Is the stereotype of a loud, rude and obnoxious American tourist the truth?
A new survey by Upgrade Points shows Americans are harder on ourselves than the Europeans we visit.
Pollsters took a unique slant on this stereotype by surveying Americans and Europeans, asking the same questions about behavior, perception and how we truly act abroad.
Turns out, the “loud” stereotype holds true – Europeans (70%) and Americans (69.4%) agree that is our worst trait.
But that is where we split. Most Europeans love how friendly we are (64%) and almost half say we are curious (42%). Close to one in three say we’re fun to have around.
Americans meanwhile tend to think we are arrogant (54.4%) and rude (40%). Just over 12% of Europeans agree.
Most Europeans say we are no worse than tourists from other countries, and most could care less what is happening with our politics back home – 77% say it has no influence on how they treat tourists.
All this depends on where you go in Europe. Portugal, Belgium and Ireland are most annoyed by Americans abroad. Poland, Spain and the U.K. are least annoyed.