Etiquette and Courtesy for Tourists & Visitors

[magnusfide]

Thought I'd start this because of a conversation with a friend. Their main complaint is when tourists and visitors come up to them and start asking nosy questions about how they dress, etc. They live near a tourist town. They have a farm so they wear overalls or other non-trendy clothing.

So two I want to share.
1. Don't go up to people and ask them about their clothing or their religion.
2. Don't park the RV in spaces in small towns. Parking is limited enough for many of those towns. Find out where you can park your rig without taking up 2 or more parking spots.

Are there any guidelines you would like to share about how to behave as a tourist or visitor?

[Horsedoc]

Some of the best advice this thread could reveal is 'don't dictate to others your own feelings'.

[Moderator]

.

Back to the topic please, it is a simple and worthwhile question: "Are there any guidelines you would like to share about how to behave as a tourist or visitor?"

For example, Don't be loud and obnoxious. 🙂

[magnusfide]

Well FULLTIMEWANNABE, most of the towns and cities in the USA don’t depend on yours or any tourists’ dollars to function and thrive. They have their own economies. I like visiting these places. Anywhere we travel we remember that we are the guests in their communities and towns. So we behave as though we were in someone else’s home - which we all are when visiting another place. It’s about courtesy and etiquette in respect to the places hosting us as guests.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Deleted

[magnusfide]

valhalla360 wrote:

magnusfide wrote:
Other times we have to understand that certain questions are simply out of bounds and considered rude or nosy in certain cultures and areas.

So who exactly is this group? I suspect you are speaking of an individual who has an issue...not a group that has an issue.

In my travels I have encountered areas in the US that consider such questions about politics, clothing, religion as being rude and intrusive. These cultural perceptions are not just the preferences of an individual.

Walaby wrote:
Theres a lot of things you can ask locals about to learn more about the culture. I just never thought asking about what they wear was one of them. Sometimes it comes out in conversation, sure, but there's a lot more interesting things about the local culture than clothing.

Mike

EXACTLY!

[wapiticountry]

FULLTIMEWANABE wrote:

magnusfide wrote:
Thought I'd start this because of a conversation with a friend. Their main complaint is when tourists and visitors come up to them and start asking nosy questions about how they dress, etc. They live near a tourist town. They have a farm so they wear overalls or other non-trendy clothing.

So two I want to share.
1. Don't go up to people and ask them about their clothing or their religion.
2. Don't park the RV in spaces in small towns. Parking is limited enough for many of those towns. Find out where you can park your rig without taking up 2 or more parking spots.

Are there any guidelines you would like to share about how to behave as a tourist or visitor?

No 3. If they aren't considerate enough to offer somewhere to park tour buses and RVs, then clearly they aren't interested in receiving any of our tourist dollars. Gas pedal down onto the next user friendly town to drop our dollars. Even if it were a case of a parking field/area offered outside of the downtown with a shuttle service or something into town, but if not RV friendly then we vote with our dollars like most do! NEXT!

And somehow you don't see the residents of those towns that haven't spent taxpayer dollars to accommodate your needs chasing after your tail lights to try and get to to stop anyway.

[Walaby]

Theres a lot of things you can ask locals about to learn more about the culture. I just never thought asking about what they wear was one of them. Sometimes it comes out in conversation, sure, but there's a lot more interesting things about the local culture than clothing.

Mike

[valhalla360]

If you aren't inquisitive, that's fine but if you want to understand the local culture, it's very reasonable that someone might ask.

[Walaby]

valhalla360 wrote:

Walaby wrote:
It never dawned on me to ever ask someone about the clothes you wear. I can't even imagine a conversation where that would come up, or why I would even care.

"Hey man.. why do y'all wear those overalls? Is it to keep the spaghetti sauce from staining your new t-shirts?" (kidding of course).

That's just weird...

Mike

Monks in Thailand wearing orange robes.

Germans at Oktoberfest wearing Lederhosen.

Been there, seen that, and still didn't ask.

Mike

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

deleted

[Crowe]

Please ask me about my Religion. I would love to tell you about my God.

Under most circumstances I would answer truthfully. However, if I don't like the circumstances surrounding the question I just answer "Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster" as straight-faced as I can. That usually shuts them up because they either think I'm flip or crazy. I prefer to think of myself as both.

[Terryallan]

magnusfide wrote:
Thought I'd start this because of a conversation with a friend. Their main complaint is when tourists and visitors come up to them and start asking nosy questions about how they dress, etc. They live near a tourist town. They have a farm so they wear overalls or other non-trendy clothing.

So two I want to share.
1. Don't go up to people and ask them about their clothing or their religion.
2. Don't park the RV in spaces in small towns. Parking is limited enough for many of those towns. Find out where you can park your rig without taking up 2 or more parking spots.

Are there any guidelines you would like to share about how to behave as a tourist or visitor?

Please ask me about my Religion. I would love to tell you about my God.

[valhalla360]

magnusfide wrote:
Other times we have to understand that certain questions are simply out of bounds and considered rude or nosy in certain cultures and areas.

So who exactly is this group? I suspect you are speaking of an individual who has an issue...not a group that has an issue.

[magnusfide]

Crowe wrote:
Honestly, I suspect it's more about how the questions are asked as opposed to the actual questions.

I think that's a big part of it. If you feel you are a part of the Spanish Inquisition you are much more likely to be a little hostile rather than if someone politely asks "why do you wear that?".

Yes and sometimes. Tone of voice and body language can create communication issues. Other times we have to understand that certain questions are simply out of bounds and considered rude or nosy in certain cultures and areas.