18 July 2010

Quote of the day: Arthur on the similarities of tourists

From a Money magazine interview with Arthur Frommer in April 1979:

Q: Do foreigners still think that Americans are obnoxious tourists?

A: Cartoons in foreign newspapers used to depict American tourists in loud sports jackets with cameras around their necks. That has changed, possibly because these days you see German tourists, for example, in lederhosen, wandering through Rockefeller Center with cameras dangling from their necks. Tourists are tourists regardless of their national origins. They are bewildered by their encounter with a new culture. They are not only unduly sensitive to acts of discourtesy but also ridiculously grateful for simple acts of kindness. 

(emphasis mine)

Click here for my post on the subject: Going Native in the Tourist Culture. 


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