British tourism group VisitBritain has recently published a new guidebook, in hopes of helping hotels avoid offending foreigners.
In a bout to make hotels' services better, the tourism group came up with tips and advice on how to deal with guests of different nationalities. While the intention may have been good, it seems like everyone is not as receptive as VisitBritain thought they would be. Many found the guidebook offensive.
In defense of the guidebook, the marketing director told The Daily Mail that the list they came up with came from "market intelligence reports" which "provide an unrivaled source of information on inbound tourism."
Apart from the book's advice on not smiling or eye-balling French people once they are in the check in counter, the guidebook tells about Hong Kong natives being 'superstitious' about staying in certain rooms, especially those with certain four-poster beds and it has quoted Germans as being quite "aggressive".
Other advice found in the book tells of Indians changing their minds frequently, Russians needing higher ceilings as well as doorways, Austrians along with Germans who are known to be 'seeming rude and aggressive". For the Japanese, hotel staffs are asked to be softer when saying "No", as it is believed to be improper to say a straight up no to a Japanese tourist. There were no mentions about Americans.
While the controversial tourism board is currently making headlines, it's not the first time a group has compiled a list of travel etiquette to make people learn more about the cultural diversities they may come across from one country to the next.
China recently issued a guidebook in hopes to enlighten their citizens. One of which includes the advice that British people shouldn't be asked whether they've eaten or not. Another accounts for people to never ask about the eyes of an Iranian baby or to never bring yellow flowers to a French home.
The question remains as to whether or not the new VisitBritain guidebook is actually helpful or just plain offensive.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
