Tourism can be a lifeline for local economies, but for the people who actually live in popular destinations, it often comes at a cost. From blocking sidewalks to harassing wildlife, disrespecting cultural sites, or treating entire cities like personal photo studios, residents in tourism hotspots have seen it all. When u/tiamaree__ asked, “People who live in tourism hotspots, what is the most aggravating or disrespectful thing you see tourists do?” thousands of locals chimed in with their biggest frustrations:
1. “Tourists come to my area to enjoy the natural beauty, but they somehow feel it’s OK to fling trash everywhere. It defies logic.”
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2. “My area is absolutely stunning in the fall, but tourists treat the nature areas like absolute shit. No one follows the ‘leave nothing but footprints and memories’ rule. What you take in, it leaves with you as well.”
3. “Walking four or five abreast and totally oblivious to anyone around them, trying to live their real lives. It’s bad in my city — the cattle cruisers are terrible. The worst I’ve seen, though, is in Venice. Situational awareness, folks!”
4. “Yeah, I’d say it’s just them being physically in the way a lot. Especially in Tokyo, where things work because everyone is moving smoothly along. Then you have tourists getting confused standing in front of ticket gates, or in front of doors, walking slowly side by side, stopping suddenly in a smoothly moving group of people to take photos, or dragging large luggage onto rush hour trains. Honestly, a lot of it is unavoidable, and I don’t really blame them for it. But it’s hard not to think I’d have a smoother time getting to and from if they weren’t there. Especially since I lived here during COVID, when they weren’t here, and I know it to be true.”
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5. “Engraving one’s own name on some historical relics.”
6. “I used to live in La Jolla for a time, and these people are always messing with the sea lions — trying to take pictures with them, harassing them, feeding them things. It’s disgusting. People are scum these days, hassling animals for their stupid, goddamn pathetic social media fake credibility. I used to love watching the sea lions chase these idiots. They’d shriek in terror and flee, and sometimes someone would get bitten, and I’m like, yeah, sea lion, get those motherfuckers.”
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7. “It’s not even a ‘these days’ or ‘social media’ thing, I’d argue. I grew up near a major US national park, and even 30 years ago, tourists would get within a mile of wildlife and suddenly their common sense gland would shut off entirely. Still plenty of trying to feed/pet them, take pictures, etc. At that time, the pictures were just on film cameras, that’s all.”
8. “Buying all the homes and land for holiday lets, Airbnb-ing them out, taking the small bit of income from tourism away from people here, but driving up the housing prices so the actual locals can no longer afford to buy and live here.”
9. “I live in Edinburgh, which has Greyfriars Kirkyard, where J.K. Rowling got a lot of her inspiration for Harry Potter characters. Needless to say, this attracts a lot of tourists. A couple of years ago, an American woman — obviously — stole a marble plaque off Thomas Riddles’ headstone. These are actual graves and tombs. Have some fucking decency.”
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10. “Graffiti on the petroglyphs.”
11. “Sometimes they look up at buildings and just walk into traffic or a bike lane, and it’s down to you to brake. It’s every fucking day. Copenhagen here, Nyhavn.”
12. “I’ve seen attractive early-20s women walk into a great place like a fancy and famous club, bar, or restaurant, take some selfies and pictures of each other all dressed up — taking turns so everyone is included — and then leave. Social media has really screwed some people up. They live completely fake lives.”
13. “If you go to a pub in Ireland, buy a drink. If you’re settling in for the evening to listen to some traditional music, buy more than one drink. Don’t sit nursing one drink all evening. Pubs have free music to encourage customers. They have rent, wages, etc. to pay. They need you to be a proper customer, or they won’t survive. PSA: It doesn’t have to be alcohol. Most pubs will happily serve you tea or coffee.”
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14. “I live in New Orleans. Don’t get me wrong, I love tourists and sharing my city, its culture, and its history with them. My family has been here since it was owned by the French, and I’ve spent a lot of time over the years getting to know the history and enjoying sharing that information over a beer. It’s less common over the last five years or so, but it still happens: Tourists will often treat us like we’re characters at Disneyland playing a part. One of the most common things is some variation of ‘what was Katrina like for you?’ — often brought up within five minutes of meeting them. Well, I’m sorry, random stranger, I don’t feel like reliving the greatest trauma of my life to give you a good story to bring back home.”
15. “Tourists treating the whole city like their personal photoshoot studio. Yes, Brenda, stand in the middle of the road for that perfect shot — cars are just decorative here.”
16. “Living in the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney, it was not unusual to see tourist couples pick fluffy toys off the rack in Leura pharmacy, take selfies, and then put them back. The chemist is small, and I just needed medicine. As a pedestrian waiting for the lights to change near the very large Central railway station, I have also seen tourists not only walk against the lights but stop in the road to study the map on their phones while traffic was held up, waiting to turn. Others chain-smoke and flick cigarette butts on the ground, which wash into the 10 or so rivers the NSW government has spent a lot of money cleaning over the past 20 years. Not to mention chatting loudly to each other on interurban trains, even though there are massive stickers in select carriages stating ‘Quiet Carriage’.”
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17. “I live in Phuket, Thailand. It’s definitely gross how the sex tourists will defend their right to have sex with young Thai women until they’re blue in the face. Let me tell you what a joy it is reading Phuket and Thailand forums: the entitlement, lack of empathy, and logic are unreal — and, of course, super gross.”
18. “Feeding the seagulls and climbing on the dunes. Fuck off with your shit, you fuckhead.”
What about you — if you live in a tourist destination or have been annoyed by fellow tourists while traveling, what’s the most aggravating or disrespectful thing you’ve seen visitors do? Share your stories in the comments below!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
