Who are the world’s most polite tourists?

Good manners can go a long way when you’re travelling, and according to a new survey, some tourists have them down to a fine art.

Japanese travellers have been named the world’s politest tourists, with Norway and Switzerland following behind, while other nationalities picked up the top spots for everything from generous tipping to adventurous holiday habits and a love of local food.

A new survey from safaribookings.com, an online marketplace for African safaris, asked 192 of its tour operators the following five questions: Which nationality is the politest? Which nationality tips the best? Which nationality spends the most money while travelling? Which nationality is the most active and adventurous? Which nationality is the biggest foodie?

The results make for very interesting reading – here’s what they revealed.

The most polite tourists

Japan came out on top in the ranking of the most polite tourists worldwide, with 21.1% of mentions from tour operators.

Tourists from Norway and Switzerland followed behind, with 10.6% and 10.4% respectively, and Canadian and American travellers were next.

In last place in the list were Italian tourists, with just 1.3% of the survey respondents rating them the politest nationality in the world.

Nevertheless, European travellers were praised by those who were surveyed, with one tour operator from Imara Tours Zanzibar saying: “Many of our European guests are very interested in wildlife behaviour and often ask detailed questions about animals and conservation. Their curiosity makes game drives very engaging.”

The best tippers and biggest spenders

The US is known for its divisive tipping culture, so it’s little surprise that Americans were identified as the best tippers among all tourists. In fact, they had 29.5% of all mentions from tour operators, which was far ahead of all other nationalities.

Tourists from Germany, Canada, and Switzerland were also found to be decent tippers, scooping 13.1%, 10% and 8.6% in the ranking, respectively.

When it comes to the biggest spenders, Americans also topped the list. They got 24% in the ranking and were, again, followed by travellers from Germany and Canada who got 12.8% apiece.

The most adventurous tourists and biggest foodies

With regards to the most adventurous tourists, the top three places in the ranking are taken up by travellers from European nations.

Germans were the most adventure-seeking travellers, with 21.1% in the ranking, followed by the French with 17.8% and the Dutch, who got 11%.

At the other end of the scale, the British and Indians both got just 4.5%, while the Spanish only achieved 4.3%, suggesting that those nations are a little more likely to want to put their feet up while on holiday.

The top five of tourists who travel to eat were mostly made up of Asian nations, with India, Japan and China in first, second and fourth place respectively.

France was in third place, with 12.4%, and the Netherlands was in fifth, with 7.7%, just 0.1% above Italy in sixth.

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