannerisms, the clothes they wear and the way they interact with both their own group and other people.

Which way prejudice?

The fact is that when we venture away from our homeland we are too often pre-judged according to those who have gone before us. If we turn up in a small town in Morocco and a week earlier a group of rowdy, drunken and unpleasant Brits have been staying many locals will be less than delighted to see more Brits arriving and will fear a repeat performance. If we arrive on that hiking trip in the Andes immediately after a British couple had spent their entire tour complaining about anything and everything the guide may well keep a wary eye on us in case we behave in the same way.

Just as we are judged by those who went before us, so will others later be greeted and treated according to how we behave. If we act as the model visitors, displaying respect, curiosity and sensitivity, then anyone who follows us with our ‘label’ (Brit, English-speaker, European, depending on where we are) will find the hospitality they receive influenced by our earlier actions.

Should we care?

So what, you might ask? Is it our responsibility to act in a particular way? We sign up for a holiday, not to serve as ambassadors for our country. Can’t we just do what we want to do without carrying out this unwelcome and uninvited role?

The answer of course is that we are free to do as we please and have no obligation to take on any ambassadorial considerations when we meet other people on our travels. We can be considerate or selfish, curious or ignorant. After all, the chances are that we’ll never meet the same people again. But whether or not we accept it, when we visit out-of-the-way places we are influencing how others will be received when they follow in our footsteps. Surely it makes sense to make life easier for them, just as we hope others have done for us?

 

Photo: Malias on Flickr

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